Military Wife's Visit: Expense Reimbursement + Dedicated Transportation + Efficient Service

The Journey Home: The Mountains Are No Longer High, and the Waters Are No Longer Long

—— News Investigation on How Party Committees at All Levels Help Solve Difficulties for Grassroots Soldiers and Officers with a Correct View of Achievements

Officers from a certain unit of the Armed Police take a photo with family members visiting (Photo by Lu Wenkai)

In early summer on the plateau, a minibus marked with the "Double Support" logo is smoothly driving along National Highway 318.

With a special vehicle picking her up from the airport, oxygen support, and military doctors accompanying her, Yang Di, the wife of Luo Qizhi from a certain brigade of the Armed Police Second Mobile Division, told reporters that she felt surrounded by warmth throughout this journey home. However, recalling her first experience visiting the unit, she said, "It was a bit like being in a difficult situation."

“After getting off the plane, I took the airport bus to the city, then took a ride-hailing car to the long-distance bus station, and then took a long-distance bus to the county town. After getting off, I took a taxi to the camp... I dragged two suitcases and went through multiple transfers, finally arriving at the unit's gate late at night,” Yang Di said.

“Why didn’t you apply in advance for a vehicle from the unit or take leave to pick up your family?” Recently, during a research visit, the brigade leadership learned about Luo Qizhi's family experience. In response to the leader's inquiry, Luo Qizhi explained, “Long-distance vehicle requests need to be submitted in advance, and whether a vehicle can be dispatched depends on the weather. With heavy regular tasks, I also feel embarrassed to take leave, so I can only advise my family to bear with it a bit more…”

It is understood that this brigade is responsible for maintenance and traffic support tasks along the Sichuan-Tibet and Xinjiang-Tibet routes year-round, with scattered locations and remote positions, and the living conditions are harsh. As the research deepened, many soldiers mentioned that inconvenient transportation is the main reason why family members are unwilling to visit the unit.

“Over the years, although we have invested a lot of funds and energy in housing and living guarantees, there are still not many family members visiting the unit.” At a brigade party committee meeting, a leader spoke in conjunction with the research experience, stating that the unit is located in a remote area with almost no social support. We not only need to work hard on food and accommodation but also strive to solve transportation difficulties, providing good service and support for military families visiting the unit, creating convenient conditions for soldiers and their families to reunite.

Not long after, the brigade established a special working group to deeply understand the travel needs of military families visiting the unit. They formulated a list of solutions for frequently reported issues such as "inconvenient pick-up and drop-off," and assigned specific personnel to follow up and resolve these issues. The working group also communicated multiple times with relevant local departments to coordinate and solve travel support issues for military families during their visits. Ultimately, both military and local authorities jointly formulated the "Detailed Plan for Travel Service Support for Military Families" and the "Special Implementation Plan for 'Supporting the Military and Caring for Families,'" based on the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Status and Rights Protection of Military Personnel" and the opinions jointly issued by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and 20 other departments on strengthening the preferential treatment of military personnel, their families, veterans, and other beneficiaries. This established a three-in-one support system of "expense reimbursement + special vehicle pick-up and drop-off + efficient service," effectively enhancing the sense of honor, gain, and happiness of military personnel and their families.

From the snowy plateau to the desert and then to the high mountains and islands, in recent days, reporters visiting various military camps have learned that since the launch of education on establishing and practicing a correct view of achievements, party committees in various units have continuously calibrated their performance orientation, successively introducing a series of pragmatic measures aimed at solving the practical difficulties of military families visiting the unit and soldiers taking leave to visit their families, making the journey home "no longer high and no longer long."

In the deep mountains of the south, reporters entered a certain brigade of the Rocket Force, where a brigade leader was leading staff to improve and optimize the support plan for family members visiting the unit in conjunction with the newly revised common regulations and "Several Provisions on Standardizing and Improving Welfare Benefits for Military Personnel." Reporters learned that in addition to improving travel services, they are focusing on the upcoming peak of family visits during the summer, collecting and sorting soldiers' opinions and suggestions in advance. In response to the frequent demand for "establishing children's play areas" reported from the grassroots, the brigade staff flexibly utilized the family courtyard space to designate a children's area. They appointed specific personnel to purchase equipment such as slides and swings, closely monitoring measurement and installation processes to ensure the children's playground is ready for use during the summer.

On the coast of the East China Sea, He Chunlin, a soldier from a certain observation and communication brigade of the Navy who had just completed a special mission, submitted a leave application to his company. The brigade leadership introduced that in recent years, the brigade has been intertwined with major tasks and heavy training, but the brigade party committee has made it clear that even with saturated tasks, the leave system must be strictly implemented to fully guarantee soldiers' leave and family visits. Based on the implementation of the "Interim Regulations on Military Leave Work" and the newly revised common regulations, the brigade scientifically coordinated soldiers' leave arrangements according to actual tasks, exploring various effective mechanisms to ensure that soldiers take all their entitled leave.

During an interview at a certain observation and communication station of the brigade, soldiers told reporters that the islands they are stationed on are far from the mainland, with no flights available, making travel very inconvenient. In the past, they could only take supply ships to leave the island during leave, but supply ships only came every few days. Third-class sergeant Pan Jixu recalled that one summer, he applied for leave, but unexpectedly, a typhoon approached, and the supply ship could not dock for a long time, delaying his departure from the island, and he ultimately had to cancel his leave plans.

Now, the situation is very different. The brigade actively communicates with the local government to coordinate regular flights, making material supply and soldiers' entry and exit from the island much more convenient than before. Moreover, with strong support from higher authorities, the brigade has also established a cooperation mechanism with local transportation companies to meet the urgent needs of soldiers stationed on the island.

“Matters concerning the vital interests of soldiers must not remain mere slogans.” As the sea breeze gently blows, a leader from the brigade told reporters, “Serving soldiers is serving combat effectiveness. Without worries, everyone can focus wholeheartedly on training and preparation for battle.”

Source: PLA Daily

Authors: Wang Yue, Xie Fei, Jin Meizi