He Xianda is an ordinary guy from China’s Hunan Province. He is 1.72 meters tall with a dark complexion. He has a sonorous voice and always walks fast. He is merry when he’s relaxing and serious in training. His fellow soldiers call him “Ada.”
A sergeant, he has been received by China’s top leadership three times and has launched eight new models of missiles.
In his 18 years of service, he has won military skills championships 13 times. Earlier this year, he also won a first class merit.
He is a model soldier in China’s strategic missile artillery. His comrades say he is “Number One in Missile Launching”.
From Kitchen to Battlefield
He was very proud when he joined the missile forces. He aimed to become the best in the battalion.
He was the best among the new soldiers, but he was assigned to the catering squad.
He complained to the company commander, “I’m good at all the military skills. Why do you assign me to the catering squad? I want to be able to fight.”
“A good soldier should follow orders and see them through to completion,” said his commander.
So He Xianda joined the catering squad. But he also decided to learn all about missile launching.
“You can’t do anything big on a stove,” his fellow soldiers said. They told him to focus on cooking and forget about missiles. But He ignored them.
Over the next six months, He busied himself cooking for the whole company with two colleagues, while learning about missiles in his spare time.
When he was stoking the cooker, he simulated the missile launcher’s operating system with kindling, and made panels with cardboard boxes. At night when everyone else was asleep, he read textbooks in the washroom.
Six months later, when the brigade was tested on missile launch techniques, He Xianda applied to take the exams. When the results came out, he was among the top three.
Later he was assigned to missile transport.
Position One
Operating a crane and carrying missiles was not easy. It required hard work and years of practice. He would practice lifting buckets, bricks, or even a chopstick from a beer bottle, and use the steel drill bit to hit peanuts. He practiced the techniques day and night, in the freezing winter and scorching summer.
“The crane jib is like his arm,” said his colleagues.
In 1999, the brigade took part in the National Day Parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of People’s Republic of China. He, the best crane operator, joined the parade team. During a rehearsal on a windy day, the team wanted to relocate the missile. It was a great challenge for the crane operator, but He moved all the missiles without incident.
In half a year, He Xianda successfully finished more than 100 missile transportation tasks. He was promoted to an instructor, the only “soldier instructor” in the company.
He aimed higher when he became a sergeant. The most important operating post, “Position One,” which requires outstanding skill, was usually assigned to officers. But officers were frequently rotated, affecting the fighting capacity of the company.
