From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chapter 499 A Dramatic Couple!
With the advancement of modernization reforms in special forces, the topic of female special forces has indeed been raised by many, but no military region has yet attempted it.

This is enough to prove that forming a female special forces unit is not a simple matter.

The Seventh Steel Brigade is just a brigade-level unit. Even if it has the responsibility of piloting the program, it is still impossible for Ai Jia to become a female special forces soldier.

Therefore, Hong Yi rejected Ai Jia's application without much thought.

The reason given was that special forces training is very tough, and girls would not be able to endure it. In addition, it would be difficult to arrange for only one female special forces soldier to be recruited.

With a large group of men and several women in between, everything from food and clothing to shelter and transportation becomes very inconvenient.

It's impossible to provide Ai Jia with a separate dormitory room, a separate shower room and toilet, or even separate clothing...

There are many troublesome things like this, which together make it unrealistic.

Hong Yi thought his reasons were sufficient, and that Ai Jia, being a girl, would definitely give up the idea and obediently do his clerical and logistical work.

As it turned out, Ai Jia's determination to become a special forces soldier far exceeded Hong Yi's expectations.

To demonstrate that even though she is a girl, she will not affect others when she enters a group of male soldiers, and there should be no discrimination against her.

Ai Jia cut off all the standard shoulder-length short hair of female soldiers and shaved her head into a standard buzz cut like male soldiers.

Then I approached Hong Yi again to submit my application.

They also stated that there would be no difference in dormitory life; she would be placed in the same dormitory as the male soldiers and trained as one of them.

She even specifically cited examples, saying that there are male and female soldiers living together in other countries, and that she would not do any worse than foreign female soldiers.

It was also specifically pointed out that female special forces soldiers have advantages that male special forces soldiers do not have. Since the military is undergoing major reforms, the mindset must also be reformed, and women can also be special forces soldiers.

Hong Yi is a man who appears stubborn on the outside but is actually very sentimental on the inside.

Seeing that Ai Jia had even cut her hair to become a special forces soldier, which seemed to signify her determination, and with such a firm attitude, he was truly moved and wanted to give her a chance.

But Hong Yi knew that he couldn't make decisions in the Seventh Steel Brigade; the one who could really make decisions was Chief of Staff Chen Jun.

So Hong Yi gave Ai Jia a chance, promising to report to the brigade leaders, put forward her ideas, and do his best to fight for her.

Aijia was overjoyed to hear the news, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Hong Yi was also very decisive in his actions. After comforting Ai Jia and telling her to go back and wait for news, he went directly to Chen Jun's office.

After knocking on the door and reporting his presence, he saw Chen Jun still busy at his desk, so he voluntarily moved a stool over and sat down.

The two men were kindred spirits and had received orders from Chief of Staff Shen. After working together tacitly for some time, their relationship had become very harmonious.

In addition, Chen Jun didn't care about those formalities, so Hong Yi was quite easygoing with Chen Jun.

"There's coffee and tea over there. Help yourself to whatever you want." Chen Jun didn't intend to get up either, and casually pointed, letting Hong Yi fetch it himself.

"You go about your business, don't worry about me."

Hong Yi didn't pour tea. He sat down in a chair and thought about how to bring it up.

"Hong Yi, let me test you."

Chen Jun was writing special operations training materials when Hong Yi, a special operations expert, came over, which piqued his interest. He asked, "Special operations teams go deep behind enemy lines to conduct on-site reconnaissance, using infrared and laser sensors to lock onto targets and guide fighter jets or drones to launch missile attacks on them. What do you think of this tactic?"

"This is the cheapest form of modern special operations; advanced tactics don't need these at all," Hong Yi gave a rather unexpected assessment.

"Oh, really? Then tell me about your advanced tactics."

Chen Jun's curiosity was piqued, and he wanted to hear what insights he had to offer.

"Although special forces members can also be called special soldiers, the two cannot be confused. Their roles on the battlefield are completely different."

Hong Yi, who had conducted in-depth research on this topic, spoke with great confidence: "The tactics you described, Chief of Staff, are something that professional special forces need to accomplish. They are relatively inexpensive and simple tasks."

I have four requirements for special forces members: they must be able to enter, hide, communicate effectively, and withdraw quickly. These are the foundations for ensuring victory on the battlefield.

