From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chen Jun spoke with confidence on his face, and his overall mental state was very stable.

Gao Cheng and his two companions, who came with concern, had initially thought that Chen Jun would be upset, but seeing that Chen Jun was calm, they naturally put their worries aside.

Although everyone was still a little upset that Chen Jun didn't win the award.

However, since Chen Jun himself was in a stable mood, and this was an arrangement made by the war zone leadership, they couldn't make any rash comments, as it would be bad for everyone if word got out.

So they didn't say anything more, chatted for a few minutes, and then went their separate ways.

"Old Chen, you should go back and rest first. Leave things here to me."

Gao Cheng gently patted Gao Cheng's arm, and then he and Man Guangzhi went over to organize the troops to bring him back and handle the follow-up work of the award ceremony.

"Things will sort themselves out when the time comes. We'll find out what the arrangements are in due time. Why worry so much? It's just needless anxiety."

Chen Jun muttered a self-deprecating remark to himself, deciding to stop thinking about it.

The award ceremony unfolded in a grand manner, ushering in a grand event where the entire battalion received awards, and dozens of medals were awarded. It also ended in a flash.

As the old commander's convoy left the base, the Seventh Steel Battalion quickly returned to normal order.

The celebratory dinner that evening goes without saying.

the next day.

The Seventh Steel Battalion resumed normal training, but because they had won awards, each company was highly motivated and trained with all their might.

The soldiers below are very patient in their training, and the company commanders in the middle are very proactive in their work.

The top-level battalion headquarters, however, was engulfed in crisis.

Most people are doing one thing: finding every possible connection, mobilizing every available network of contacts, and using every possible means to pave the way for themselves.

The reason why everyone in the battalion felt insecure and tried to increase their bargaining power was because of this.

Everyone in the battalion headquarters had heard the news that the expansion of the combined arms battalion had been basically decided and that the official document would be issued soon.

If a combined arms battalion is expanded into a combined arms regiment, it would be equivalent to forming a new regimental headquarters.

The battalion headquarters and the regimental headquarters may seem close, with only one rank difference in organizational structure, but their positions are completely different, with a difference of two ranks.

This means that a combined arms battalion can be expanded into a combined arms regiment, but the battalion headquarters cannot be directly promoted to the regimental headquarters.

This means that the current battalion commander Gao Cheng cannot be directly promoted to regimental commander, political instructor Ma Tianxiang cannot directly become regimental political commissar, and the battalion staff group cannot become the regimental staff department.

If it were done according to normal military rules and procedures, the entire battalion headquarters of the 7th Steel Battalion would at most be promoted one rank.

This is still a "special" case with significant meritorious service!
This means that a battalion commander can at most become a deputy regimental commander, a political instructor can at most become a deputy political commissar, a chief staff officer can become a deputy chief of staff, and a deputy battalion commander can only be demoted to become a battalion commander.

As for the company commanders and platoon leaders below them, they will not only be unaffected, but will actually benefit from it.

The company commander was promoted to deputy battalion commander or acting battalion commander.

Those are all beneficial and without any harm.

However, as the core of the Seventh Steel Battalion, if this standard is followed, all the current members of the Seventh Steel Battalion's headquarters will be removed from the center of power.

This is unacceptable to everyone!

That's how the sense of crisis came about!

To prevent the peaches she had worked so hard to grow from being picked by outsiders when the tree was laden with fruit.

All the officers and staff of the 7th Steel Battalion had to use their own unique skills and abilities to succeed.

The combined arms company was already quite famous back then, becoming a coveted spot in the eyes of everyone in the entire army group, with almost everyone wanting to join the Steel Seventh Company.

The people who now form the headquarters of the Seventh Steel Battalion were almost all parachuted in from outside.

The fact that they were able to defeat competitors from the entire army group to join the Steel Seventh Battalion when it was initially formed is enough to show that they all had powerful backing.

Having fought alongside the Seventh Steel Battalion for several years, those who were once outsiders have now become the masters of the Seventh Steel Battalion.

No one wants to be replaced by an unfamiliar stranger after the unit is expanded into the Seventh Steel Regiment, and wonder if they can still maintain their current position.

In a crisis, we must find a solution, and the sooner we do, the better.

and.

The headquarters of the 7th Steel Battalion currently has only about 20 people. After it is expanded into a combined arms regiment, even in an informationized force, the size of the regimental headquarters will be at least two or three times larger.

It was inevitable that a large number of people would be integrated into the expanded "Steel Seventh Regiment".

