Chapter 19 The whole family has been arranged to join the military_2

"I don't want you to be hazy about the rules; once the rationale is cleared up, the rules must be executed without deviation! Starting today, when I put down my bowl, you all have to put down your bowls and chopsticks!"

The moment his words ended, Yue Tao's ten thousand 'whys' immediately came to the forefront.

"Squad leader, one minute, huh? How is that possible? The combat uniform you mentioned, is that the one we saw beneath the New Training Building? The one with the helmet?"

Hao Chengbin's throat moved slightly, but he restrained his impulse to explain in detail and waved his hand instead.

"Once you're assigned to a squad, your squad leader will teach you. New recruits will also face a 'standing dress' drill test, but I can tell you the standard. Dressing in full combat uniform on the spot, the passing mark is 16 seconds, excellence is under 12 seconds, and some people can even do it in 6 seconds."

"Squad leader, will we learn these things in the new recruit group?" Zhao Bing asked with longing in his eyes.

Hao Chengbin chuckled softly.

"The Firefighting Recruit Squad doesn't need to learn these things, and there isn't a full set of equipment for you to use for learning. Gear is expensive, and there are a lot of new recruits; how could there be enough for all of you to waste?

Our firefighting gear is almost used daily and needs maintenance! How could we possibly provide 40 more Equipment Technicians to maintain the gear just for the training of your 800 new recruits?

Each troop has its own unique tasks, and training equipment, techniques vary a lot!

But there is one common foundation!

All are soldiers!

So here, just concentrate on learning how to be a soldier, learn the regulations well, master the formations, and handle your training well. Don't think about anything else. After you leave this unit, life will be a completely different world!

The only constant is that you must always follow military discipline! To have the robust physique that a soldier should have! Only with these basics, will you have the foundation to learn other things!"

"Squad leader, I understand! I'll definitely be a good soldier in the future! Then I'll work hard to rise through the ranks and become a high officer, a general!"

With that statement from Yue Tao, everyone rolled their eyes.

You really think this is some kind of office job!

"Yue Tao, what's your education level?" Hao Chengbin asked.

"Junior high."

"Hm, then don't even think about it. Just be a good grunt; never mind cadres or Military Academies, even to apply for an NCO school now requires at least a high school education."

"Squad leader! Actually, I know a director at the town's high school, and..."

"Time for dinner is one minute away."

...

In the evening, in the squad room.

Hao Chengbin pinched a corner of Yue Tao's blanket.

"Your blankets end up like this because you're not rolling them properly, leaving them loose on the sides, a big lump of cotton on one side and too thin on the other, and a big seam here!

Rolling blankets isn't about carelessly moving back and forth! You need to compress and even out the cotton! During the rolling process, you must control the blanket's thickness and evenness!

Once you transfer to the squadron, squadron leaders won't have time to teach you this! If your folding is not up to standard, they'll just make you do it again!"

"Oh, squad leader, I thought it was just rolling back and forth! The thick spot here, I rolled that! Got stuck!" said Yue Tao, looking particularly proud of himself.

Fang Huai watched carefully from the side, slowly reflecting on what he hadn't done properly.

After watching for a while, he said, "Squad leader, why don't you get us a couple of short bamboo strips? Chopsticks will do as well, for tidying the sheets and mending the quilts."

Hao Chengbin nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll get some for you tonight."

As he spoke, something else came to his mind.

"How come you know how to do all this? Did your dad teach you? He was a soldier in the seventies or eighties, wasn't he?"

As soon as these words came out, the new recruits' ears perked up.

No wonder he's so skilled; he came pre-packed with experience, not on the same starting line as us!

Yue Tao, on the other hand, seemed quite complacent, eager to unveil the "mystery."

"Squad leader! Fang Huai also has a cousin who's a soldier!"

Fang Huai sighed.

It was bound to come out, now my whole family has been enlisted by him.

"Right... squad leader, there are quite a few soldiers in my family, influenced by the older generation. Plus, on my mom's side, my uncle's also in the military. I grew up in that environment." He figured it was just a matter of months before he got his promotion. If nothing changed, his uncle would probably come to see him, perhaps it was better to give Hao Chengbin a heads-up beforehand.

Hao Chengbin was also taken aback.

"So many soldiers? And... not a single officer?"

