In 2007, Chang Wanquan took charge of the General Armament Department, who was his predecessor? A doer who rises at both ends of the military and the government

In September 2007, Chang Wanquan (then commander of the Shenyang Military Region) was ordered to go to Beijing to take charge of the General Armament Department. Chang Wanquan is a senior general who came out of the 47th Group Army of the Lanzhou Military Region and joined the army in 1968. At the beginning of the army, Chang Wanquan served as a soldier in the guard company of the 140th Division of the 47th Army, and was later promoted to platoon commander. In 1970, Chang Wanquan was transferred to the division headquarters as a staff officer of the training section. In 1974, Chang Wanquan entered the training department of the military department as a staff officer. Beginning in 1978, Chang Wanquan spent two years at the Lanzhou Military Region Headquarters.

▲Chang Wanquan (from Nanyang, Henan, January 1949~)

In 1980, Chang Wanquan returned to the 47th Army as the deputy director of the training department, and later corrected. In 1983, Chang Wanquan served as the chief of staff of the 140th Division. After the 1985 million-dollar disarmament, Chang Wanquan served as the deputy commander of the 139th Division of the 47th Group Army. In April 1986, the 139th Division went to Yunnan to participate in the round battle. During this period, Chang Wanquan participated in and commanded the "Blue Sword B" operation and achieved great results. After the 139th Division completed the task of the two-mountain rotational battle, Chang Wanquan was frequently reused.

Since 1990, Chang Wanquan has successively served as the commander of the 61st Division of the 21st Group Army, the chief of staff of the 47th Group Army, the director of the Campaign Teaching and Research Office of the National Defense University, the commander of the 47th Group Army, the chief of staff of the Lanzhou Military Region, and the chief of staff of the Beijing Military Region, and in December 2004, he was appointed commander of the Shenyang Military Region. In September 2007, Chang Wanquan was in charge of the General Armament Department, and his predecessor Chen Bingde was not simple.

▲Chen Bingde (from Nantong, Jiangsu, July 1941~)

Nantong is based on the meeting of rivers and seas, the throat of the north and the south, the geographical location is particularly important, and it has always been a place for soldiers to fight. When Chen Bingde was born, Nantong had been ravaged by the Japanese for more than three years. In September 1945, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Nantong was again under the dark rule of the Kuomintang. In February 1949, Nantong was completely liberated, and Chen Bingde ushered in a new life in the true sense, and had a deep understanding of strengthening the army and enriching the country, protecting the territory and the people.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Bingde worked hard to learn cultural knowledge, and his overall quality was greatly improved. In July 1958, after Chen Bingde finished his studies, he was assigned to the Nantong State-owned Oil Distillery as a worker. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the young people who were able to work in state-owned enterprises were undoubtedly excellent in all aspects, which shows that Chen Bingde was very good in all aspects. It is no exaggeration to say that Chen Bingde will get a pretty good platform in the oil distillery.

However, Chen Bingde gave up the stable and decent "iron rice bowl" and joined the army in April 1961, choosing a life path full of thorns but full of spirit. After Chen Bingde enlisted in the army, he was assigned to the 60th Army of the Nanjing Military Region. The old foundation of the 60th Army is the 8th Column of the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Field Army, which made immortal contributions during the Revolutionary War and gave birth to the heroic group represented by the "Linfen Brigade" (that is, the 23rd Brigade of the 8th Column and the 179th Division of the 60th Army).

However, all the heroic troops have a strong atmosphere of competing, learning, catching up, and surpassing, and Chen Bingde has benefited a lot from the 60th Army, and his progress is very fast. In August 1964, Chen Bingde had already experienced the experience of a soldier, deputy squad leader, and squad leader, and he was noticed by his superiors because of his rise to the top in both military and political affairs, and he stood out from the soldiers of the same year and served as a platoon commander of a certain department. In October 1965, Chen Bingde was transferred to the military department as a staff officer of the training department.

▲Old photo of the 60th Army of the former Nanjing Military Region

In February 1971, Chen Bingde was transferred to the headquarters of the 178th Division as the deputy chief of the training section. In May 1977, Chen Bingde served as the commander of the 533rd Regiment of the 178th Division. In April 1979, Chen Bingde was promoted to chief of staff of the division. In September, Chen Bingde was selected to be sent to the basic department of the Military Academy for further study. In June 1982, Chen Bingde was quenched and reshaped by the Military Academy, became a key training object of the Military Region, and served as the commander of the 179th Division.

In May 1983, when the whole army was streamlined and reorganized, a large number of young talents took up leadership positions, and Chen Bingde was no exception, and was promoted to deputy commander of the 60th Army. In June 1985, the 100th Army was ordered to be withdrawn, and Chen Bingde was appointed deputy commander and chief of staff of the 12th Group Army. In September 1988, our army implemented a new military rank system, and Chen Bingde took the rank of major general. Since June 1990, Chen Bingde has temporarily left the field army and successively served as the president of the Nanchang Army Academy and the army command college.

▲Chen Bingde's old photo (1)

In February 1993, Chen Bingde returned to the field army and took charge of the 1st Group Army. In December, Chen Bingde was promoted to chief of staff of the Nanjing Military Region. In July 1995, Chen Bingde was promoted to lieutenant general. In January 1996, the leadership of the Nanjing Military Region was adjusted, and Chen Bingde succeeded General Gu Hui, who retired at the age of retirement. In December 1999, Chen Bingde was transferred to the commander of the Jinan Military Region. In June 2002, Chen Bingde was promoted to general. In September 2004, Chen Bingde went to Beijing to take charge of the General Armament Department, and General Li Jinai, former director of the General Armament Department, was transferred to the post of director of the General Political Department.

In September 2007, Chen Bingde became Chief of the General Staff, and Chang Wanquan took over from him at the helm of the General Armament Department. In May 2008, during the Wenchuan earthquake, Chen Bingde sat in the General Staff Headquarters, deployed more than 146,000 troops, mobilized more than 75,000 militia reserves, and countless other types of equipment, fully testing our army's rapid response ability to deal with emergencies. What shocked the world the most was that our army completed the assembly operation of deploying 100,000 troops to the disaster-stricken areas within three days, which vividly and vividly demonstrated the mainland's emergency mobilization capability, and the General Staff Headquarters made great contributions.

▲Old photos of Chen Bingde (2)

It is worth mentioning that Chen Bingde has been in a high position for a long time, but he can maintain a fine style of hard work, simplicity, pragmatism and truth-seeking. There is a classic photo in the military fan circle that has been circulated for a long time, Chen Bingde is presiding over the meeting, and the teacup on the table is a canned bottle. The details are true, and the canned and bottled as a teacup is enough to reflect Chen Bingde's style of leading troops, and it is also a vivid embodiment of the sharp rise of the military and the government. In October 2012, Chen Bingde stepped down as Chief of the General Staff. In March 2013, Chen Bingde officially retired. At the same time, Chang Wanquan entered another highlight moment of his military career and served as the 11th Minister of Defense of the Republic.

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