What is the status of an old squad leader in the military?

"Hello, hello, old squad leader." Whenever I hear such calls and greetings on the phone, coupled with the familiar Jinan accent, I know it is my classmate Comrade Liu Mingyi calling.

The squad is the most basic unit in the military establishment. It is the place where soldiers get along with each other day and night, live together, train and fight together. Comrades in the same class during the service often have the closest relationship and the deepest feelings.

Liu Mingyi was drafted into the army from Jinan City in March 1965 and was in the same class as me. At that time, the army often carried out the "Recall the bitterness and remember the sweetness" education (recalling the bitterness of the old society and remembering the sweetness of the new society). Liu Mingyi's family was very poor in the old society, so whenever a new recruit joined the army, the leader would arrange for him to give a typical speech at the company, battalion, and regiment "Remembering the Bitter and Thinking of the Sweet" conferences. After listening to it, we are often moved to tears and deeply educated. Perhaps related to his family background, Liu Mingyi had deep feelings for the new society and the Communist Party, and he performed well in all aspects after joining the army.

I joined the army two years earlier than Liu Mingyi. Not long after Liu Mingyi joined the army, our squad leader was promoted to platoon leader, and I became the squad leader, and we formed a "gang-one, pair-red" pair (pairs help each other, learn from each other, and fight to be "the best"). Five good warriors"). At that time, both of us were rated as "Five Good Warriors" and achieved "a pair of reds".

Liu Mingyi joined the party in December 1966. His service period expired in February 1969. Due to physical reasons, he was demobilized and returned to work in Jinan City. After arriving at the local level, he continued to carry forward the fine traditions of the army, studied hard, worked proactively and conscientiously, and achieved considerable results. Before his retirement, he served for a long time in the Research Office of the Jinan Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China. Over the years, we have kept in touch, and the title of "Old Monitor" makes me feel more intimate and cordial.

In fact, as long as I have contact with my comrades in the army who were my squad leaders, I am used to and like to call them "old squad leaders".

My first monitor was Zhou Jiyuan. On August 22, 1963, when Zhou Jiyuan took us from Junan County No. 1 Middle School to Qufu as recruits, he was already the telephone squad leader of the second battalion of an artillery regiment in Jinan Military Region. After three months of recruit training, he took me to his battalion headquarters to serve as a scout, and I began to officially serve. In the recruit class, squad leader Zhou Jiyuan taught me many common sense of military life and basic military knowledge, from packing backpacks, arranging housekeeping, walking in formation, military conduct and discipline... to small arms bombing and shooting, etc.

Shortly after taking us into the army, Zhou Jiyuan was promoted to platoon leader. Later, he was successively promoted to administrator, instructor, and head of the management section of the regiment headquarters. I also worked step by step from a soldier to the position of cadre and section chief of the regiment political department. It can be said that Comrade Zhou Jiyuan and I have always been side-by-side comrades-in-arms. He has taken care of and helped me a lot, and we have a profound friendship.

Later Zhou Jiyuan changed his job and stayed in Zoucheng, where the army was stationed, to work. I also changed my job and came to Linyi, and we have kept in touch. After his retirement, he came to visit his comrades in Linyi many times. On May 25, 2015, the old squad leader Zhou Jiyuan and his wife came to visit us again. The comrades in Junan County hosted a banquet to welcome him. During the dinner, Comrade Qiao Shichang, a comrade in arms, suggested: "Let us raise a toast together and sincerely thank the old squad leader for taking us on the road of revolution. I wish the old squad leader and his wife good health and happiness to the whole family!" After listening to Qiao Shichang's toast, , we all applauded and smiled knowingly. In fact, this is the gratitude and sincere wishes to the "old squad leader" from the heart of each of our soldiers. Everyone raised their glasses frequently to toast to the "old squad leader" and his wife, and the scene was very lively.

There are also two "old monitors" who often make me miss them. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2014, my wife and I went on a self-guided trip to Jinzhou, Liaoning. I received two calls that day, one from comrade Zhao Changqin in Xinjiang and the other from comrade Chen Shangyin in Nanjing. The two phone calls said almost the same sentence: "I wish you a happy holiday and a happy family!" At that time, my wife and I were very excited. This is really like the military song: "Comrades-in-arms are as close as brothers, the revolution connects us!"

Zhao Changqin is my second squad leader after Zhou Jiyuan. Less than half a year after I joined the army, he changed his job and went to work in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Although we didn't get along for long, he cared about me very much. I still remember that one night before he changed careers and left the team, he came to me for a heart-to-heart talk and told me about his five years of service (actually, he taught me his experience). At that time he pointed out my strengths and reminded me of things to pay attention to in the future. This is undoubtedly very valuable for me as a young man who has just left school and entered the military camp, so I will never forget my "old squad leader". In May 2014, when Zhao Changqin returned to his hometown in Heze, Shandong to visit relatives, he made a special detour to Linyi to visit his comrades in the same class. We all called him "Old Squad Leader."

After Zhao Changqin, Comrade Chen Shangyin, who joined the army two years earlier than me, became my squad leader. The early 1960s was a period of extreme economic hardship in our country. At that time, the country implemented a "rationed grain supply system" - college students were only provided with 25 kilograms of grain per person per month; troops were provided with 45 kilograms of grain per person per month. "You can have enough to eat in the army." This was one of the reasons why some of our classmates did not want to go to college and chose to be soldiers. At that time, we were young and strong, and military training, construction, and production in the army were very labor-intensive. Although each person has half a catty of food per meal, many of our rural soldiers who enlist in the army still often feel that there is not enough food to eat.

One Sunday, after having lunch in the company, I went to a Muslim restaurant in the army station to buy a bowl of mutton soup and two steamed buns to eat. While we were eating, we were spotted by Xu Dalong, the leader of the cooking squad who was out for a walk in our company. I was a little nervous at first - afraid that he would laugh at me or even criticize me. But after I explained the situation to him, his sympathy aroused. He made suggestions to our company commander many times - requesting that I be transferred to work in their cooking squad. Xu Dalong's suggestion of having the best of both worlds, which would allow me to "fill my stomach" (the cooks had irregular meals) and give their class "a great source of labor" was rejected by the company commander. Because I was a high school student, my boss was reluctant to let me change my career.

When Chen Shangyin, the squad leader, learned that I didn’t have enough to eat, he would break off a piece of steamed bun or give me some rice from his bowl at almost every meal. Although he said: "My appetite is smaller than yours..." I knew in my heart that it was coming from his mouth. Looking back on my more than 20 years of military career, there are many things that I am grateful for. The deep friendship of the old squad leader Chen Shangyin will never be forgotten by me.

Comrade Chen Shangyin is a decent man with a straightforward personality. He not only cares about me in my daily life and work, but also gives me a lot of help mentally. Later he was promoted to platoon leader, and in 1969 he transferred back to Nanjing to work.

On November 8 last year, my wife and I went to Nanjing to visit Chen Shangyin and another comrade and took a group photo.

Now, no matter whether I write letters, talk on the phone or visit each other, I call him "Old Squad Leader" because I deeply understand that in the military, there is no closer person than "Old Squad Leader"!

Bright eyes and warm heart WeChat public account Ding Shiding ID: dsd555555