"Ah, there is... there's one, on active duty, but not a high-ranking one," Fang Huai stammered.

"What, you can't say? Which detachment is it from?" Hao Chengbin wasn't a fool, seeing Fang Huai's secretive demeanor, he could guess something.

He probably guessed it was from the Firefighting troops.

But he never would have guessed it was that leader, and also his own uncle.

Fang Huai seemed to have difficulty speaking, "Look, squad leader, let's not talk about it. It's nothing worth mentioning, and talking about it won't help me in any way. Once I'm in the troops, I still have to rely on myself, right?"

Hao Chengbin nodded in approval and said, "Not bad, having that mindset is good. However… if your personal capabilities are up to standard and your family can come up with a way to help with your transfer, you can follow me to the Guiyang Special Duty Brigade later."

The other new recruits, upon hearing this, immediately felt a twinge of envy.

It seemed that Fang Huai had caught the squad leader's eye, and he wanted to bring him to his own squadron.

In the past two days, everyone had learned how special a third-term non-commissioned officer in this place was. Out of nearly a hundred squad leaders in the new recruit group, there were only two third-term ones.

If they could follow the squad leader to his brigade, they would certainly have it good, enjoying the best of everything.

"Guiyang Special Duty??" Fang Huai, however, widened his eyes in surprise.

"Squad leader... aren't you from the Anshun Brigade?"

He was quite certain of this, and in the past couple of days, he had also been listening to the new recruits in the brigade department confirming this.

The squad leaders and cadres of this Squad Seven were mainly from the Liupanshui and Anshun Brigades, with the exception of the leader of Squad Five, who seemed to be from Zunyi.

"It's not a secret, I'll tell you all," Hao Chengbin said with a trace of pride on his face. "Last year, during the whole corps' post exercises, a Guiyang leader took notice of me, asking me to transfer to the special service squadron of Guiyang. As soon as I've finished leading these troops, I'm going to take care of the transfer."

Fang Huai felt a surge of emotions in his heart.

No wonder the system assigned me to Old Hao's squad. It's like they've got all my next steps planned out.

"Special Duty Team? Squad leader, does that mean special forces? That Guiyang Special Duty, they're the firefighter special forces from Guiyang?" Yue Tao followed up, his eyes shining with excitement.

With someone like Yue Tao in the squad, everyone else could sit back and relax. They didn't even need to speak, just listen, each sitting on their little stools, engrossed.

Hao Chengbin chuckled, "Not really, every detachment is a regular regiment-level unit, but since Guiyang is the provincial city, some of its main leaders are half a rank higher. The Special Service Squadron is also a bit higher than other squadrons, at a deputy battalion level.

"They have slightly better equipment and personnel allocation.

"For instance, if the brigade is running diver training, priority for spots usually goes to the Special Duty Team, as does the diving equipment. When there's a call for a water rescue and a regular squadron doesn't have divers or equipment, the Special Duty Team will go to support.

"Of course, the Special Duty Team also has its own jurisdiction and will encounter major emergencies that require reinforcement from other squadrons. It's just that they are called on to support others more often, and many significant fires fall under their primary combat mission, giving them greater chances for commendation."

"Wow, squad leader, that means you're going to a high-spec detachment's high-spec squadron!"

With one comment, Yue Tao got Hao Chengbin both excited and embarrassed, his stifled laughter causing him to wave his hand dismissively.

"Oh, it's nothing! I used to be with the Anshun Special Duty!"

The new recruits were once again full of admiration, and at the same time, filled with envy and jealousy towards Fang Huai.

The squad leader was taking him with him; it was practically a done deal! From then on, Fang Huai was going to be a soldier in a big team within a big squadron!

Fang Huai felt awkward under everyone's gaze.

This bunch of rowdy young guys, if they weren't brainless, they were just plain grumpy.

A relationship transfer, a third-term non-commissioned officer who had just moved over, would they have any say? Not even an army sergeant major would be of any use, right?

Sigh, it still came down to my own "effort" in the end!

This wasn't something that could be handled by just good training and being a prominent new recruit; you had to play the uncle card.

"Beep–beep."

Today's whistle at the brigade department was certainly different, exceptionally loud.

"All squads, assemble in the study at 6:40!"

Hao Chengbin looked at his knockoff Rolex and stood up.

"Let's go, I'll take you guys to watch TV!"