The primary task of special forces soldiers entering the battlefield is to collect intelligence information that cannot be captured by other reconnaissance methods and send it to the command center platform in real time.

As for the final, fatal blow to the enemy, that can be done remotely from the back end. I think that's the characteristic and core of modern special operations forces.

Hong Yi's theory is not entirely correct, but it does have his own unique style.

Hong Yi prefers tactics that are more invisible, safer, and more secretive, capable of eliminating enemies silently and becoming ghosts on the battlefield.

This tactic is indeed well-suited to special operations and meets the battlefield needs of special operations companies.

However, his words were somewhat arbitrary. Targeted strikes behind enemy lines are also a core part of special operations, not the cheap tactics he described.

After all, the battlefield environment is unpredictable, and there are many places that cannot be targeted from a distance.

However, satellite radar and other methods are unable to lock onto the target, or the terrain is in a very complex electromagnetic environment, making the fatal blow from behind the scenes that Hong Yi mentioned impossible to accomplish.

The only way is to have special forces soldiers or special agents infiltrate near the target and guide it manually.

Humans are always the most stable "tools"!
Without any prior knowledge or experience to draw upon, Chen Jun was already very satisfied with Hong Yi's insights, based solely on his own research of existing materials.

So Chen Jun didn't specifically correct him, but said very happily, "What you said is very much to my liking, and I also believe that you are already very familiar with these tactics. I am really looking forward to having a good time in the exercise."

“Absolutely. As long as I have the manpower, I can get started anytime,” Hong Yi said confidently.

"Haha, good, I like your confidence."

Chen Jun laughed happily, then suddenly remembered something, his expression changed slightly and he asked, "You suddenly came over so late at night, you're not here to chat with me, are you? Is something upsetting you again at the recruit training camp?"

"Yes, that's the one. There's a female soldier who wants to join the special operations company and become a special forces soldier..."

"You mean Ai Jia, right?" Chen Jun interrupted.

“Yes, that’s right, you know too?” Hong Yi said.

"He came to me this afternoon, but I didn't agree, so he went to the political commissar and kept pestering me all afternoon. I didn't expect that he would actually find you. You really are a stubborn young lady. I have to admire your perseverance," Chen Jun said with a smile.

“I’ve given in to her and agreed to her request,” Hong Yi said earnestly.

"Are you serious? You don't seem like the type to joke around," Chen Jun said, surprised.

"I was moved by his sincerity, and I saw a reflection of myself in him. He was serious; he even shaved his head and said that he didn't need any special treatment and could be trained like a male soldier," Hong Yi said earnestly.

"It's really not easy for a girl to do this, but the special operations company is full of men, it's really not appropriate for a female soldier to go in."

Chen Jun was a little amused and exasperated, then asked, "Since you've already agreed, what are your thoughts?" "Let her be a special forces soldier for now. Anyway, there are still two months until she's assigned to her unit. If she can stick with it, let her do it; if she can't, then..."

Hong Yi tilted his head slightly, his meaning clear, but then changed the subject, saying, "However, I think she can do it, and she'll most likely be able to stick with it."

Girls cherish their hair, so for her to shave it all off, even shorter than mine, with a bluish bald patch where you could see her scalp, must have taken a lot of determination.

I have no reason not to believe a girl who can make such a decision.

"Huh."

Chen Jun sighed and said speechlessly, "What's wrong with you special forces soldiers? Men don't want to be them, but women are willing to shave their heads to do it."

"Haha, I'm completely clueless about what these post-80s generation are thinking," Hong Yi said, unable to suppress a laugh.

With the two of them laughing heartily, the matter was temporarily settled.

Training continued according to the syllabus, and the intense training was in full swing, like a tightly integrated giant machine, making the 7th Steel Brigade stronger day by day.

Just as Hong Yi said, Ai Jia truly possesses an unwavering will and determination far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Even with special operations training that was far more intense than usual, Ai Jia gritted her teeth and persevered. The various inconveniences in her daily life did not need to be resolved for the time being.

Although Ai Jia participated in special training, she still lived in the female soldiers' dormitory, and nothing had changed from before.

Compared to Ai Jia, who quickly adapted to special operations training and demonstrated perseverance that even the male soldiers couldn't help but admire, she has already gained Hong Yi's initial approval.

Her boyfriend, Huo De, who came to the army with her, switched from special operations to mechanized infantry and turned out to be a complete idiot.

