Chinese servicemen's outstanding performance in the Hunter School
PLA Daily 2004-05-28
One round, two rounds, three rounds....
By now, they had not had a rest for 48 consecutive hours. Each round meant a test to their will and endurance. They could not remember how many rounds they had covered. One and half hours later, they had finished the whole course in the end.
They were Wang Wei, member of the Marine Corps of the Chinese Navy, and other eight comrades-in-arms from the Army and the Air Force of the PLA. This happened sometime in May 2003, when they were in the Hunter School in Venezuela in South America-the international special troops training center founded by the UN-to experience the "devil training" that common people could hardly imagine. Here is the narration of Wang Wei about their unforgettable experiences of breaking through all the "barriers" to achieve success in a foreign country.
At the heels of the race was another test: They were taken to the beach near the servicemen club to take part in the selection of carrying-person-on-the-back race. It seemed that carrying a person on one's back was nothing much. But for them, who had not had a nap for near 50 hours and with blood blisters on their feet, it became a tough test. It was not as easy as it sounded to carry a comrade-in-arms with almost the same weight as your own on the back to reach the finish line of the 100 meters' beach track in 28 seconds.
Several days earlier, Wang Wei once dropped fainted with excessive fatigue in a panic-stricken obstacle training when they were required to climb over a five-floor watchtower. According to the regulations of the Hunter School, if a participant of the training could not go on with the group training for 48 hours because of injuries, it would be taken for granted that he/she had quit the training willingly and would be eliminated. In order not to be weeded out, Wang "fled" away from the hospital without permission from the doctors when he gained consciousness. Under such a circumstances, it was even harder for him to pass the test of carrying a person on his back to finish the 100 meters beach race, since he had not recovered yet from his fall. The first time, he used 28 seconds and a half. The second time, 30 seconds, worse than the first time. Wang was dead determined to pass the test in the third time. So he ran for all he was worth and eventually passed the test in the end with the required 28 seconds, no more, no less.
And yet, this was not the end. Another fiercer test was waiting for them. All of a sudden, the president of the school announced, "Get your gears ready immediately and there will be a dual meet five minutes later. Items of the dual meet will be what you have learned in your routine training. This time it is the Chinese team versus the international team. The final winner will be given the honor of having the national flag of that country hoisted by the Hunter School."
At noon, the sound of a "bang" kicked off a heated and fierce contest. The nine Chinese players all painted their face with various colors, making it very difficult to tell one from the other. With weapons in hands, they broke through the numerous blockades and thick and thin enforced by their rivals with lightening speed to reach the firepower ground to carry out anti-terrorism exercise. There they were expected to rescue six 'hostages' (played by female doctors) taken by the international team. At that moment, every body at the reviewing stand could not help but hold their breath and the atmosphere was deadly quiet and tense. "Can the Chinese team rescue all the six hostages in the preset three minutes?" Suddenly, every body cast an amazing look at the 9 Chinese, finding it hard to believe that they had already succeeded in rescuing all the six hostages within 50 seconds with the hostages sound and safe. The whole process---from breaking into the room, to overpowering the "terrorists" and rescuing the hostages---was accomplished smooth, clean and efficient, thus wining thunderous applause from all the viewers.
Then the Chinese team and the international team competed in parachuting, special gliding, obstacle crossing, doing reconnaissance on water, underwater demolition, boarding and leaving ship, racing to control a beachhead and going ashore and so on. In the end, the Chinese team won.
The five-star red flag rose in the Hunter School slowly.
In the end of the "devil training", out of the 25 members of the international team only 12 survived, while nine Chinese participants all behaved bravely and no one was washed out. The president of the school gave the Chinese the thumb-up sign of admiration and praised them highly, "I admire the staunch and unyielding will and spirit of Chinese servicemen!"
By Zhong Jijun, Jiang Huiyuan, Gui Yanqing and Fang Changbin
Sinterklahs, Ghet Dawn!!!!