How can I maintain my position in the "Steel Seventh Regiment" and ensure that I still have enough say in the regiment so that I can win more honors in the future?

These are all things that everyone in the Seventh Steel Battalion headquarters cares about!

For this reason, Gao Cheng, who had always been proud and arrogant, took the initiative to call his father, Chief Gao, for the first time in his life. Although he did not make his request openly out of consideration for face, his words still carried a hint.

It wasn't that he hoped his father would give him special treatment; he mainly wanted to gauge the attitude of those above so he could prepare more calmly.

He also called his mother to discuss the important life event of getting married.

Since his mother took him on a blind date, Gao Cheng and the girl have been dating for over a year and have already established a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

At this point, it wouldn't be considered abrupt for the woman to bring up marriage.

Man Guangzhi and Ma Tianxiang were both core members of the Seventh Battalion, and they both wanted to achieve more in the Seventh Steel Battalion, so they were no exception to the trend.

Everyone was contacting their connections to make preparations as early as possible before the orders from the Seventh Steel Regiment came through.

The battalion headquarters only had Chen Jun, and they hadn't made any preparations.

It's not that Chen Jun was so confident that he didn't need to prepare, but rather that Chen Jun had absolutely no military background, so even if he wanted to find someone, he had nowhere to turn.

He could only pin his hopes on the next reward, hoping that an award surpassing the first-class merit would bring about a miracle.

otherwise.

Even if Chen Jun is credited with facilitating the formation of the combined arms regiment and has experience and skills in forming combined arms units, his position within the regiment will be quite awkward.

The worst-case scenario might be that the battalion commander would allow Chen Jun to lead a separate combined arms battalion under the combined arms regiment.

If he's slightly luckier, he might stay in the regimental command and serve as deputy chief of staff in his current position as deputy battalion commander, only temporarily gaining command authority during exercises.

The best-case scenario would probably be deputy regimental commander, and even then, Chen Jun would need to be promoted two ranks.

If Chen Jun can only serve as deputy regimental commander, then Gao Cheng will probably only be able to serve as deputy regimental commander and chief of staff, because it is difficult for Gao Cheng to achieve a two-level promotion based on his seniority.

If neither Chen Jun nor Gao Cheng can lead the combined arms regiment, then the Sun Dongping incident will most likely repeat itself.

This is not what Chen Jun wanted to see.

Therefore, Chen Jun had no choice but to secretly exert all his efforts to find a way to control the combined arms regiment with his own people, and it didn't matter whether he or Gao Cheng served as the regimental commander.

Even in the worst-case scenario, it would be acceptable to have Wang Qingrui as the regimental commander.

They're at least one of our own!
Moreover, this is something Chen Jun can control.

He could use his influence in the formation of the combined arms regiment to try and communicate with higher-ups to have the 702nd Regiment reorganized into the Steel 7th Regiment. Reorganizing the 702nd Regiment into the Steel 7th Regiment was one of the proposals submitted by Chen Jun.

As for which direction Chen Jun will ultimately take, it is still impossible to make a final decision at this time. The nature of the award given to Chen Jun will determine the final outcome.

……

The companies under the Seventh Steel Battalion were training intensely, while the battalion headquarters above was racking its brains to come up with solutions.

The days just passed by like that.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and just when everyone had almost forgotten that Chen Jun hadn't won the award, an order suddenly came from above.

Chen Jun was instructed to travel to the Central Military Commission in the capital to attend an award ceremony hosted by the Central Military Commission.

The ceremony was held at the August 1st Building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

The notice from the superior was very brief, containing only the instruction for Chen Jun to attend and the reporting address, without any other relevant information.

However, since the issuing unit of this notice was the J Committee, it was given a special meaning.

Leaving aside the commotion caused by the order at the army group and division levels, once it reached the regiment level, it was equivalent to an atomic bomb explosion.

The regimental commander, Wang Qingrui, and the political commissar were stunned, and it took them a full half minute to come to their senses.

That was the award ceremony at the August 1st Building.

The higher you go, the clearer you become about just how incredibly valuable this is.

Commander Wang and the political commissar were well aware that an award ceremony held at the August 1st Building represented the highest honor in the country.

Awarded an honorary title!

Only major military operations, outstanding scientific research breakthroughs, and groups that have made significant contributions are recognized.

Only individuals and teams that excel in this area are qualified to attend the award ceremony at the Bayi Building; being able to attend signifies that they are among the most outstanding in the industry.

Even if you're just sitting in the audience, only the best in your field are qualified.

