ATPnovel Chapter 0041: Meng Jianguo's Selection Method
Chapter 0041: Meng Jianguo's Selection Method
As for pilot units—who cares what kind of pilot program it is, we definitely can't back down at this point.
This was the platoon leader's idea, and his squad leaders, of course, wouldn't back down; they all assured Gao Cheng.
"That's more like it!" Gao Cheng was quite satisfied with the attitude of the group. He pointed to Zheng Yingqi and explained the situation:
"A few days ago, I was thinking of recommending this kid to train as a sniper. He mentioned the idea of a marksman to me, so I reported it to the regiment and wanted to give it a try. The regiment approved the trial, so we'll use your platoon as the pilot. Zheng Yingqi, tell everyone your idea in detail."
"Yes!" Zheng Yingqi replied and began to speak:
"A designated marksman is different from a sniper. In the U.S. military, this role is clearly defined. Their main task is to provide precise firepower to infantry squads at medium to long ranges. A standard sniper operates independently in a small team, but a designated marksman operates in coordination with the squad..."
Zheng Yingqi began to speak eloquently, but the platoon leader was thinking to himself: Aren't our snipers supposed to cooperate with the squad?
Gao Cheng naturally noticed the platoon leader's expression. After Zheng Yingqi finished speaking, he specifically explained, "Currently, taking our Seventh Company as an example, a platoon has no more than three snipers, and your platoon only has one. Why? It's because training snipers is too complicated and requires higher talent. But we can understand a marksman as a simplified version of a sniper. We can only talk about the specific benefits without trying them, but at the very least, we can strengthen the squad's firepower, right?"
"The idea is that each class will be equipped with two marksmen, but we still need to figure out the specifics in actual combat. Meng, let's tentatively set the number of trainees at ten. What do you think?" Gao Cheng asked Meng Jianguo for his opinion. Meng Jianguo nodded and said it was no problem. He had led training teams with more people before, but the more people there were, the less likely it was to pay attention to each individual. In general, ten people were the best number.
"As for the selection, I've decided to respect Squad Leader Meng's opinion. Platoon leader, we'll pull out your platoon later, and we'll go to the firing range. Who's capable and who's not, let Squad Leader Meng decide!"
Gao Cheng chose to fully trust Meng Jianguo. Although Meng Jianguo did not take any action, Zheng Yingqi could still see a kind of emotion called being moved in his expression.
That was settled. Zheng Yingqi was just about to go back with Shi Jin and the others to make preparations when Gao Cheng stopped him: "Go to the second platoon and call Zhang Xiaofan, and go to the third platoon and call Cheng Cai. Let's go to the shooting range together."
Zhang Xiaofan was a 2-year soldier and a sniper in the 5th squad of the 2nd platoon, while Cheng Cai was a "quasi" sniper in the 7th platoon.
"Yes!" Zheng Yingqi responded. He naturally understood Gao Cheng's meaning. With a shooting champion as an instructor, how could Gao Cheng not "squeeze oil" from him?
……
Zhang Xiaofan and Cheng Cai mingled in the assembled platoon, filled with doubt, unsure of what to do. Zheng Yingqi hadn't explained why he called them, only telling them to follow, which made the two somewhat uneasy. Zhang Xiaofan asked a few familiar soldiers, but they were all clueless.
At this moment, Company Commander Gao Cheng and a sergeant came over together. After recognizing the sergeant, Zhang Xiaofan, who was next to Cheng Cai, looked surprised. Cheng Cai asked curiously in a low voice, "Brother Zhang, who is this person?"
"Gun King!" Zhang Xiaofan whispered.
"Gun King?" Cheng Cai asked, puzzled. Zhang Xiaofan then said, "Your master's master's master."
He thought for a moment and then added another "mentor"—the senior sergeant Meng Jianguo in the 535th Regiment had an incredibly long tenure, and countless snipers in the regiment had been trained by him!
Cheng Cai was shocked. It turned out that this man was the "Grandmaster" that his "master" had mentioned!
He curiously peeked at Meng Jianguo and found that he was quite dark-skinned—actually, it was from tanning. Apart from that, he didn't look like the experts he had in mind. But looking at Zhang Xiaofan's respectful expression beside him, Cheng Cai recalled his experience of following the group today and couldn't help but have some guesses.
The team quickly set off. The firing range wasn't far, so they walked there directly. Gao Cheng and the fifth-level sergeant brought up the rear. Cheng Cai, seeing this, pricked up his ears and quietly listened to their conversation:
"Meng Ban, are there any requirements for shooting?"
"Use uncalibrated guns and let them calibrate them themselves. Two people in a group, taking turns, 10 bullets each, to fire at 150 meters in a prone position."
"OK!"
Listening to their conversation, Cheng Cai pondered the matter more and more. The more he thought about it, the more he felt this was an opportunity. He couldn't help but steal glances at the "founding father" not far away with burning eyes from time to time. Meng Jianguo was incredibly perceptive. He quickly noticed Cheng Cai's helmet, but he didn't care and pretended not to see it.
When they arrived at the firing range, the logistics team had already prepared the weapons—all of them uncalibrated. The soldiers were puzzled and didn't know what this meant.
"Get ready in pairs! Starting with Class 3, the guns aren't calibrated yet, you'll calibrate them yourselves later. 10 bullets, 150 meters prone chest target, calibrate the gun, 150 seconds in total! First group, get ready!" Gao Cheng said, pulling out a stopwatch. Clearly, he was the referee today.
Although the soldiers in the first platoon were completely confused, the squad leader's order rang out quickly. Two soldiers from the first platoon came out, still confused, took their guns, received the ten-round magazines that had been prepared in advance, and went to their firing positions with their gun-calibrating tools.
The aiming distance is usually between 25 and 70 meters, and the 7th Company usually defaults to 50 meters. The two men in the first group stared blankly at the target 150 meters away, but Gao Cheng had already pressed the timer and said:
"Stop dawdling, the timer has started!"
One soldier, being quick-witted, noticed the binoculars beside him and felt reassured. He first made minor adjustments as usual, then began firing at the target, observing the impact points through the binoculars before recalibrating—normally three shots are required for calibration, but he completed the calibration in two. He then began firing, having only eight bullets left after the two test shots. In the first two calibration shots, his first shot hit the target but didn't score, while the second shot scored a 4.
Compared to this soldier, his comrade was much less skilled. After all, he was just a new recruit. He awkwardly fired five shots before he could complete the gun calibration, and then he started shooting. His performance was terrible, and he didn't even finish shooting when the time was up.
The new recruit stood up, drenched in sweat, and felt ashamed as he faced the company commander.
This was a subject the 7th Company had never encountered before, and given that this soldier had only been with the company for less than three months, Gao Cheng didn't reprimand him. He simply gestured for him to go down. Meng Jianguo took the gun, checked it, and fired the last bullet at the target. After confirming there were no more bullets, he handed the gun to the soldier beside him and whispered:
"His mental fortitude is average, and his accuracy in straightening his rifle is poor."
"And him?" Takashiro was referring to the sergeant who had performed well.
"Solid foundation, average mental fortitude," Meng Jianguo commented quietly.
Gao Cheng sighed inwardly. He thought the first soldier's performance was alright, but it clearly didn't meet Meng Jianguo's standards. Meng was an expert in this area, and Gao Cheng couldn't argue with him. He could only call out, "Next group!"
Two more soldiers from the first squad stepped forward.
Standing in the queue, Zheng Yingqi wondered about the reason for this assessment—training or assessment always has a purpose, so what was Gao Cheng and Meng Ban assessing with this method?
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