Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 197 Gathering the Army's Elite Force to Create the Strongest Informationized Battalion

Pei Shuaijun didn't say how the Second Battalion would be specifically arranged, and Chen Mo didn't ask either.

Since Director Luo has considered the upcoming joint training, it's not hard to guess that the three companies here will likely be relocated to the base in the next two days.

On the way back.

Pei Shuaijun drove the same car as before, while Luo Yaowu and the lieutenant colonel from the staff went to the brigade headquarters with Wei Lü's car to discuss the follow-up arrangements.

"Scholar, where did you learn all that experience in commanding from?"

Captain Pei, while holding the steering wheel, turned his head with great interest to look at Chen Mo in the passenger seat.

He was in the second company when the two companies were fighting each other.

"I remember you were in the reconnaissance company, how come you can command an armored company too?"

"I wouldn't call it knowing; I was mostly clueless," Chen Mo said with a modest smile.

"Damn, I'm not saying they're completely hopeless, but I was really surprised. The Second Battalion's discipline is indeed a bit lax overall, but the soldiers in their company have a high level of combat skills and quick reactions."

"I'm really puzzled as to why their performance in the exercise was so poor."

After participating in a field exercise, Pei Shuaijun's words were full of praise for the Second Battalion.

Chen Mo listened, occasionally agreeing but offering no opinions.

Because there's nothing to mention.

The saying goes, "An incompetent general can lead to the downfall of an entire army." The 7th Tank Division must have had a glorious past, and many of its fine traditions are ingrained in its very being and passed down from generation to generation.

Even if there are occasional oversights, the overall result will definitely not be too bad.

The problem is that the combat effectiveness of a unit cannot be judged solely by the soldiers, but also by the commander's ability.

Currently, at the grassroots level, from battalion commanders to company commanders, a considerable number of officers are former officers who were directly transferred from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Most of them, let alone having professional knowledge, probably didn't even finish elementary school.

His experience of attending military academy is completely blank.

Commanders like this are perfect for training troops; they'd be absolutely top-notch.

But they are far from being able to command battles, especially in terms of on-the-spot performance and controlling the battle situation; very few people can actually do that.

Pei Shuaijun must have experienced this more than once. During the experiments on information technology conducted by the Army Academy, he talked incessantly about Director Luo's arrangements.

Their words also hinted at their anticipation for the upcoming Northwest military exercise.

Chen Mo, however, could never resonate with his way of thinking.

The reason is not complicated.

Pei Shuaijun underestimated the scale of large-scale military exercises, assuming that the opposing force on the battlefield could be as small as the Second or First Company.

Stop it.

When Chen Mo mentioned "lack of strength" to Director Luo, he wasn't just making empty promises. It wasn't just a lack of intelligence; the same applies to technology in this era.

The advantage of information technology can only be suppressed by technology, but the premise of technological suppression is sufficient intelligence support.

Otherwise, in an area where a single exercise zone can easily reach two or three square kilometers, being without intelligence is tantamount to being blind.

Moving forward rashly, not to mention who we might encounter, the maintenance of the stitching battalion's equipment alone would be a huge undertaking.

If logistics are not up to par.

If the troops can't move more than 100 kilometers, more than half of their artillery and tanks will probably break down, and then what's the point of firing a single shot?

We still need a lot of talent.

Chen Mo secretly calculated in his mind that a tank battalion would have 160 men, plus a reconnaissance company of 95 men, plus a howitzer company, an anti-aircraft company, and a rocket artillery platoon.

For such a large-scale troop movement, the number of logistics and support personnel must be at least around two hundred.

With just the thirty-odd men led by Liang Hongjie, plus a dozen or so veteran sergeants in the base, the logistics were simply not enough.

War is all about logistics.

With this in mind, Chen Mo decided to make a proper plan after returning to the base.

He believed that the faculty members at the Army Academy were definitely prepared, and that their preparations were more comprehensive than his own.

But more people always mean more strength.

Throughout the rest of the journey, Pei Shuaijun continued to share the lessons he learned from the Second Company's operations.

Unfortunately, Chen Mo couldn't listen at all, only occasionally offering a few perfunctory replies while pretending to be listening attentively.

After returning to base.

Unlike in the past.

The atmosphere that used to focus primarily on academic subjects has completely disappeared.

Instead, on the training ground, everyone in the base, from sergeants to lieutenant officers, was carrying backpacks and running under the sweltering heat of dusk, gritting their teeth.

The deafening slogans rose and fell, igniting the enthusiasm of the entire base.

Even from a distance, you can see rows of sweaty footprints on the training field, almost soaking the entire ground.

Pei Shuaijun parked the car in the open space, looked up at the crowd running in the distance, and after a long while, he said, "Goodness, what's going on?"

"Why are they all starting to train their physical fitness?"

"Combat readiness," Chen Mo replied, pursing his lips. "Have you forgotten that after the general meeting, he specifically instructed that all academic classes be suspended starting today?"