Because during the award ceremony at the August 1st Building, each honor is personally awarded by a high-ranking official who signs the order, and the minister personally goes on stage to bestow the title.

An honorary title.

What a privilege.

It surpasses the First-Class Merit Award in every aspect.

When Commander Wang personally came to the Seventh Steel Battalion base and delivered this good news to Chen Jun alone, even Chen Jun himself was very surprised.

He is only a deputy battalion commander at present, and he is even a deputy battalion commander of a grassroots company.

So they've gone all the way to the August 1st Building?
Even Chen Jun, who had experienced all sorts of big events, instinctively felt that this was really exaggerated, the kind of thing that no one would believe if he told them.

But now it's right in front of him, surprising Chen Jun as much as it brings him joy.

but.

Knowing that the notification didn't explicitly state that Chen Jun was there to receive an award, Chen Jun knew he couldn't be too happy too soon and had to suppress his joy.

"Chen Jun, such a good thing, why do you not seem very happy? Could it be that you had already anticipated this?"

Seeing that Chen Jun was not overjoyed and seemed very calm, Commander Wang couldn't help but tease him out of curiosity.

"No way, if I could foresee it, wouldn't I be a god?"

Chen Jun smiled and shook his head, then explained, "I know you're happy for me, Commander, and you probably think I'm here to receive an award."

This is an honorary title that surpasses even the First-Class Merit Citation; it would be a lie to say I wasn't excited.

However, the notice didn't specify. What if I went expecting to receive an award, only to find out I was just an invited guest? Wouldn't that make me a laughingstock?

Chen Jun didn't really have absolute confidence, and that was his true feeling.

Although he had served in the military for three generations, going to the August 1st Building to receive an honorary title was truly a first for Chen Jun, like a young woman getting married for the first time.

Moreover, the understanding of the military honorary title is that one must reach the pinnacle of the industry to obtain it.

Even considering the results achieved during this exercise in Russia, which resulted in the highest casualty ratio in the history of our army and created the legend of a battalion wiping out an entire reinforced regiment.

While they certainly have the qualifications for the honorary title, they've only just crossed the threshold.

It's far from being 100% certain.

Chen Jun didn't want to be too happy too soon and excitedly publicize the matter, only to find out that he had just gone there as a guest.

When I come back then, things will be really tough; I'll be the laughingstock of others for at least ten years.

and so.

Before this matter is finalized, Chen Jun felt it was best to remain conservative for now. If they could actually obtain the honorary title, they could celebrate after receiving it.

Chen Jun considered many factors, but Commander Wang's perspective was different.

In his eyes, Chen Jun was the most outstanding, and he deserved the honorary title. Even if it wasn't written in the notice, it was almost certain.

So he jokingly said, "You're really good at keeping your composure, kid."

You led the team to a brilliant victory in Russia, but your name wasn't on the list at the awards ceremony a few days ago. Now we're notifying you to attend the awards ceremony.

Based on my experience, it's pretty much a done deal; they'll definitely let you go collect the prize.

I remember you're not even thirty yet this year, right? To receive an honorary title before the age of thirty, if not the only one in the entire army, is at least unique in our group army.

Congratulations in advance! Don't forget to treat me to a meal when you get back, haha.

Seeing how confidently Commander Wang spoke, Chen Jun didn't want to spoil his mood, and besides, Chen Jun himself was indeed looking forward to receiving the honorary title.

If I could actually get that honorary title...

Even if you have a powerful background, you can't get your hands on the ripe peaches of the Seventh Steel Regiment this time. Chen Jun is confident that he can take down the regimental commander.

So he simply went along with the commander's words and said with some anticipation, "Thank you for your kind words, commander. I hope to bring back some good results this time."

"That's for sure."

Commander Wang said very seriously, "I'm waiting for you to come back for a celebratory drink."

"The orders from above are urgent. Grab your things and come back to the regiment with me now. I'll arrange a car to take you directly there. It's not far from the capital anyway, so you won't have to go yourself."

"Okay, thank you, Commander."

Chen Jun was already burning with excitement, so he stopped being polite to the regimental commander.

I quickly packed my backpack, put my regular clothes and other belongings into my travel bag, and ran downstairs to get into the group leader's car.

"Huh? Why is the regimental commander's car here? Isn't that Old Chen getting out? Why is he carrying luggage and a backpack? And he's getting into the regimental commander's car? Is he going out on a mission? Why didn't I get any notification?"

Gao Cheng had just returned from inspecting the company when he saw Chen Jun get into the car and leave. He frowned in confusion, full of curiosity. (End of Chapter)