"Those who can steer and sail can only be called captains, and only those who can sail and fight can be called captains."
These are the words of Liu Zhigang, China's first aircraft carrier deputy captain, which reflects his profound respect for naval captains. Understanding, that is, as a captain, you must not only be proficient in theory, but more importantly, you must win decisive battles in future naval battles.
In the final analysis, it is one sentence: Dare to fight and win the war! This is the military quality a revolutionary soldier should have.
Liu Zhigang’s military pride was established from the moment he stepped into the military camp.
Liu Zhigang was born in Yangxin County, Huangshi City, Hubei Province in August 1969. He did not attend a military school for high school graduation, but studied Zhejiang University Department of Energy Engineering Internal Combustion Engine for 4 years. He graduated from Zhejiang University at the age of 21. Only then did he choose to join the army.
As a top student of Zhejiang University who graduated from a "double first-class" university, Liu Zhigang was initially favored by many units in Shanghai and Zhejiang, and was promised preferential treatment. However, it happened that in the year of graduation, the navy came to Zhejiang University to recruit local college students to join the army.
At this critical moment of life decision-making, whether to choose an elegant life with a bright future or step into the hot military camp to temper oneself has become a must-answer question before Liu Zhigang.
For Liu Zhigang, who had admired the military camp since he was a child, he decisively gave up the luxurious life and chose the latter.
In this way, Liu Zhigang officially came to the army and began his 31-year military career.
However, what he didn't expect was that the military camp life in reality was completely different from what he imagined.
On the one hand, Liu Zhigang fantasizes about naval life, where he should ride the wind and waves on a warship and head for the ocean, but he himself is assigned to be a technical soldier in a naval engineering unit located in a remote rural area;
On the other hand, Liu Zhigang He studied mechanics at Zhejiang University, and his work in the army mainly involved " mechanical engineering ". His major was a little mismatched, which led to a lot of making fools of himself.
However, faced with these psychological gaps, Liu Zhigang did not admit defeat, nor was he discouraged. For this reason, he took the initiative to seek apprenticeships from experienced veterans to learn techniques and tips. He just practiced hard for three months without giving up. After successfully becoming a technician with excellent skills, there is no equipment on the construction site that Liu Zhigang cannot operate.
Especially in his second year after joining the army, Liu Zhigang's army was streamlined, and he himself faced the two-way choice of staying in the army or retiring. Many soldiers were not able to adapt to the harsh environment and wanted to change jobs, but Liu Zhigang once again made a difficult decision - to stay. Team.
Because Liu Zhigang’s dream of driving a warship and sailing the ocean has not yet been realized.
It was for this dream that Liu Zhigang made up his mind to take root in the military camp no matter how hard it was; it was to realize this dream that he took the initiative to submit an application to work in the naval force to his superiors. After all, only the naval force had Opportunity to be on the ocean with battleships.
Soon, Liu Zhigang was assigned to work on a hunting submarine, , and became the deputy chief engineer who dealt with diesel engines every day.
When he came to his new position, two new challenges emerged:
One was seasickness: Although Liu Zhigang was a naval soldier when he first joined the army, he had been working on land and was a complete "landlubber". Submarines are small in tonnage and have poor stability. They are more likely to rock left and right than other surface ships when sailing at sea, so Liu Zhigang had to face severe reactions such as vomiting and sweating caused by seasickness.
The second is lack of technical familiarity: Liu Zhigang only has a little theoretical foundation in internal combustion engines, but knows nothing about the electromechanical equipment on hunting submarines and the daily management of ships. He is obviously not qualified for the position of deputy electromechanical chief.
What should we do when faced with these two dilemmas?
only has 2 words: practice and study!
Since you are a "landlubber", then practice swimming; since your skills are not in place, then study by yourself from books, ask your comrades for advice, and explore practical practices on the job.
Within half a year, Liu Zhigang completely overcame the difficulties when he first arrived and became a technical expert in the electromechanical major of his army.
As the saying goes: Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared.
Liu Zhigang's persistence and study in the military actually laid a solid foundation for him to pass the military academy. With his daily self-taught naval tactics, navigation knowledge, and excellent military skills, he successfully passed the military academy in his fifth year of joining the army. In September 1996, he passed the Naval Arms Command Academy, known as the "Captain's Mothership", and became the only student admitted to the Academy across arms and majors that year. He was 27 years old at this time.
From this moment on, Liu Zhigang began the second stage of his military life.
After studying in the military academy for three years, Liu Zhigang began to serve as deputy captain and captain of the PLA warships, achieving a magnificent transformation from a naval force technician to a ship commander.
Liu Zhigang has successively served as the deputy captain of the Lianyungang frigate , the acting captain of the frigate Huainan, the Tongling frigate captain, and the Wenzhou frigate captain.
It should be noted that during his tenure as captain of the Wenzhou frigate, Liu Zhigang fully demonstrated his captain's command and management capabilities. On the one hand, just after the 20-day trial of the Wenzhou battleship, under the organization and command of Captain Liu Zhigang, all the crew members were able to independently control and control all weapons and equipment; on the other hand, Captain Liu Zhigang relied on what he had learned and understood. Through exploration and improvement, a set of successful tactics for the secondary battery to intercept the missile was created. In one fell swoop, the combat response time of the secondary battery system was shortened by 4 seconds, and the switching time of the main and secondary battery channels was shortened by 5 seconds, which greatly improved the overall performance of the warship. combat performance.
However, the most important thing to Liu Zhigang is the deputy captain of the Liaoning aircraft carrier .
In September 2012, my country's first aircraft carrier Liaoning was launched. At that time, Zhang Zheng served as the first aircraft carrier captain, Mei Wen served as the first aircraft carrier political commissar, and Liu Zhigang became the first aircraft carrier deputy captain, becoming my country's first generation Aircraft carrier man.
From a technical soldier to the deputy captain of a major power aircraft carrier, Liu Zhigang waited for 21 years, which is not easy.
The long military road, the pragmatic attitude rooted in the military camp, and the diligent and studious attitude gave Liu Zhigang one surprise after another, and also gave him a stage to display his military talents. Step by step, he was promoted from the deputy captain of an aircraft carrier to the deputy commander of an aircraft carrier formation. Commander, then commander of a naval base, and was promoted to the rank of major general.
These honors are earned by General Liu Zhigang’s hard work and love for the military camp. I wish him the best of luck in reaching the next level!
