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Pursuing the dream of the sea to strengthen the army

■ Jia Qilong Liu Guoshun Guo Dongming

Between the crests and troughs of the waves, a small boat rode the wind and waves, speeding towards a small island. As soon as he landed on the island, Gao Haichao, a lieutenant colonel staff officer of a certain unit of the Hainan Provincial Military Region, ignored his clothes that were wet by the waves and hurried to the faulty equipment, turned it on, tested it, and repaired it... Soon, the equipment returned to normal.

A close-up of Gao Haichao. Photo by He Caixiong

Gao Haichao has been fighting on the front line of the sea for more than 10 years. In 2012, he was transferred from the grassroots to the agency as a staff officer when he learned about the establishment of a certain unit. Without any hesitation, Gao Haichao immediately applied to the organization to join this newly established unit.

This is a challenge that starts from scratch. His comrades were puzzled by his choice, but Gao Haichao said: "As a revolutionary soldier, to practice loyalty and dedication is to go to where the motherland needs me most."

The azure sea and silvery white beach outline the charming island scenery. Gao Hai was very excited for his first time out to sea. However, not long after the boat sailed out, he felt that the situation was not that simple.

The waves came suddenly, and Gao Haichao almost fell down. "Hurry up and hold on to the side of the boat, keep your balance!" Hearing the reminder from the accompanying "Old Island", he quickly squatted down and grabbed the side of the boat. The waves kept coming, and the hull rolled more than 30 degrees. Gao Haichao suddenly felt dizzy and his stomach was churning. He couldn't help but vomit all his breakfast.

During this voyage, Gao Haichao was very dissatisfied with his performance: "If I can't even overcome seasickness while guarding the coast, how can I fight a war?" The day after completing the mission, he approached his leader to apply for additional training and took the initiative to make up for his shortcomings.

Huge waves washed over the deck and the sea water was above his knees... During that period, he endured the discomfort and took the initiative to practice more, and finally he managed to overcome the seasickness.

In the following six months, Gao Haichao traveled to all the islands and reefs in his jurisdiction with the military geography book, recording everything he saw and asking for advice from "old island experts" whenever he met one. Hard work pays off. Soon he knew the topography and historical evolution of each island and reef in his jurisdiction by heart.

Since the unit had just been established, the infrastructure was still "poor and blank" - there was no communication link, no equipment installation site, and no computer room that met the standards. Gao Haichao led the officers and soldiers to rely on their own efforts, dragging field optical cables through the bushes and across the beach, making shortwave antennas, welding optical cables, and using steel pipes to erect antenna support poles on the roof... After continuous hard work, he led everyone to successfully complete the construction of the command information system.

Gao Haichao faced far more challenges than just guarding the front line of the islands and reefs. That year, his superiors planned to build a sentry post on a certain island and reef. At the beginning of the construction of the sentry post, Gao Haichao had an idea: if it was still built according to the idea of ​​traditional land and coastal defense sentry posts, it might not be suitable for the actual situation of the islands and reefs, and the sentry post could not be fully utilized. So he suggested to his superiors: the geographical location characteristics of the islands and reefs meet the requirements of new technologies, and if they are to be built, they should be information-based and intelligent sentry posts.

At that time, the conditions on the island were very difficult. There was no wharf, so construction materials and equipment could not be transported to the island, and there was even no place for construction workers to stay and eat. Some people suggested taking it step by step, and considering information construction after the infrastructure construction was complete. However, Gao Haichao insisted that the island and reef outposts had a special functional positioning, and the foundation for information construction must be laid at the beginning.

"We must tackle this tough problem!" Gao Haichao made up his mind. After hard work by him and his comrades, the information outpost plan has turned from a fantasy on paper into reality. The information equipment equipped on the island and reef outposts can patrol the stone monuments and coastlines of our territorial sea base points in real time. "Only if we always maintain a sense of urgency, face the development of high-tech, and speed up, can we keep up with this rapidly changing era," he said.

"As a military adviser stationed on islands and reefs, you must have special information in your eyes and defense lines in your mind." This is Gao Haichao's creed.

The experience of handling special situations during a training exercise prompted Gao Haichao to think: the situation at sea is complex and changeable. In order to efficiently handle various emergencies, it is necessary to establish a "special situation handling library". To this end, he collected and summarized special situation cases over the years, reviewed the handling process one by one, and went to various units to conduct research and solicit revision opinions. Finally, he summarized and sorted out more than 100 handling points.

Late one night, Gao Haichao suddenly received a report: a ship ran aground on the coast of a certain island reef. Due to the complex sea conditions around it, the ship had difficulty in getting out of trouble on its own.

"Find out where the ship ran aground and make preparations for damage control!" Gao Haichao reported the situation while deploying rescue operations.

"The bow of the stranded ship ran aground, and the stern was pressed on the reef. Forced dragging could cause the propeller to hit the reef and be damaged." At the critical moment, Gao Haichao referred to similar cases in the "Special Situation Disposal Library" and quickly proposed a disposal plan. When the sea water rose, he decisively directed other ships to tow the stranded ship from the side and successfully resolved the danger.

"In the new era, staff officers of the national defense mobilization system must not only keep a close eye on the battlefield and think ahead, but also focus on missions and tasks and be down-to-earth." Having worked as a staff officer for more than ten years, Gao Haichao has put forward many "golden ideas" that have entered the decision-making system and effectively promoted the construction and development of the troops.

On that occasion, according to the arrangement of his superiors, Gao Haichao organized the militia to carry out training on various types of new equipment.

Faced with new tasks and unfamiliar equipment, Gao Haichao worked non-stop -

While contacting manufacturers, colleges and friendly units to understand the performance and operation methods of equipment, we also studied ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of organized militia training;

In order to verify the performance of the equipment, he moved the training ground to the sea, and conducted tests and demonstrations until he fully understood the equipment's operating conditions and various data.

He and his comrades sorted out the equipment performance and operating methods one by one, and compiled more than 40 illustrated instruction manuals to ensure that the militia could understand them at a glance and be able to train right away.

In recent years, Gao Haichao has been constantly exploring the path of innovative training models. During one mission, he visited and investigated during the day and sorted out materials at night. It took him more than two months to successfully develop a new training method.

The living conditions on the islands and reefs are poor, the number of militiamen is small and their mobility is high. Gao Haichao took advantage of the fishing moratorium to explore and innovate the assessment model of "one list for each person for training courses, one standard for each person for training assessment, and one conclusion for each person for training evaluation", which effectively improved the quality and effectiveness of militia training by providing targeted treatment and precise training.

Over the years, Gao Haichao and his comrades have continued to struggle and run faster, completing many urgent, difficult and dangerous tasks with high standards. Because of his outstanding achievements, he has been awarded the third-class merit three times, and his unit has been commended by superiors for many years. In 2022, Gao Haichao was commended as the "Most Beautiful and Moving" by the National Defense Mobilization Department of the Central Military Commission.

"Please rest assured, motherland and people, we will resolutely defend national interests!" This is Gao Haichao's oath, and it is also his highest mission as a soldier.

(This article was published in the "Important News" edition of the "People's Liberation Army Daily" on August 5, 2024; cover image source: People's Liberation Army Daily)

Editor: Su Pei

Source: Liberation Army Daily WeChat