Female Soldiers Shine on China's First Aircraft Carrier

Female soldiers have presented a bright and brave public image on China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, since the female crew team was set up in June 2010.These soldiers have witnessed historic events on the Liaoning, including its handover ceremony to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the first taking-off and landing exercises of its fighter-jets.In conjunction with International Women's Day this year, the 90 member female crew team was honored with the National March 8th Red-banner Unit award, an honor granted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) to exemplary collectives from all walks of life, who have made extraordinary achievements in China.

Excellent Soldiers

The moment female soldiers first came aboard the Liaoning, foreign media organizations began to raise doubts, deeming them to be nothing more than a box-ticking show, an accusation the tough female soldiers have answered with practical action:

Mongolian solider, Tian Xuelian, can do 173 squats and 193 push-ups in five minutes, breaking the record previously held by a male soldier of 156 squats and 167 push-ups.Tian's outstanding physical performance was gained through sweat and tears. Every morning, the female soldiers do a three kilometer run, under the bright mid-morning sun, they also perform more than 100 pull-ups on the horizontal bar, and at dusk, they lift dumbbells several hundred times.In the history of the Chinese navy, female soldiers were mainly engaged in medical and telecommunications work, but since they boarded the Liaoning three years ago, these female soldiers have cast their eyes on the posts which used to belong to their male counterparts.The first time Zhang Mingzhu from the security department  put on a fire-proof suit it took her eight minutes. When she pulled the 17-kilogram air respirator over her head, she almost broke her jaw.

Zhang's current personal best is one minute and twenty seconds. With her indomitable spirit, Zhang and her colleagues have honed their skills to optimize the procedure. After a day of training, they are often worn out and covered in sweat.Before joining the army, mild-mannered Ren Yingqi had never thought that she would do parachuting, field survival, or emergency medical aid. But now, 'timid' Ren, together with Zhao Ling and Cheng Cuilin, have become the first female members of the aircraft carrier's medical team.The fighter-jet command post used to be prohibited for female soldiers, but Song Meiyan aimed to fight for it.During her intensive training on the Liaoning, Lieutenant Song worked for 13 hours on the operation desk, keeping a close watch on the screen to chase a group of targets. Eventually, she absorbed all the rare data.

With her assiduous study and bold practice, Song has become the first female watch officer.Nowadays, all female soldiers have passed qualification examinations and been deployed to 35 specialties in all of the Liaoning's departments, with the soldiers involved often becoming the first female soldiers to hold these special posts.On the Liaoning, female soldiers, together with their male counterparts, have completed various scientific experiments and military training exercises, contributing to the development of China's aircraft carriers.Female soldiers have made the successful leap from shore-based soldiers to on-board soldiers, from short-term boarding soldiers to long-term boarding soldiers, and from service-oriented soldiers to battle-oriented soldiers.


http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/womenofchina/report/172297-1.htm