Shi Jiuyun/Xinjiang Daily reporter Reida
In most people's impressions, the post-00s generation is like a flower in a greenhouse, growing up in love. However, at the foot of Baruch Mountain, the westernmost border between China and Kazakhstan in the westernmost part of the motherland, there is a group of such post-00s, who have grown from the "delicate women" of the past to the "women guardians" of today's frontier. They are the girls of the "Sun Longzhen Militia Class".
In October, the Balruch Mountains are colourful and the autumn breeze on the banks of the Tusti River brings a hint of coolness. On October 2, the reporter drove to the 6th Company of the 161st Regiment of the Ninth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Sun Longzhentun Reclamation and Garrison Exhibition Hall. In the study room facing the entrance of the courtyard, a group of girls in camouflage training uniforms are engrossed in studying.
With shoulder-length short hair, immature faces, and thin builds, it is difficult at first glance to associate these women with the heavy responsibility of guarding the border. However, it is this group of girls with an average age of only 24 years old who resolutely shoulder the sacred mission of guarding the frontier, and use their youth and sweat to affectionately interpret their infinite loyalty and love for the motherland.
Inherit the torch of the frontier
The name of "Sun Longzhen Militia Squad" comes from a heroic ancestor - Sun Longzhen. Born in Jiangsu in 1940, Sun Longzhen came to Xinjiang at the age of 19 in response to the country's call. In 1969, the Sino-Soviet border conflict escalated abruptly, and a sudden battle broke the tranquility at the foot of Baruch Mountain. In that fierce conflict, Sun Longzhen defended the dignity and territorial integrity of the country with his flesh and blood. During a mission, she was shot and died at the age of 29.
Although her life was short, her heroic deeds have been forever engraved in the long river of history and become a model for future generations to learn. In June 1992, Sun Longzhen's women's militia class was officially named "Sun Longzhen's militia class".
This squad is composed of all female soldiers, and continues to carry out the task of reclamation and garrisoning. Sun Longzhen's militia squad is currently the only women's militia squad in the country that fulfills the mission of reclamation and garrisoning, paramilitary management, and is organized. Since its establishment, the militia class has successively won the honors of "National Advanced Female Worker Collective", "National 38 Red Flag Collective", "National Advanced Collective of Border and Coastal Defense Work" and so on.
Group photo of the 20th "Sun Longzhen Militia Squad". Courtesy of the 161st Regiment
Today, Sun Longzhen's militia squad has gone through 20 generations.
Yi Zongcheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the 161st Regiment of the Ninth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and Minister of the Armed Forces, introduced that the 20th Sun Longzhen militia squad will take over in July 2023 and expand from the original 12 to 18. This is the first Sun Longzhen militia class after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is also a benchmark class for the Party Committee of the Ninth Division to build a first-class militia team and re-show the demeanor of the women of the Corps.
To this end, the People's Armed Forces Department of Baiyang City recruits young women aged 18 to 28 with a college degree or above for 10 agricultural and animal husbandry farms in the district. After strict written examinations, political examinations, interviews and other links, 18 people were selected from more than 200 people, of which 14 were post-00s. Yi Zongcheng said.
Many of them are only children in their families, but when they choose to join the militia class, it means embarking on a path full of hardships and challenges. However, they did not flinch and wrote their own glorious chapter with youth and sweat.
"We are all three generations of the Corps, and we have heard the story of martyr Sun Longzhen since we were children, and it has had a great impact on us. As a child who grew up on the border, I am proud to be able to defend my motherland with my own strength! Xu Jing, deputy squad leader of Sun Longzhen's militia squad, said.
Sharpening casts transformation
From the "delicate women" in the past to today's "women guardians", the transformation of this group of post-00s girls is full of hardships and challenges.
Early in the morning, when the first rays of sunlight shone over Mount Balluch, they began their intense and orderly training. Whether it is a scorching summer day or a cold winter day, they are constantly practicing physical fitness, shooting, tactics and other skills. Their hands were cocooned and their faces were tanned, but their eyes were more determined and courageous.
"The hardest part was the training camp at the beginning, which was very unaccustomed." Xu Jing said frankly.
Cut short hair, remove manicures, collect mobile phones, eat and sleep, get up to listen to orders, and have physical training every day...... "We were protected by our grandparents and fathers, and it was difficult for everyone to adapt to paramilitary management at the beginning. Xu Jing said that in the first half month, the girls secretly cried, and some girls had the idea of retreating.
"When we practice shooting, we need to put our elbows close to the ground, and after a long time, our elbow joints are all worn out, but we have to continue to practice, so old injuries add new injuries, and now the most solid thing for girls is the skin of the elbow joint." Xu Jing said with a smile.
