novelSusiti Chapter 0040: Pilot Project
Chapter 0040: Pilot Project
The regimental headquarters held a meeting to discuss the pilot application submitted by the 7th Company. Gao Cheng's opinion was to conduct the pilot program for the entire company, but the political commissar thought it was a bit too radical. The regimental commander finally decided to conduct a pilot program at the platoon level. If the results were excellent, then the pilot program would continue at the company level. If it did not significantly improve combat effectiveness, it could still be used as an argument. In any case, strengthening the precision strike capability of front-line combat units was not unacceptable.
The political commissar also had a concern: if the argument proved to be correct, the troops would need a large number of Type 85 sniper rifles—would the higher-ups approve it?
After all, if we use the 7th Company as a pilot, or even the entire 7th Company as a pilot, the number of Type 85 sniper rifles needed is not too many. But if the whole regiment needs to be equipped, then it will be troublesome!
"Old buddy, there's no need to worry about that. If it works, that's the division commander and even the army group commander's problem to worry about." On this point, Regiment Commander Wang seemed a bit "cunning." His plan was clear: if the pilot platoon of the Seventh Company could prove the effectiveness, then the entire company would be used as a pilot—once the pilot program was rolled out and showed results, he would shamelessly go to his superiors. At that time, the brilliant results would be there, and the headache would be on the superiors' shoulders.
We can't exactly ask him, the commander of the armored regiment, to come up with a solution, can we?
The political commissar laughed too, knowing that his partner understood.
……
The document from the regimental headquarters, which had given its approval, was delivered to the 7th Company on the third day. However, contrary to Gao Cheng's expectations, it was not a pilot program for the entire company, but rather only approved for a pilot program for one platoon.
This is equivalent to a two-thirds discount. Even the requested Type 85 sniper rifles were only issued in one-third of their quantity. However, the regimental headquarters compensated the 7th Company by sending Meng Jianguo, the regiment's famous "gun king," to assist the 7th Company in training marksmen.
Meng Jianguo, a fifth-level sergeant, is the best sniper in the 535th Regiment, without exception. He is the treasure of the regiment, and almost all the snipers in the regiment are his students and grand-students.
This only shows that they have seniority, but what about their abilities?
The Type 85 sniper rifle has an effective range of 1000 meters and a maximum kill distance of 1600 meters. Meng Jianguo has no record of actually killing a target at 1600 meters in combat, but he does have a record of hitting a moving target at a constant speed from 1600 meters away in front of his superiors. Without considering the comparison between killing a target and shooting a moving target at a constant speed, this achievement is enough to make everyone admire him.
The Type 85 sniper rifle is not a heavy sniper rifle!
Upon seeing Meng Jianguo, Gao Cheng grinned so wide he almost had a stroke: "Squad Leader Meng, it's an honor to have you here! Hey you, go get me a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes."
The last time he showed off, several packs of Zhonghua cigarettes he had smuggled from home were stolen.
Meng Jianguo stopped Gao Cheng from handing over money, saying, "I don't smoke."
"Attitude, this is an attitude problem!" Gao Cheng stated firmly. They were always the ones who sent people over for Meng Jianguo to train. This time, Meng Jianguo went directly to the company. If he, as the company commander, didn't make his attitude clear, wouldn't people talk behind his back?
"Company Commander Gao, I'm here to assist with the training, not to bully others!" Meng Jianguo said sternly. Seeing this, Gao Cheng had no choice but to give up and said to the soldiers, "Notify the platoon leader to bring the three squad leaders of the platoon over. Oh, and have Shi Jin call Zheng Yingqi along too."
After the soldiers left, Gao Cheng affectionately "caught up" with Meng Jianguo, saying as they walked, "Squad Leader Meng, how was it this time...?"
As he walked, he explained the purpose of the training to him, and Meng Jianguo was quickly drawn to the "precision marksman" that Gao Cheng had mentioned.
It's no exaggeration to say that Meng Jianguo can be called a sniper expert. He has focused on sniper rifles for more than ten years and has taught countless apprentices. But it is precisely because he has taught so many apprentices that Meng Jianguo understands more and more that good sniper talents are hard to come by - talent, perseverance, mentality, and opportunity are all indispensable!
And now, Meng Jianguo can say without reservation that the vast majority of snipers are:
None of you are snipers—at most you just know how to use a sniper rifle.
Snipers are too difficult to train. Meng Jianguo is still working hard to master camouflage alone. And highly professional camouflage is an essential skill for snipers, not to mention the various auxiliary combat skills that Meng Jianguo is still researching.
And what about the precision shooter?
Compared to professional snipers, marksmen have much lower requirements in many aspects. To put it bluntly, snipers are like treasures carefully crafted by master craftsmen, while marksmen can be mass-produced!
That's why Meng Jianguo was happy: if there were a large number of accurate shooters, wouldn't it be easier to select snipers in the future?
……
The platoon leader and his three squad leaders gathered in the company commander's office. If it weren't for Zheng Yingqi mixed in with them, the scene would have felt quite harmonious. But with Zheng Yingqi among them, it was like a wild pheasant sneaking into a flock of cranes; something just didn't feel right.
"This is Squad Leader Meng from the regimental headquarters. Squad Leader Meng, this is the platoon leader, this is..." Gao Cheng hastily introduced the first four, but when it came to Zheng Yingqi, Gao Cheng introduced him more formally:
"Zheng Yingqi, this year's new recruit, Meng Ban, the theory of the marksman that I told you about was proposed by this kid. He's got real talent. This time, I'm entrusting him to you. Make the most of him, and you definitely won't be disappointed."
"Good morning, squad leader!" Zheng Yingqi saluted Meng Jianguo—a fifth-level sergeant, a king of soldiers who has served for more than ten years. Who among those who can serve in the military indefinitely isn't a "king of soldiers"? Special forces are just one type of king of soldiers, but soldiers who serve in the military for a long time like this are absolutely worthy of the title of king of soldiers!
"Hello." Meng Jianguo returned the greeting, then scrutinized Zheng Yingqi with a critical gaze. Zheng Yingqi actually felt nervous and stood up straighter.
The three squad leaders and one platoon leader were somewhat envious of Zheng Yingqi's preferential treatment. Shi Jin was a little better, since he knew the reason, but the other three were completely baffled. They had no idea what this so-called "precision marksman" was, and seeing Shi Jin's indifference, they all muttered to themselves:
"Shi Jin is really good at covering up!"
Gao Cheng said:
"I called you here because there's something we need to discuss. The regiment has decided to put a pilot project in our company. The idea for this pilot project was originally proposed by Zheng Yingqi. After discussing it with the political instructor, we decided to put the pilot project in your platoon."
Although the platoon leader didn't know exactly what kind of pilot program it was, he immediately answered loudly:
"Reporting to the company commander, the first platoon guarantees to complete the mission!"
"Hey, you don't even know what kind of pilot project it is, yet you dare to make such a loud guarantee? You've got a lot of confidence!" Gao Cheng looked at the platoon leader, who replied without hesitation, "Reporting to the company commander, the entire platoon has absolute confidence in completing all the tasks assigned by the company!"