Chapter 245: Future First Blue Army Brigade Commander!
Chen Jun’s training rhythm was orderly and methodical, dividing the entire third stage of training into two parts.
They were basic training and tactical training!
The basic training for each branch of service in the first part, since the companies and personnel were all specifically recruited, already had the corresponding skills and techniques foundation.
So the basic training in the first part, under Chen Jun’s planning, only took two months.
When time came to early February 1998, with only five days until the New Year, the first part of basic training officially wrapped up.
To verify the training results of the first part, Chen Jun specially organized an internal assessment.
A combined arms unit is a combat unit composed of multiple branches of service or professional soldiers, with rich and diverse basic training subjects, and the assessment also takes quite a bit of time.
To complete the assessment before the New Year, Chen Jun specially planned the assessment.
First of all, no need to say, it must be physical fitness assessment.
Including projects such as long-distance running, cross-country with load, obstacle course running, etc., aimed at improving soldiers’ stamina, strength, speed, agility, and so on.
Physical fitness is the foundation of a warrior, no matter what branch of service he is in.
Then comes the core shooting training, which artillery soldiers and tank soldiers must also participate in.
The subjects involved in the assessment include but are not limited to shooting with various firearms such as pistols, rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles; different target types such as fixed targets, moving targets, appearing and disappearing targets; and various shooting postures such as prone posture, standing posture, kneeling posture, vehicle-mounted moving, etc.
No matter what branch of service, as long as on the battlefield, unexpected situations may arise that require using firearms for self-defense or attack.
Not seeking mastery of all weapons, at least need to master rifle shooting.
Results must be excellent!
Next is basic training in individual tactics, also listed as a routine assessment project.
The assessment projects include but are not limited to combat movements, such as leaping forward, crawling forward, rolling forward, etc.; and using terrain and features, such as finding cover and concealment in mountainous terrain, jungle, urban areas, etc.
Individual tactical skills are one of the core subjects, not only greatly enhancing the combat effectiveness of individual warriors, but also maximizing the survival capability of warriors to the greatest extent.
And as a combined arms battalion capable of independent combat, the requirements for each warrior are even higher.
Must achieve that special reconnaissance company warriors, when necessary, can climb onto a tank and become tank soldiers, or drill into an artillery vehicle and become artillerymen.
Even if the skills don’t reach professional excellence, at least achieve basic qualification.
And tank soldiers and artillerymen off their vehicles can also become qualified infantrymen, and play a role in special terrain.
During the Sharp Knife operation mountain exercise back then, the Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment encountered terrain restrictions and had to abandon vehicles and fight on foot.
It greatly affected the Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment’s combat effectiveness at the time, and Chen Jun didn’t want such things to happen again.
Universal routine basic projects must be practiced, essential professional subjects of each branch of service must be practiced even more, and the assessment standards take excellence as the baseline.
For example, in the armored company’s assessment projects, tank driving and tank shooting are the two cores.
The former tank driving subjects require drivers to flexibly master skills to drive tanks in various terrains and complex conditions;
And in tank shooting assessment, it requires quick and precise shooting at different distances, different types of targets, in different terrains.
Precision shooting while moving is the top priority, treated by Chen Jun as a strictly examined subject.
If a tank can precisely shoot while moving, compared to stopping for aiming and shooting, combat effectiveness can at least double.
Whether in assault combat or confronting enemy armored forces.
Moving shooting can occupy absolute advantage!
For the artillery air defense company’s artillery assessment, since they are all mechanized self-propelled howitzers, can open fire as soon as the vehicle stops, no need for complex emplacement.
The assessment content mainly covers artillery operation, including aiming, loading, firing processes;
Also artillery reconnaissance and command, must learn to use various reconnaissance methods to obtain target information, and conduct fire command and coordination.
This way can suppress the enemy on the battlefield and let one’s own side occupy absolute firepower advantage.
Anti-air artillery mainly assesses anti-air weapon operation, such as anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft missiles operation and use; aerial target reconnaissance and interception, etc.
Search for aerial targets through radar and other equipment, and implement interception to protect one’s own targets.
This is the main task of anti-air units!
The special reconnaissance company is the pilot combined arms battalion’s currently only infantry combat unit, bearing even more arduous tasks, with more and miscellaneous assessment subjects.
Including but not limited to infantry squad tactics, involving attack, defense, reconnaissance and other tasks;
Infantry coordinated training with other branches of service, such as coordination with tank soldiers and artillery.
