Head high towards a modern new army —— News investigation of the 78th group army exploring the characteristics and laws of Army force reform and transformation ■ PLA Daily reporter Fei shiting Niu Hui This is the residence of the organ of the 78th group army. It is a slightly cramped and ordinary barracks. There is no gardening landscape and no drag of pots and pans. The elite troops waiting for the day can take orders from here at any time. In the camp, the most striking is the big red character on the top of the office building: "strive to build a strong modern new army". This is not only the goal pursued by this force, but also the threshold that must be crossed. They have a mission on their shoulders and take sonorous steps towards a modern new army. The journey is long. How far have we gone and how can we do better This is a heroic army from the war years - a synthetic brigade has kept an old photo: the words "site of jute uprising" are engraved on a stone tablet, which always shows future generations that this army was born in the flames of revolution. This is also a vanguard force that bravely competes for the first and constantly leaps forward in the journey of modernization. At the beginning of the founding of new China, this force was reorganized and refitted, transformed from a single arm force in the past into an infantry division composed of various arms, and became a symbol of the people's army's transformation from a single arm to a multi arm composition; In the 1980s, this unit was reorganized from an infantry division into a motorized infantry division, making great strides in the direction of elite troops, synthesis and efficiency; At the end of 2013, the army ushered in the adjustment and reform again. It was reorganized from the motorized infantry division into a motorized infantry brigade, and the degree of mechanization of the army was further improved; In 2017, a new round of deepening the reform of national defense and the army was further promoted to "below the neck". The scale, structure and strength of this force were further optimized. Later, it moved thousands of miles to Li, moved to defense and installed new main battle equipment. "Why did we succeed in the past and how can we continue to succeed in the future?" this is a major subject repeatedly pondered by the group army to study and implement the spirit of President Xi's "July 1" important speech. Looking back on the past, from mule and horse, motorization, mechanization to informatization, and keeping up with the development of the cause of the party and the people, this army has cut through thorns and thorns all the way, and has a solid foundation. Looking forward to the future, the modernization of national defense and the army must adapt to the process of national modernization. Officers and men firmly said that building a modern new army is not only our dream and pursuit, but also our mission and responsibility. Standing at the intersection of history and shouldering the mission and task of the new era, they asked themselves: the journey is long, how far have we gone and how to do better? In the golden autumn, on the northern plains, there are war smoke everywhere and the drill is in full swing. An elite force that has completed the transformation from traditional infantry to new synthetic infantry, fought against an information-based blue army with few failures, and staged a wonderful multidimensional three-dimensional attack and defense war—— Red air raid, artillery attack, mobile mine laying, UAV attack and other means took turns on the stage, and blue electromagnetic interference, network attack, precision attack, fire interception and other moves frequently took the battle; Fighter planes, armed helicopters and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft roared in, and ground to air missiles, anti tank missiles and new self-propelled guns fired in turn... The cutting-edge forces with the characteristics of a modern and new army showed strong combat effectiveness. "The evolution of war patterns is accelerated, and a modern army is no good if it is not new!" Zhang Hongcan, political commissar of a brigade, was deeply impressed when he returned from the exercise field in northern Tibet: the modernization of the new army should be based on new operational ideas, new systems, new weapons and equipment, and new talent quality. Some of these goals have taken a big step, while others still have a long way to go. During the interview, the officers and men of the army cited such phenomena to reporters: in the online war method discussion, if there is any idea, they can directly tap the keyboard for communication, but some chief officers are not suitable and have to put up a microphone and shout a few words to feel it; Despite the existence of the battlefield information network, some commanders are still used to face-to-face in planning operations. They always feel that if they do not stare with their own eyes and communicate with their own mouth, they will not support the bottom; Some units practice, electronic maps and electronic sand tables are right in front of them, but they still try to set up a big tent, pile a sand table and hang a map "These phenomena seem insignificant, but in fact they should not be underestimated." the leader of the Political Work Department of a service support brigade said that with the modernization of weapons and equipment, the operation mode, operation theory and operation habits should also be modernized. Modernization should not rest on its achievements, the pace of exploration should not stop, the strength of responsibility should not be relaxed, and the mentality of waiting and taking a rest should not exist. In recent years, with the deepening of practical training, officers and soldiers have a deeper understanding of Modernization: modernization is not only a process of rebirth, but also a process of Phoenix Nirvana. Difficult transformation and gorgeous turn must be accompanied by labor pains. Never adapt to adapt, from unfamiliar to familiar, for our generation of soldiers, the pace of modernization can not wait or slow. We must face the challenges, dare to abandon them, and make the pace of modernization faster, faster and faster—— Accelerating the modernization of command methods and means, the modernization of combat forces, the modernization of actual combat training mode, the modernization of new talent training, and the cultivation of thinking and behavior habits suitable for modernization... When visiting this army, the reporter learned that some of these "accelerations" are the target direction, and some enter the construction plan, Some are becoming practical measures. A strong country must have a strong army, and a strong army can ensure national security. Walking through the barracks in Baishan and Heishui, the reporter strongly felt that under the strong leadership of the party, from "iron feet", "car wheels" to "track shoes" and "informatization"; From horse drawn artillery vehicles and rifle bayonets to long-range artillery and armored combat vehicles, and then to the new generation of main combat equipment embedded in the information network, the