The female militiamen of the "Sun Longzhen Militia Squad" are training. Courtesy of the 161st Regiment
Before coming to Sun Longzhen's militia class, Zhou Yuxuan had just graduated from Linfen Vocational and Technical College in Shanxi Province. After being admitted, his thin body couldn't bear the training, and he often wiped his tears with a quilt. "Dad, I can't stand it anymore! I want to go home. One day, after dinner, Zhou Yuxuan begged the coach to borrow a mobile phone and dialed her father's number.
In order to encourage his daughter, his father Zhou Zhandong moved out of his family history: "Your grandfather and Wei Deyou's grandfather were demobilized together and entered the border of Xinjiang. I also served for three years and was awarded. You passed layers of selection and entered Sun Longzhen's militia class. The three generations of the old Zhou family have been in the army, you have to practice your skills hard, and you can't embarrass the old Zhou family! ”
"After listening to my father, I never cried again. I can't be a deserter. Zhou Yuxuan said.
During the training camp, in addition to military training, they also have to learn all kinds of knowledge and constantly improve their overall quality. In the exhibition hall of Sun Longzhen's reclamation and garrison, they learned about the heroic deeds of their ancestors and the arduous process of reclamation and garrisoning; At Wei Deyou's patriotic education base, they listened to the personal accounts of the older generation of military reclamation soldiers, and felt the deep affection for the country and the infinite love for the land.
At the end of the training, the girls are no longer attached to their mobile phones, they quickly tidy up their makeup when the whistle rings, they no longer sit and stand lazily, and they no longer drag their meals and rests.
However, this is only the first step they have taken.
"On the day of registration, except for me and Luo Wanqian, no one else was familiar with the 6th Company of the 161st Regiment." Xu Jing said that when everyone saw that the place where they would work and live in the next two years would be in a ravine 60 kilometers away from the town, some people's hearts suddenly cooled.
"There will be some disappointments, but I have carried all the hard training, and I should be able to adapt quickly to living and working here." Su Ya recalled.
"Here, we have to cook three meals a day, and at home, we all sit and wait for ready-made food, but now, we are all small chefs, and everyone has a good dish." Xu Jing said that the fish she makes is the most delicious.
The style reflects the frontier
Youth is short-lived, but the value of youth is eternal.
In Sun Longzhen's militia class, this group of post-00s girls used their youth and enthusiasm to write a chapter of the era of protecting the family and defending the country.
On the training ground, walking right, playing military physical boxing, and individual training, all of them do not lose to men; On the border, they are not afraid of the cold and heat, measure the border of the motherland with their feet, and can also control drones to patrol the border; In the exhibition hall, they served as docents, and their eloquent explanations left a deep impression on visitors and visitors......
"Sometimes in the middle of the night, I talk in my dreams and shout explanations." For Jiang Rui and the other female militiamen, everything in the museum is imprinted in their minds. "Martyr Sun Longzhen is great, she put the interests of the country first regardless of her personal safety. We want to tell more people about the touching deeds of the martyrs and the history that can be sung and cried, so that the red culture of Baiyang City can be passed on from generation to generation. Jiang Rui said firmly.
The female militiamen are responsible for explaining the touching stories of Sun Longzhen and Wei Deyou. It is the responsibility and mission of the girls to tell the stories of the martyrs, the Ninth Division, and the Corps. The Wei Deyou Patriotic Education Base is 100 kilometers away from the station, and as long as there is an explanation task, the militia will carefully prepare and tell the touching story of Wei Deyou to the visitors.
The female militia of the "Sun Longzhen Militia Class" is explaining to the tourists in the Sun Longzhen Tun Reclamation and Border Exhibition Hall. Courtesy of the 161st Regiment
In addition to daily patrols and duties, the girls also actively participate in the company's public welfare activities. They disseminate border management regulations to farmers and herdsmen of all ethnic groups and help them raise their awareness of border defense. They also went into schools, communities and other places to carry out red spirit propaganda activities, so that more people can understand history, remember the martyrs, and inherit the red gene. Wen Tongyao, the leader of Sun Longzhen's militia squad, said, "Our young generation is not only born in a prosperous era, but also has a heavy responsibility on our shoulders, and we must take new responsibilities and new actions to contribute our youth strength to the realization of the second centenary goal." "This is what our predecessors bought with their youth and lives, and we will make sure it is safe!" Xu Jing stood beside the boundary monument and said firmly. What also makes the post-00s militia girls proud is that the class has produced a real female soldier. In March this year, after selection, Luo Wanqian entered the barracks. It is said that female soldiers are a beautiful landscape, and they are beautiful because they are integrated into the unremitting pursuit of the border without regrets. Today, Sun Longzhen's militia squad has become a well-known team, and generations of female militiamen have inherited and continued Sun Longzhen's patriotic and border spirit. In this team, each girl is a bright star, and they illuminate the night sky of the frontier with their own light.