And the most core and crucial, undertaking reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance tasks in enemy front and enemy rear, trying to obtain the intelligence one’s own side most needs.
This task was previously handled by the vanguard squad, and will later be handed over to the special operations platoon.
After all, an excellent reconnaissance squad can support one company, but to support one battalion is basically impossible, must be a platoon-level unit to handle it.
The remaining logistics support company and electronic warfare company are all auxiliary units in logistics.
Their assessment projects are more and more complex.
For example, cookhouse’s battlefield supplies, fuel squad’s fuel supply, engineer platoon’s basic support, etc., all relate to the combined arms battalion’s combat effectiveness ceiling.
And the electronic warfare company is even more the “goalkeeper”, electronic warfare on future battlefields will be extremely intense.
Including communication interception already encountered, as well as communication support, future small drone strikes, enemy communication jamming and interception, etc.
These are all crucial subjects, and Chen Jun set the assessment requirements starting from excellent.
The assessment was carried out in full swing.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
Thanks to the efficient training plan formulated by Chen Jun, plus the warriors’ morale was extremely high, not only smoothly completed the first part of basic skills assessment before the New Year, but the final assessment results were also very excellent.
What Sun Dongping failed to accomplish in four months, Chen Jun achieved in just two months.
The gap between the two sides was clear at a glance.
Spring Festival is one of China’s most important holidays, and New Year’s Eve has extraordinary significance, with the whole family gathering together on this day to joyfully celebrate the New Year.
As soldiers, they must abandon small family for the greater good, and going home to reunite with family for the New Year has almost become a luxury.
To compensate for this shortcoming of the warriors, let them feel warmth and love in the greater family as well, grand feasts are held on this day.
This special pilot combined arms battalion did not forget this tradition either.
Gao Cheng sent the cook out early to procure, just to prepare a sumptuous dinner for all battalion warriors, with each squad having its own table, laid out with six dishes and one soup luxurious standard.
Not enough dining tables was no issue at all, spread a gun cloth on the ground, chicken, duck, fish, and meat in washbasins, all placed on the gun cloth.
Each squad’s ten warriors sat around it, the atmosphere indescribably lively and festive.
No mention of washbasins sometimes used for washing feet, whether using them for dishes at this time is unhygienic, washbasin dishes are the biggest feature of troop feasts.
Outside, you can’t even eat it if you want, and after discharge, recalling it often brings a silly grin.
The atmosphere of troop feasts.
Really something one can savor for a lifetime.
It’s a pure emotion that cannot be felt in society at all, existing only in the troops.
In addition.
Large green bottles even got several truckloads back, several hundred beers all piled in the cook platoon’s canteen, looking quite visually impactful.
But placed in a reinforced battalion of several hundred people, actually not much when divided.
At most two or three bottles per person.
For a troop where baijiu is drunk cup by cup dry, never just sipping, two or three bottles really are just rinsing the mouth.
To drink to one’s heart’s content, at least half a case per person as baseline.
Gao Cheng also knew everyone didn’t drink enough, with current arduous tasks unable to let everyone drink satisfactorily, could only guarantee to the warriors during the feast.
As long as this assessment passes smoothly, then definitely let everyone drink heartily.
Meat eat your fill, alcohol plenty.
Even if funding short, he Gao Cheng would cover it.
With Gao Cheng as battalion commander saying this, it thoroughly ignited the feast atmosphere, and the warriors’ morale was raised to the peak.
After New Year’s Eve with small drinks to liven things up, the first day of the New Year the whole battalion rarely had a day off.
All battalion warriors could relax their mood this day, play basketball or soccer together on the parade ground, or play cards for fun in the dormitory.
Political instructor Ma Tianxiang even came up with a clever move, showing his advantage in leading soldiers.
Went to the town early to procure a batch of supplies, instant noodles, sausages, biscuits, beverages and such snacks, held a lantern riddle guessing activity on the first day.
Had the logistics support company send out twenty on leave, early in the morning set up a lantern riddle event on the battalion headquarters large parade ground.
Things not expensive, but atmosphere maxed out.
Attracted over three hundred warriors, through doing one hundred push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, twenty pull-ups on the single bar, etc.
Each set done gets a riddle guessing ticket, each person max five tickets.
Let warriors both exercise their bodies, feel the New Year atmosphere, and receive small gifts, feel the battalion headquarters’ care and warmth, overall morale and cohesion greatly elevated.
Even better able to dissipate the emotions pent up from high-intensity training in the previous months amid bursts of laughter.
Truly killing multiple birds with one stone!
