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It was late July, the scorching sun baked the earth with surface temperature reaching a sweltering 40 degree Celsius at the foot of the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province and it was very quiet. All of a sudden, a shrilling alarm pierced the still air, which was followed by the order of the commander: "Three enemy unmanned reconnaissance aircraft are approaching us, all of you, march in concealment!" Instantly, more than one hundred officers of a reserve force brigade, who had been marching in the Qinling Mountains in a long-range raid drill, disappeared as if all of them had vaporized into the air. But, if you came closer, you would find that they were still marching quietly under the natural cover such as woods and ravines after careful camouflage.
"The enemy artillery is conducting barrage fire! All of you are ordered to swiftly cross enemy artillery barrage line !" It was already after noontime and the officers had marched on foot for nearly 20 km under the scorching sun. Rolling forward, advancing in spurts or crawling forward´ All of them passed enemy artillery barrage line smoothly, which was soon followed by successive enemy situations: "You are under attack of enemy chemical weapons!" "Enemy electronic sensors are discovered!" "Enemy helicopter gunships are discovered!" The officers of the reserve force had withstood these close-to-real-combat tests with flying colors.
After crossing over two mountain peaks of the Qinling Mountains in 8 hours, the officers of the reserve force brigade finally arrived at the assembly area. Before they had time to allay their hunger with dried rations, they received the order to carry out a live ammunition range practice´. Looking at the reserve force officers who had accomplished more than ten training subjects, including development, assault, camouflage in mobility, simple communication, penetrating and long-range raid, anti-air raid and anti-electronic interference, Brigade Commander Zhang Jinxiang, told the reporter in high spirits: "We should train our troops as the way we fight battles, and this is a very effective way to boost the quality of reserve officers."
By Zhao Shanxue and Tian Yiwei
(August 30, PLA Daily )
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