Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

After two days of training, the slightest bit of arrogance in the minds of Cheng Cai, Bai Tiejun, and the other new recruits vanished. In the recruit company, they were all outstanding, even exceptional.

However, when they arrived at the Steel Seventh Company, they were only in the middle to lower ranks in most training programs. They were not even qualified to compete with the backbone of the Seventh Company, let alone compare with elite soldiers like Wu Liuyi.

Heartbroken, the new recruits could only grit their teeth and train harder, hoping to outdo the veterans as soon as possible.

……

At the 400-meter obstacle course of the Steel Seventh Company's training ground, all 120 members of the Steel Seventh Company, except for the 12 on duty, had already assembled.

Zhang Anbang and Shi Jin arrived at the front of the formation. Wu Liuyi jogged out to report, "Reporting to the deputy company commander, the Seventh Steel Company should have 120 men, but 108 are present, with 12 on duty. Please give instructions!"

Zhang Anbang returned the greeting and said, "Please rest for a moment."

"Yes."

"Let me tell you, our new recruits have been in the company for over two days now, training with us, and the problems that have emerged are quite obvious; their performance is slightly unsatisfactory."

Listening to Zhang Anbang's speech, the dozen or so new recruits who had just joined the company felt a little embarrassed, and some even lowered their heads a bit.

Zhang Anbang smiled and said, "Lift your heads up. It's not a big deal. As for physical fitness and skills, you can train them. When you're disbanded, you can ask the veterans. When I first came here, my physical fitness was also very weak. Our Steel Seventh Company has good food, so just train hard."

Of course, as your deputy company commander, a good person like me will definitely try my best to help you. Right now, behind me is the 400-meter obstacle course, which is also one of the daily events for our Seventh Company.

You didn't learn this skill in basic training, but that's okay. Your squad leader will teach you step by step.

Let me tell you, this 400-meter obstacle course is a great thing; it's currently the best way for our soldiers to improve their overall physical fitness.

This 400-meter obstacle course includes two 100-meter straight runs at the beginning and end, as well as two 100-meter obstacle courses.

In other words, the obstacles are just these: stakes, trenches, low walls, high platform jumps, ladders, log bridges, high walls, and low stake nets. They're really not difficult.

This training program is highly effective in improving our soldiers' physical fitness, explosive power, jumping ability, endurance and fatigue resistance, upper and lower limb strength, and quick reaction ability. The benefits are numerous.

Listening to Zhang Anbang's boasting and seeing the new recruits' longing expressions, the veterans all tried their best to hold their mouths shut, afraid of laughing out loud. At this moment, Zhang Anbang was like a hardworking salesman, talking a lot of nonsense.

But the veterans know all too well how grueling the 400-meter obstacle course is. There's an old saying in the army: "I'd rather run five kilometers than run four hundred meters." The 400 meters refers to the 400-meter obstacle course.

This shows that Zhang Anbang's sales pitch was purely a ploy to fool the new recruits. If they hadn't undergone professional training and were taught not to laugh when they shouldn't, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold back their laughter at this moment.

Fortunately, the deputy company commander was explaining the standard 400-meter obstacle course to them, not their own obstacle course from the Seventh Steel Company, otherwise they would have burst out laughing.

Their obstacle course has been expanded by 100 meters in length, with several new obstacles added. Most importantly, the difficulty of the obstacles has changed, including craters, a zigzag log bridge, a rope bridge, rock climbing, a 6-meter climbing rope, and a 5-meter-long hole.

The low-pile netting was also changed, now consisting of one high and one low section, requiring drilling into the lower section and crossing over the higher one. The high slabs were increased by 10 centimeters, the high walls by 20 centimeters, and the width of the trench was increased from 2.5 meters to 2.6 meters.

This is their own obstacle course, unique to the Seventh Steel Company. Well, it's specifically designed to torment him. The good thing is that he doesn't have to practice on this unique obstacle course every day.

"Alright, class leaders, each of you take your assigned classes and explain to them how to overcome each obstacle and the techniques involved."

The third squad was taken directly to training by Wu Liuyi. Shi Jin basically doesn't care about any work in the third squad now. Although he hasn't left yet, it will only be a few days before he reports to the regimental training team after the award ceremony.

He was supposed to leave right after basic training, but since he was commended in the Seventh Steel Company, Commander Wang gave him face and allowed him to wait until he finished receiving his award in the Seventh Company before reporting to the regimental training team.

The twelve classes dispersed, with each class having one or two new recruits. The class leaders patiently explained to the new recruits the various points to note regarding the 400-meter obstacle course.