Not only do they lack any motivation to train, but they also always try to avoid training. In fact, during simulated combat training, they resist training by lying on the ground and acting like scoundrels.

After the class monitor's repeated attempts to persuade him failed, he punched the boy in the face before the boy finally behaved.

Reluctantly, they resumed training.

However, his mindset had not changed. He remained extremely undisciplined in the following training sessions and continued to try various ways to avoid training.

He peed one minute and pooped the next, which made everyone disgusted with him.

……

On the 708th Brigade's parade ground.

He Yazhou had just seen something interesting, so he called Wang Kezheng to the playground for a walk and to talk about it.

"Take a look at the military newspaper, it's quite interesting."

When Wang Kezheng walked over quickly, He Yazhou handed him the newspaper he was holding.

Wang Kezheng unfolded the newspaper and read it. It contained a report about Chu Zhangang, which described Chu Zhangang's promotion to deputy chief of staff of the army group.

"What are your thoughts after reading this report?" He Yazhou asked with a half-smile.

"Tell me first," Wang Kezheng said calmly.

"I asked you what your experience was, and you're asking me?" He Yazhou said speechlessly.

“I’m just a roughneck, I can’t really explain anything, but your experience is my experience, I’m listening.” Wang Kezheng laughed instead.

"Who do you want me to say?" He Yazhou asked.

“Of course I’m talking about myself,” Wang Kezheng said.

"To sum it up in one sentence, it's 'One wrong step can lead to eternal regret,'" He Yazhou said.

"That's a bit of a feeling," Wang Kezheng nodded.

“If you hadn’t acted impulsively during the exercise and hadn’t received that severe punishment, you would have been promoted to a division at least three months earlier than Chu Zhangang,” He Yazhou said.

"That's a fact, and it's also in the past. I really didn't do well in this regard," Wang Kezheng sighed.

"He lost the exercise, but he wasn't affected at all, and even sped up a bit. You have to admire Deputy Chief of Staff Chu's ability and competence." He Yazhou also sighed.

"This guy takes small steps and runs fast, he knows how to seize opportunities, I really can't keep up with him." Wang Kezheng admitted defeat.

“Since you know you can’t catch up, you have to learn from others so that you can seize the opportunity when it comes,” He Yazhou said earnestly.

"As expected of someone in political work, you can make up a whole set of theories even for the smallest things. I'll never catch up to you in that respect," Wang Kezheng said with a smile.

"You have a problem; you like to make foolish mistakes. While others learn from their mistakes, you only learn half a lesson, and you're stubbornly persistent in that."

He Yazhou's comments left Wang Kezheng speechless, saying helplessly, "Political Commissar, I'm already repenting, so please stop scolding me."

If you say that to me, I'll be too embarrassed to even ask you for a favor.

"To say you're asking for something would be hypocritical, wouldn't it?" He Yazhou joked.

"That's it."

He Yazhou composed himself and said seriously, "I would like to invite you to the Seventh Steel Brigade and ask three senior advisors to come and give us some guidance, what do you think?"

"You mean, you want a few advisors?" He Yazhou was a little surprised.

Wang Kezheng used to be a very competitive person, especially when it came to his rivals, he would never back down. But now he's completely changed, and he's full of praise for the Seventh Steel Brigade.

Not only did they completely copy the training model of the 7th Steel Brigade, but even the new training ground was built in imitation of the 7th Steel Brigade.

The training is already going very well, but Wang Kezheng is not satisfied with the current situation. He is also thinking of inviting experts from the 7th Steel Brigade to give guidance to the 708th Brigade's training.

These facts are enough to prove that Wang Kezheng has indeed achieved a profound and complete enlightenment.

"I thought so."

Wang Kezheng said with a very solemn expression: "Isn't improving our ability to win future wars precisely about improving our direct understanding of foreign militaries?"

The ultimate enemy of my 708th Brigade is not the Steel 7th Brigade, but the real enemy we need to face from the outside.

Since we're studying foreign militaries, shouldn't we find someone with in-depth knowledge and sufficient research on foreign militaries to advise us?

“You have a point, but…”

He Yazhou nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, saying, "The best person in the Seventh Steel Brigade in this regard is Staff Officer Chen Jun. You know Chen Jun, right? You two became friends after a fight, and your friendship is even deeper than mine. Why don't you just make the call yourself?"

(End of this chapter)