people's army has never forgotten its original heart, kept its mission in mind, and constantly made solid steps on the road of building a modern new army. Long range maneuver. Photo by Yang Zaixin, special reporter of PLA Daily With the change of concept, the road of transformation can be more and more smooth and broad History is a mirror and the best textbook. In the 1950s, the predecessor unit of a synthetic brigade participated in a live exercise. Liaodong Peninsula, smoke filled with gunpowder. At the exercise site, the superior coordinated the naval and air force forces to provide operational support for them, which was their "first experience" in carrying out tasks under joint combat conditions. It was this experience that enabled commanders at all levels to have a deep understanding of the transformation of the army's operational concept and operational style, and planted the seeds of new concepts for subsequent transformation and leaps. Learn from history and create the future. Combined with the study and education of party history and a profound understanding of the spirit of President Xi's "July 1" important speech, the Party committee of the group army has come to this enlightenment: building a modern new army is an all-round and deep-seated change. The key to its success or failure is whether its ideas can keep pace with the times! Three years ago, Wang Chong, director of the Political Work Department of a brigade, visited the front-line officers and soldiers of the exercise and training and asked them what difficulties they had to solve. A soldier of the command and control battalion said that he was responsible for the data link. Can the brigade contact a friendly neighbor air force brigade to turn on the radar and test its training effectiveness. At the beginning of last year, the electronic countermeasure company of a Brigade Combat Support Battalion successively put in place new equipment. With the hardware support of joint exercises and joint training, officers and soldiers are particularly eager to carry out joint training with the air force and other service units. For a traditional army force that has just experienced unprecedented reform from motorization and mechanization, the desire of officers and soldiers is gratifying, which reflects that the concept of joint war and joint training has quietly taken root at the grass-roots level. In the final analysis, to build a modern new army is to win modern wars. Integrated joint operation is the basic form of modern war. Whether officers and soldiers have the awareness and concept of joint operation and joint training is undoubtedly one of the symbols to test the degree of military modernization. "In recent years, the pace of equipment upgrading has accelerated, the army has basically realized mechanization, and the information construction has taken a big step forward." the leaders of the group army are happy and sober. "Transformation and reconstruction can not only depend on the number and advancement of weapons and equipment, but also on whether the minds of officers and soldiers can keep up with the changes of the times." —— In terms of construction concept, it has changed from quantity scale type to quality efficiency type, and from manpower intensive type to science and technology intensive type. Sun Xiangjiong, commander of a missile company, said that the company has changed four kinds of equipment in four years. From towed artillery and portable anti tank missiles to anti tank artillery and new anti tank missiles, there are fewer and fewer operators, the power of equipment is greater and greater, and the combat effectiveness is increasing geometrically. The previous construction concept of fighting for quantity and relying on scale must be abandoned. We should focus on quality and efficiency for construction and training. —— In terms of training concept, it has changed from level by level synthesis and level by level formation of combat effectiveness to system integration and element fusion to formation of joint combat capability; From mainly relying on actual training to strengthening simulation training... When training staff Tian Han was company commander, he used to rely on multimedia simulation training scenes to organize rifle and anti tank rocket shooting simulation training in the corridor. He said that this is a preliminary attempt at simulation training. —— In terms of operational concept, it has changed from short-range single fire attack to long-range joint fire attack; Change from independent reconnaissance to joint reconnaissance; Change from single arms operation to multi arms joint operation; From land and air battlefield space to multi-dimensional battlefield space; From focusing on quantity and scale operations and general command to accurate reconnaissance, fine planning, accurate attack and elite assault —— In terms of support concept, from plane support to three-dimensional support, from regional support to global support, from extensive support to accurate support, and from resource intensive to efficiency intensive; Barracks construction has changed to war preparation, military training and mobile From motorized "group confrontation", to mechanized "steel competition", and then to information-based "silent competition"; From "individual skills" to "swarm wisdom" and then to "system support", officers and soldiers said that the change of concept drives the road of transformation, which is more and more smooth and broad. The core of transformation is the reconstruction of generations. To answer the new "examination paper" well, we should have new skills "Chinese youth in the new era should take the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as their own responsibility..." President Xi's earnest instruction to the majority of young people made the officers and soldiers of the group full of pride and responsibility. "Soldiers in the new era should take strengthening the army as their own responsibility." officers and soldiers said that at present, the most direct and realistic task is to face the challenges of the times, face up to the shortcomings of quality, and answer the new "examination paper" of transforming to a modern new army. What is the challenge of the times? At present, new changes have taken place in China's security environment, the situation of military struggle, the missions and tasks of our army, the organizational form of our army, the objectives and tasks of national defense and military modernization. To accelerate modernization, we must face changes in the form of war, battlefield environment, combat style and weapons and equipment. Hao Jianxiong, commander of a synthetic battalion, has a deep understanding of this: "When I was a company commander, every drill, the front width of a company's attack was about 1km, and there were only more than 10 kinds of tactical disposal expected in advance. Now, a synthetic battalion has dozens of posts in multiple arms, the tactical disposal of battalion and company commanders is more complex and diverse, the command and coordination is from planned to random, and the battlefield space is expanded from plane to multi-dimensional