Chinese Students' experience in Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (translated by google, edited by me)
Chinese students embedded in the British army “I can't give up, I represent the Chinese soldiers”
09:06, June 05, 2018 | Source: People's Liberation Army News
Photo above: student 程诗凯 (right) Join the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst graduation comprehensive drill. Photographed by 蒋蔚蔚
Every weekend, Cheng Shikai (程诗凯), a cadre (干部) of the Graduate School of the Army Engineering University (陆军工程大学研究生院), likes to climb to the Nanjing Purple Mountain Observatory to enjoy the feeling of climbing up in the wind and looking up at the sky.
This feeling made Cheng Shikai (程诗凯) very " Infatuated" and reminded him of studying at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom three years ago and went to and mountains of Wales to carry out orienteering training.
"We learn from others, and we are also learnt by others; we are watching the world, and we are also watched by the world." Like Cheng Shikai, in recent years, more and more Chinese military academies have gone abroad and studied abroad. The young people go to world-renowned military academies. They have a deep understanding of the mission and responsibilities of military academies through close contact with the world, feel the glory and dreams of Chinese soldiers, expand their horizons, show their talents on the world stage, and improve their strategic vision and international exchange’s ability.
"I can't give up. I am representing Chinese soldiers here."
If my military time is described as a surging river, then the experience of studying in Sandhurst is nine bends and eighteen bends, with high peaks on both sides towering, and the river moving forward in turbulence." Postgraduate student (研究生学员) Min Yangguang (闵阳光) made a vivid analogy.
As an international student sent by the government, Min Yangguang studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom for one year in 2011. He said that every semester, the school will have 20 or 30 foreign students from more than 20 countries to study, train and live with British students. In the graduation exercise that year, the school also invited 120 cadets from the Saint Cyr Military Academy (圣西尔军校) in France to participate.
Min Yangguang’s 师弟 (younger/ lower grade/ newer student) Bie Lin (别林), studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK in 2014. His "meeting presenty" at the beginning of school is still unforgettable-with a weight of 20 kilograms, he "kissed" the mountains of Wales with his feet for 35 hours. This reminded him of the 300-kilometer camping training when he first entered the Chinese Military Academy.
In Sandhurst, more training items can only be described as "harsh": "lift wood"-six or seven meters long logs, 11 people in a group, 8 people carry and run at the same time, 3 people rotation; Walking a tightrope"-5 meters above the ground, 4 sections, 15 meters each, protected by ropes and buttons... Sandhurst has 15 field exercise sites, a world-renowned graduation military parade, and more than a dozen sports events choices. there are various forms of collective activities. In addition to the necessary physical training, shooting, platooning, and tactical training, students also need to complete military and cultural course, such as military system- human resource management, war studies, national defence strategy, and communication studies.
"In less than 7 weeks, 2 people were filtered out and 2 were forced to repeated, among the 30 people platoon.” Student Min Yangguang still feeling horrified by the school's high failing rate.
"When the weight is close to the limit of my body, when I am horrified by walking a tightrope in the air, when the exercise is soaked and I only have three or four hours of sleep, I really want to hold myself into a ball, rub it, rub it and throw it out. At this time, I will raise my head. Looking up at the sky: I can't give up. Here, I represent the Chinese soldiers!"
The book "The Long Battle—The Korean War in the Eyes of the Americans" recorded this: The US military never understood why the volunteers were so desperate and indomitable when they heard the Charge. "They have no way to realize that firm belief is the soul of fighting spirit. The outstanding qualities of Chinese soldiers also need to be pass on by us the younger generation of military academies." Cheng Shikai said.
"Pairs of eyes examines the army behind the students of various countries"
Military school classrooms are silent battlefields of the minds of military academies from all over the world.
The creative opening of new courses is the most intuitive impression given to Belin by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He said that Sandhurst's classrooms often use small class teaching. On the stage, the lecturers analysed the current hot topics such as global and foreign policy; off the stage, the students listened and thought with their own understanding, and discussed thoroughly.
"The more urgent the juncture, the more you rely on intuition and instinct, and the simple'seven questions' is the fastest way to make decisions." Bielin told the author about the characteristic course of Sandhurst Royal Military Academy-Seven Questions on Combat Evaluation Law. "What is the enemy doing? Why?" "What order did I receive? Why?" "What influence do I want to have on the enemy?" ... Questions one after another, logically clear and interlocking, and the commander answers the answers to the questions Tthat constitutes the information for the analysis of the current situation, and is quickly transformed into military orders for implementation.
"The reason why many foreign military academies can become prestigious schools is largely because they can accurately grasp the direction of future wars." In the interview, Cheng Shikai talked about the battlefield rescue training during studying abroad. In the class, British instructors who had participated in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan used battlefield examples to explain the skills of self-first aid in battlefields, first aid for others, and access injury levels.
During the exercise, Cheng Shikai's team was fully armed and coordinated to transfer the wounded through dense forests, sewers, swamps and other complex terrain. The whole class held a stretcher in the swamp, and every student did his best for the team. What impressed him the most was that British military instructors took war reflections as an important part of the curriculum and throughout the upper-level courses and exercises.
Step-by-step progress is also a major feature of the school's training of talents. Bie Lin said that starting from the first grade, the weekly weapons practical courses accounted for more than 20%, and the types of shooting also gradually transitioned from the first grade simulated shooting and scattered shooting to the middle grade precision shooting, tactical shooting, and special shooting. Night shooting and actual combat shooting for seniors.
The temperament and content of the military school classroom determine the vision and ability of the students. "Strong youth make the country strong, and progressing youth will make the country progress. Cadets from various countries are not only class audiences, but also commanders of the future battlefield. With pairs of eyes, judging the army behind the students of various countries." Cheng Shikai said.
"Today we are friends, tomorrow we may meet on the battlefield"
"Prepare for the battlefield"-is the school philosophy of the UK Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on war
Here, the buildings of the various colleges ingeniously combine the history, traditions and achievements of the British Army; the college has two companies for each grade, often named after famous battles; the campus buildings and their decorative displays are just like A military museum that combines ancient and modern, allowing batch after batch of students to draw strength from it...
"Sanghurst has established a complete set of electronic tactical simulation systems, including patrol units, strongholds, emergencies, etc., to teach and test students' response and communication skills in complex situations." Bie Lin introduced, "Teach us the course. Approximately 60% of the instructors who participated in the war in Afghanistan personally participated in the Afghan war. They set up a realistic combat environment, and the trainees were rotated to take on different roles and leadership positions, so that the trainees experienced various pressures and dangerous tests."
The instructors engaged in military training and management at the UK Royal Military Academy Sandhurst all have rich practical and combat experience. The civilian faculty hired locally are experts in war studies, international relations, communication and media studies. "From the perspective of the composition of the instructor team, it fully embodies the school's school-running philosophy of'preparing for the battlefield'." Bie Lin said with deep feeling.
"Today we are friends, and tomorrow we may meet on the battlefield." Min Yangguang still clearly remembers the words when his comrades in the foreign military academy were separated. Min Yangguang said that during his study abroad, he placed a map of the world and Chinese knots in his room. The quilt always kept "four squares" and the Chinese flag was hung outside the door. "Through the campus environment, I feel the strong sense of belonging to the country from my colleagues in a foreign military school. It also makes me remind myself that I am a Chinese soldier."
(Zhu Henggang)
(editor: 邱越、黄子娟)
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