The joy brought by Spring Festival holiday was intense, and happy time seemed to pass very quickly.
After the brief one-day holiday ended, the combined arms battalion threw itself back into intense training, starting the final sprint for the last assessment.
The next two months were the second part of training, where Chen Jun launched professional combined arms tactics training.
The first part was inter-branch coordinated operations training.
This is the foundation of combined arms tactics for combined arms units, Chen Jun needed to organize tank soldiers, infantry, artillery, signalmen, logistics and other multiple branches of service for cross joint attack or defense combat training.
Let each branch of service unit under the combined arms battalion continuously improve coordination and cooperation with each other in this continuous cross joint training.
Ultimately achieve able to freely conduct integrated operations, exerting various combined arms tactics.
Once each department can achieve basic integrated operations in basic environments, next elevate to tactical training in complex environments.
In mountainous terrain, jungle, desert, urban and other complex terrains and harsh weather conditions, conduct tactical application and combat operations training.
The base location is loess plateau terrain, can find terrain barely substituting for mountainous terrain and desert.
But special environments like jungle and urban, now with assessment time too short, no time to take the troops out for training.
Can only wait until after passing assessment, then take the troops out for training.
In this multi-terrain environment training, besides routine training, Chen Jun to improve training quality also added confrontation drills.
Through simulated actual combat environments, assuming Blue Army targets, conduct Red-Blue confrontation drills.
Although just imaginary Red-Blue confrontation drills, the assumed Blue Army was played by Chen Jun, and with him alone substituting for an entire Blue Army.
Exercises are originally data-simulated deductions, once playing Blue Army alone was completely feasible.
Just brain-intensive.
Usually one person can’t do it.
Fortunately, Chen Jun had demonic brain deduction ability, his human brain seemed comparable to a computer, even needing to simultaneously imagine hundreds of people in combat in his mind, he could still flexibly command.
And Gao Cheng-led Red Army confronting Chen Jun, under Chen Jun’s terrifying combat capability strikes, the troops’ combat ability and tactical level improved very quickly.
This is like wanting to learn combat.
Let you fight world combat champion, though beaten every time, your improvement speed definitely much faster than fighting street thugs.
Warriors’ combat ability needs improvement, logistics command and communication also need training.
First is command training.
All levels commanders’ combat command ability, including formulate combat plan, organize combat coordination, command troops action etc., all need training and improvement.
Completely discard their traditional combat thinking, replace with new combined arms operations philosophy.
This is extremely important for commanders.
In addition.
Also electronic warfare company’s communication training, including but not limited to wired communication, wireless communication, satellite communication and other multiple communication methods training.
Ensure smooth command communication in combat, and also strike and harass enemy communications.
Logistics support training is also very important.
Including supplies supply, equipment maintenance, medical aid etc. training, ensure troops have sufficient supplies and equipment support in combat.
Cultivate large numbers of equipment maintenance personnel, improve fault diagnosis, maintenance and upkeep ability for various weaponry and equipment, improve equipment readiness rate and availability rate.
Combined arms battalion having multiple branches of service is advantage, supervising training also becomes more complex.
Gao Cheng seeing Chen Jun lead troops in training, making every part orderly, combat and logistics every aspect meticulous.
He was truly convinced!
“Old Chen, this is all thanks to you, you’re really a Monkey King, can conjure anything, if it were me, even if you split me into four parts, I couldn’t handle these tasks.”
Gao Cheng would sigh every time he saw Chen Jun, every time couldn’t help praising Chen Jun.
Also because Chen Jun was too excellent, every matter handled beautifully, making people have to praise him, Gao Cheng had used up all praise words.
Already almost didn’t know how to praise anymore!
The airborne battalion headquarters officers, after witnessing Chen Jun’s soldier training ability, were equally convinced.
Especially Man Guangzhi who just graduated from military academy and was extremely studious himself.
Seeing the abilities Chen Jun demonstrated, various subtleties in combined arms tactics training, completely conquered by Chen Jun.
Willingly became Chen Jun’s little follower.
Clearly positionally his superior, yet without concerns cast aside face, became a humble good student, every day trotting behind Chen Jun.
Like a sun-dried sponge, crazily absorbing from Chen Jun various new knowledge he previously extremely craved but couldn’t access.
And precisely this spirit of not minding asking inferiors, thirst for knowledge learning attitude.
Laid a solid foundation in advance for Man Guangzhi later becoming the renowned First Blue Army Brigade brigade commander, famous throughout China.