"Initiate full combat readiness."

"Oh, yes, that's right." Upon hearing this, Pei Shuaijun raised his hand to take off his hat and scratched his hair: "Scholar, I have to go now. The academy has a batch of equipment to be transported over, and I'll go and follow up on it."

"Row!"

Watching Captain Pei leave, Chen Mo stared at the training crowd in the distance, feeling a surge of excitement within him.

However, he did not go closer to look.

Pre-battle physical training is a mandatory course in the military; there's no escaping it, and there's no need to bring up information technology or mechanization.

No matter how advanced the equipment is, it still needs to be operated by people, that is, by these soldiers.

On the battlefield, a soldier's most important skill is movement.

We can't have the tanks and crew break down just because the terrain is a little rough, can we?
If you're out of breath after just a few steps and don't even have the strength to lift a gun, then that's not fighting a war; it's just sending yourself to your death.

Therefore, Luo Yaowu explained that the recent cancellation of academic classes was aimed at improving everyone's physical fitness in preparation for the Northwest War.

I stood there and watched for a while.

Just as Chen Mo was about to return to his dormitory, another military vehicle roared into the base from afar.

After the vehicle came to a stop, Liang Hongjie got out and ran towards the dormitory carrying a large cardboard box.

They looked so furtive, like thieves.

"Platoon leader, what are you carrying?"

Chen Mo had already entered the dormitory building when he curiously turned back to ask.

"Oh, scholar, it's alright, it's all candles inside." Liang Hongjie said, then threw the cardboard box on the ground with a "clatter," opened it, and chuckled, "The company commander sent me back to Kuchi Village to bring all our treasures back with me."

"Look."

When Chen Mo first heard the word "treasure," he was quite surprised and wondered what kind of treasure the reconnaissance company had.

After all, they brought guns and all that.

The most precious possessions are probably the 12 Type 63 armored vehicles that are still in the company.

But when he saw that the box contained stubs of candles, thumbtacks, stacks of newspapers, and some paper documents wrapped in blue folders, he was surprised to find that...

Chen Mo's lips twitched, and he said, "Alright, platoon leader, you should take these treasures back."

"I am not worthy of it."

"Hehe, it's not for you anyway." Liang Hongjie laughed as he picked up the box and hurriedly ran back to the dormitory.

His posture made him look like he had done something wrong.

In fact, the things he did were quite likely to attract criticism.

The candles and thumbtacks in the reconnaissance company aren't for lighting or nailing walls. Do you know why the Kuchi Reconnaissance Company always gets good rankings in competitions?

That wasn't because the company had a high percentage of veterans, but because the reconnaissance company underwent a lot of training that later generations simply couldn't comprehend.

Take those candles, for example.

Those were placed under the belly when doing push-ups at night, while the thumbtack was placed under the forehead, and even when doing abdominal crunches, the thumbtack was placed under the buttocks.

Any growth and honor is not only the result of visible hard work, but the hardships behind it are often more touching.

Even a clerk like Chen Mo received considerable training in this area back then.

There's no other way; you have to endure it even if you can't, otherwise you'll just have to suffer the excruciating pain.

After Liang Hongjie left, Chen Mo looked up at the reconnaissance soldiers who were still working hard on the training ground, and could only silently mourn for them for two seconds.

Summer.

Putting a candle under her belly, tsk tsk
It's exciting just thinking about it.

After dinner, Chen Mo stayed in the dormitory, writing and drawing on a piece of paper, calculating the organization, firepower, logistics, and so on of the reinforced battalion.

Around 9 PM.

Hearing the constant roar of cars downstairs and the sounds of people chatting and laughing, Chen Mo paid no attention to them.

With so many people at the base now, including those from the academy and field units, and given the current state of combat readiness, Chen Mo initially thought it was a training group gathering for a roll call.

But we waited for about ten minutes.

The door to dormitory 301 was suddenly pushed open with a bang, and Pei Shuaijun rushed in, panting, urging, "Scholar, why are you still sitting? Didn't you hear the announcement downstairs about gathering in the conference room?"

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

After Pei Shuaijun finished speaking, he grabbed Chen Mo without saying another word and dragged him outside.

Chen Mo was taken aback: "What's the matter? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Hey! What's the matter? The military region has ordered us to participate in the war, and the base is being built in Jinyang. You think this is just our problem?"

"Hurry up, the brigade commanders of each brigade in the military region, the people from each division, the political department, the staff department, and the training department all need to come over."

"They said that for this exercise in the Northwest Military Region, troops would be drawn from across the entire military region to assemble."

"The next joint training will be conducted with the military region providing the venue and various units sending personnel to cooperate."

"Really? It sounds so far-fetched?"

After hearing this, Chen Mo could hardly believe it.

When it comes to experimenting with information technology, organizing troops to participate in military exercises in the Northwest, with the military region providing strong support, distributing ammunition, and providing venues, there's nothing wrong with that.

