50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 238 Killing two birds with one stone

After discussing the special forces, Sun Zhiwei finally explained:

“Our intelligence department is preparing to train a group of elite operatives, similar to the CIA and KGB operatives. I’m here to pave the way.”

Tong Guodong glanced at the report and said, "I know this report. How do I need to cooperate?"

"The courses I've booked include amphibious operations, as well as driving and weapons operation for various vehicles and machinery, covering land, sea, and air transport."

“Training bases have been found on land, but no locations have been confirmed at sea or in the air.”

"Dad, if possible, I'd like to set up maritime-related training at our base."

“I think that every branch of the military will have ‘special units’ in the future. If the Navy wants to train relevant troops in the future, this will be an important asset for your base.”

"Are you sure this 'special forces' unit will succeed in the future?"

"I'm absolutely sure I can."

"According to existing intelligence, all major developed countries in the world are building similar forces, and this trend is already very clear."

"Okay, I will do my best to support you in this regard."

"But is it just the navy? What about the air force?"

"I will also choose the location for the Air Force, but I am not sure which unit I will cooperate with yet. We will wait until the Navy's training base is determined first."

"Then why don't you just set up the air force training base here as well? I can help you out for the first few years."

Tong Guodong's words stunned Sun Zhiwei. Air Force training requires all kinds of aircraft and pilot instructors. What is your naval base doing getting involved?

Seeing his expression, Tong Guodong immediately understood.

"Hahaha, you didn't think I only have boats and no airplanes here, did you?"

"That's the Naval Aviation School over there, specifically for training our own pilots," Tong Guodong proudly pointed out the window.

Sun Zhiwei was genuinely unaware this time; he had always thought that naval aviators only became available after carrier-based aircraft were introduced.

The truth is that the Naval Aviation School was established in 52 after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it has since trained a large number of pilots and air combat commanders.

These naval pilots are stationed at coastal land airports and are mainly responsible for anti-ship and anti-air combat operations in coastal areas.

Their personnel, equipment, and aircraft are not much inferior to those of the Air Force, and they also have additional types of aircraft unique to the sea, such as seaplanes and torpedo bombers.

This naval aviation school even has its own aircraft research and development team.

The first batch of carrier-based pilots will mostly be selected from these pilots.

"That's great! It's perfect that we can put the naval and air training bases here. This solves a huge problem for me."

After learning the details, Sun Zhiwei's face lit up with excitement, since unfamiliar organizations are not necessarily easy to deal with.

Especially in the Air Force, because of the high risks and good benefits, their arrogance is naturally immense.

Sun Zhiwei wasn't confident he could find an Air Force training base willing to cooperate, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Now things have taken a turn for the better. My father-in-law has resolved both the sea and air issues in one go, which is incredibly reassuring.

"I'm glad it's helpful to you. I will arrange for reliable people to form a team specifically to be in charge of this training program."

"Thank you, Dad." Sun Zhiwei's gratitude was heartfelt.

Although establishing a training base will greatly benefit the future of the base, the initial investment is considerable.

Without a father-in-law as the base commander, the endless meetings and paperwork would continue for who knows how long. "By the way, our unit has a very strong operational capability; the relevant departments can be set up in three days at most. Do you have any other requirements?"

"For example, there are so many types of airplanes and ships. Are your trainees supposed to learn about every single type of ship and every single type of airplane?"

Learning to pilot all types of aircraft and ships is not something that can be accomplished in a short time; it takes at least a year.

"Of course not. Although there are many types of airplanes and ships, the principles of driving and operating them are the same."

"We need a teacher who can summarize this pattern and teach it to the students in the simplest way possible."

"Then, select several representative ships and aircraft for training."

"If there are certain types of aircraft or ships that are not available domestically, we must at least make a guess and analysis. Otherwise, the trainees will not recognize them when they see them in the future."

"The ultimate goal of our training is so that, in the future, even if trainees encounter a ship they've never seen before, they will be able to quickly start it up and safely bring it ashore."

"Or, if you encounter an unfamiliar aircraft, you can take it up on your own and land it safely."

"Our trainees do not need to learn mechanical principles, maintenance, or troubleshooting."

"We only need to learn how to drive, the simplest driving, and the training time should be as short as possible."

"Because in our country, the air and sea courses are not even considered a complete course; they are just part of the driving course."

"Of course, this is also a very important part."

Hearing his request, Tong Guodong frowned slightly: "If the trainees don't understand the principles and maintenance, what will happen if the plane or ship malfunctions?"

“Then we’ll change planes or ships immediately,” Sun Zhiwei said to Tong Guodong.

Seeing that Tong Guodong was still dissatisfied, Sun Zhiwei conceded slightly and said:

"Or we could do this: create a course tier system, with maintenance and mechanical principles as advanced elective courses for students who are progressing quickly."

"Alright, that works too. After all, this isn't really training air force pilots or warship drivers. I'll make it clear to my subordinates."

Seeing Sun Zhiwei's determined gaze, Tong Guodong stopped insisting on his point of view.

Are there any other requirements?

"Yes, I came here this time to go through all the procedures, so I also need to participate in the training."

"Let's make me the first student. If even I can't learn it, then there must be something wrong with the process."

"Sure. So, would you like to learn to fly first or learn to pilot a ship first?"

"Let's learn to fly first."

He had been inside a ship's cockpit before, but he had never seen an airplane cockpit in either of his two lives, so naturally he had to start with the difficult one.

Photo: Boeing 787 cockpit

"Okay, I need to arrange manpower and resources this afternoon, so why don't you go for a physical examination this afternoon?"

He understood that pilots had to undergo a medical examination first, to prevent novice pilots like himself from dying as soon as they took to the skies.

It's one thing if people die, but if a plane crashes, the loss would be huge, and our country isn't rich.

At that time, pilots all held the belief that the plane was more important than people, and that they would rather die than not fly the plane back to the airport intact.

(End of this chapter)