"First, there's our starting line, which is also the final finish line. It's supposed to be 400 meters, but the first 100 meters and the last 100 meters are all full-speed sprints with no obstacles."

"The first obstacle is the stake crossing, also called the three-step stake or five-step stake. There are six stakes in total, each ten centimeters high, with a two-meter distance between them. When crossing, you are required to step on the stakes in three steps in sequence without touching them or missing a step. However, when returning, you are required to step on five stakes in sequence."

……

"This low wall is 1.1 meters high and 2 meters wide. There are raised bricks on the wall for you to step on, but you need to use one hand to support yourself and jump over it without touching the wall. When you come back, do you see the hole in the low wall? Crawle through the hole and pass through quickly."

The new recruit was a little confused. "Sergeant, if the requirement is to jump with one hand and not touch the wall, then why is there a brick to step on?"

The class monitor, who was in the middle of a lively discussion, frowned. "That's a good question. Don't ask it again next time."

The veterans burst into laughter, and the squad leader himself chuckled. He was used to teasing the veterans and couldn't stop himself for a moment. "Hey, Liu, the squad leader was just joking, don't take it to heart. As for the question you asked, it's a very good one."

The squad leader is telling you, the original design of this low wall was to simulate battlefield cover, ruins and debris. However, when climbing over such obstacles in actual combat, the wall surface is unlikely to be completely flat; there will most likely be bumps and cracks that can be used for leverage.

Another example is when you new recruits have just arrived at your unit for training. Your upper body strength is insufficient, and you are prone to slipping when you support yourself against the top of the wall with one hand. At this time, stepping on the protruding bricks can help you stabilize your center of gravity and avoid falling directly down.

To put it simply, it's for the transitional training of new recruits who have just joined their units, understand?

The recruit nodded. "Ah, I understand, squad leader. It means I'm weak right now, but I can step on bricks."

The squad leader almost choked. "Liu, your understanding is correct, but I hope you can stop using that brick as soon as possible. Can you do that?"

The recruit nodded quickly, "Don't worry, squad leader, I'll do my best."

……

Zhang Anbang and Shi Jin chuckled as they listened. Shi Jin scratched his head and said, "These new recruits are getting more interesting every year."

"Sergeant Shi is right, but this soldier has a great attitude. If Xu Sanduo had half of his attitude, things wouldn't be like this..."

Zhang Anbang suddenly stopped talking. Damn it, he was so focused on the spectacle that he almost revealed the plot.

One of the new recruits from the fifth squad spoke up, "Squad leader, I've loved walking on walls since I was a child. I can walk back and forth across all the mud-brick and tile walls in the village with my eyes closed."

"Look at this ladder, it's just a few iron poles supporting it, right? Can't I just walk over it? I guarantee it's very stable, not a single step will sway!"

The squad leader was about to explode. "Uh, steel pillar, right? Have you considered that our ladder is three meters high? What if it falls down directly?"

"Even if you don't fall directly down, what if you step into the void and get your crotch stuck on this steel pillar—I mean, the steel pipe of the ladder—?"

The fifth squad leader quickly added, "Steel Pillar, remember to lightly hold onto the horizontal bars with both hands, and step forward quickly by placing your feet on the gaps between the bars or on the bars themselves. You absolutely must abandon that idea, understand?"

"Reporting, squad leader, I understand."

……

"This low stake net is very low, only half a meter from the ground. When you cross it, you need to pay attention to the technique: put your hands on the ground with your palms facing forward, your arms at a 30-degree angle to the ground, straighten your legs, push off with your toes, tighten your abdomen, and keep your chest and thighs on the ground."

"Raise your head slightly, but not too high, or you'll get caught in the net. Also, don't stick your butt out too high, or you'll hit the net. We're practicing with a regular net here, but normally we'll switch to a wire mesh net, and then your butt will get scratched. Got it?"

……

Zhang Anbang clapped his hands. "The squad leaders have already told you all that, right? Now let me tell you about our standards. As long as it's a training subject, there will definitely be assessment standards."

According to the 1995 edition of the Military Training Outline, the 400-meter obstacle course consists of 8 groups of obstacles, with 16 obstacles to be cleared once in each direction. The time requirements for the assessment are 2 minutes and 30 seconds to pass, 2 minutes and 15 seconds to be good, and 2 minutes and 0 seconds to be excellent.

"Of course, this is the unified standard required by the training syllabus for the entire army, but since we are the Steel Seventh Company, it's bound to be a little different from this."

"Report, Deputy Company Commander, what are the standards for our Seventh Company?" the new recruits asked curiously.