To say that every unit will allocate personnel to cooperate would be a bit of an exaggeration.

After all, different units can get very worked up over a small number of slots or the allocation of outstanding soldiers, so how could they be so easily persuaded to cooperate?
However, Chen Mo's doubts did not last long.

Come down from upstairs.

On an open ground some distance away in the base, rows of Type 63 armored personnel carriers were neatly parked, numbering more than a dozen at a glance.

Keep in mind that the entire Second Battalion only had six vehicles, but the base suddenly had more than a dozen more.

"Those are tanks transported by the reconnaissance company?"

Chen Mo pointed to the parked vehicles.

"Oh, it's time for joint training. The reconnaissance company's armored vehicles have been brought over at night, and some of the infantry fighting vehicles from the 1st, 3rd, and 4th battalions of the 7th Brigade have also been transferred over."

"We're quite well-equipped and strong here now," Pei Shuaijun said with pride.

Of course, his pride should not be limited to these infantry fighting vehicles.

Chen Mo also noticed several trucks parked in the distance, with their launchers carrying milky-white drones, the size of which could be clearly seen even from dozens of meters away.

Chen Mo guessed that this was the Type 206 UAV transferred from the Army Academy.

In his memory, this model not only had vehicle-mounted launchers but also manual assembly, but its lightweight design couldn't compare to the Hummingbird swarm of later generations.

Even launching them is just like playing with paper airplanes as a child, requiring manual launching. Currently, some units' reconnaissance platoons have already been equipped with them.

The downsides are short range, limited flight routes, and the fact that it falls apart upon landing, requiring soldiers to retrieve the parts and reassemble it on the return journey.

As for its functionality, well, it's better than nothing.

Due to the tight schedule, Chen Mo did not have time to carefully observe what equipment was being transported.

The two arrived at the conference room.

The meeting has begun. The participants are the leaders of the military region, as well as some senior non-commissioned officers and some officers.

Ordinary soldiers were not notified.

Chen Mo didn't hear what was said at the beginning of the meeting.

Anyway, as soon as he sat down, he looked up and saw Zhang Jinnan, the vice president of the Army Academy, standing at the front of the conference room.

With an expression that was both reserved and somewhat domineering, he said, "Please rest assured, our academy took the lead in establishing this base with the aim of cultivating versatile talents for everyone."

"Send over any good soldiers you have. I, Zhang Jinnan, would never do anything to withhold your soldiers. Remember, I, Old Zhang, am not that kind of person."

Chen Mo arrived late and didn't hear what was said earlier.

But he could sense that after Vice President Zhang finished speaking, many unit leaders present were speechless, and several leaders of the main forces almost popped their eyes out.

I bet these people have never seen anyone take someone for granted like that.

After the vice dean finished making his statement, the entire conference room began to enter the discussion phase.

These unit leaders all have incredibly loud voices.

Chen Mo only sat in the back and listened for a while before he understood the general idea.

The theme of this meeting is similar to what Pei Shuaijun just described: for this Northwest military exercise, all units of the 63rd Army worked together to provide services for information technology development.

The Xiaocheng Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade is to send out an anti-aircraft artillery company and a radar detachment, with personnel and weapons and equipment all deployed at the highest configuration.

For all the units that were deployed, the soldiers were selected from the most elite personnel in the entire brigade to take over.

The requirement is that the class leader must have at least the most basic command ability.

The howitzer company and the long-range rocket artillery company were transferred from the mechanized infantry brigade and the 188th Division, respectively.

The requirements are almost identical: all personnel transferred must be elite, and they should not be transferred within the existing staffing system. Instead, the receiving unit should replace them with the best soldiers of the same specialty.

The trade-off is that, after the Northwest military exercises conclude, the base will be responsible for training two batches of professional-level non-commissioned officers for these units.

Listening to the discussions in the meeting room, I figured out the conditions proposed by Dean Lu.

Chen Mo opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

When he returned from the Second Battalion, he was still planning how to reorganize the organization, how to adjust the personnel, and how to allocate logistics.

As a result, the most difficult problem for him at the moment was almost completely solved by Vice Dean Zhang in one meeting.

It really proves the saying, "Your position determines your thinking."

Is it really okay to just blatantly ask for it?

Chen Mo suddenly realized that he was too thin-skinned and had gone too far, at least compared to someone like Vice Dean Zhang, who would ask for things and then make demands, always wanting the best.

We're still too inexperienced.

If the Army Academy follows this approach, the information-based unit, nominally a reinforced battalion, would likely have a size comparable to an infantry regiment.

But the words came back again.

Everything was allocated according to the best standards, even the established units were broken up.

Isn't this request somewhat inappropriate?

After all, well-organized units develop their teamwork skills through practice. Temporary replacements are less effective, even if they are replaced with more professional soldiers.

It's doubtful that the efficiency, in the short term, will be any better than the original structure.

(End of this chapter)