Cai Yiqing, a Superb Submarine Commander

By Mao Lin & Ma Yalun

Cai Yiqing was born to be a good naval soldier and a model submariner. While his father wanted him to attend Shanghai Jiao Tong University,he was resolute in choosing the PLA Navy Submarine Academy instead. In the following 16 years,from the day he stepped into the submarine world to the last day of his life, he was awarded one second-class Meritorious Service Medal and four third-class ones, honored as an excellent commander in the PLA, an outstanding Communist Party member of the PLA, and a young expert in his post at the PLA.He was also granted numerous honors by his superiors. Cai Yiqing's countless military medals speak volumes for his devotion to the submarine world.

Learning to be an All-round Commander

No one becomes tough by slacking off. No one becomes scholarly without studying hard. From school to the army, Cai Yiqing had always been diligent and enthusiastic. During his four years in the military academy, he was rated as an outstanding student every year in attendance. He won the third-class Meritorious Service Medal at school, which was the highest honor a student ever received in the academy.He was proactive and creative in learning. He studied advanced submarine battle theories of various countries of the world,familiarized himself with the structure and performance of new types of submarines,and mastered the functional principles of weaponry. He used up 49 notebooks and accumulated military data of over 3 million words. He drew more than 1,500 charts of submarine structures,tactical training, and battle plans,including over 900 simulated diagrams of tactical training. His partner Gao Haibo recalled, “Cai Yiqing was a captain who was always prepared to win battles.During the one-and-a-half-year period of time when I worked with him, I never saw him asleep before 12 o'clock at night. He kept any and every threat to China's coastal defense in mind. Every time we went to sea to carry out an operation, he wrote a detailed summary. He once said, ‘Our bodies are confined to a steel tank,but our hearts embrace the entireocean!'”

In this age of star worship, the idol of Cai Yiqing was Grigori Shchedrin, a former Soviet naval hero. During the Great Patriotic War, the C-56 submarine piloted by Shchedrin, bombarded and sank more than 10 German ships in one fell swoop, winning all the officers and soldiers in the submarine the “Order of the Red Banner” accolades. Cai Yiqing wished himself to be as outstanding as Grigori Shchedrin.

Practice Makes Perfect

A good learner also needs to become a good practitioner. Like the old Chinese saying goes,“Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles.” The growth of submarine captains can be as difficult as that of astronauts. Each time there is a selection for a post, they must learn the corresponding skills,from the initial independent navigation, to tactical subjects,to simulated training, etc.The selection process and mechanism are very complex.A good commander must start as a submarine soldier, and a qualified submarine soldier needs to be familiar with the submarine structure. Therefore, after Cai Yiqing boarded a submarine, his first task was to get familiar with the piping structure. He never took the diagram for reference when he was observing the pipes.Instead, he drew the piping diagram himself according to the actual pipes. When he was on break, he checked it against the standard piping diagram.He was well versed in getting to the bilge, loading torpedoes, and manipulating accurate fire.

In September of 2007, Admiral Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations for the US, visited the submarine.Cai Yiqing accompanied Mullen from the first cabin to the stern,and fluently answered the questions Mullen asked. Mullen was surprised at the familiarity the young captain had with his submarine. Mullen pointed at a wire and asked, “If allowed, can you tell me where this circuit leads to?” “Sure, this circuit delivers direct current. It is 25 meters long and transmits electricity for 14 devices,”answered Cai, who then recited the names of the 14 devices one by one. Mullen gave Cai Yiqing a thumbs-up and exclaimed: “This is amazing! I've never met any captain who was so familiar with his own submarine.”

With his white gloves on,Mullen reached into the innermost part of the pipes and felt around. After he took out his hands, he was surprised to find his gloves still white. “Even such an obscure place is maintained so well. This shows your full devotion to your submarine. Your excellent military ability and well maintained equipment convince me that you are the best at sea!”

蔡一清陪同馬倫參觀 Cai Yiqing showing Admiral Mullen around during his visit

馬倫給蔡一清贈送紀(jì)念品 Admiral Mullen handing a souvenir to Cai Yiqing

Building a United Team

An able general makes his whole army able. A team of experts is better than a team with only one expert. As a captain, Cai Yiqing firmly believed that there was no unable soldier, but there was leader who could not make his soldiers able. A submarine is a complete “combat chain.”Each combat position is one link of the chain. Any weakness in a combat position may lead to a short-lived team. In order to achieve his goals, Cai Yiqing never let go of any weakness. He built a team that was disciplined,united, skilled, cooperative,and efficient. For several years,experts had started to emerge from his team. Successively,more than 30 soldiers had been awarded for meritorious service.Three soldiers had won the second-class Meritorious Service Medals. Four non-commissioned officers had published papers in professional journals. Eight noncommissioned officers had been awarded the first, second, and third prizes for the outstanding non-commissioned officers of PLA. The submarine also obtained the honor of “Advanced Unit in Naval Talent Training.” The No. 315 Submarine under Cai's leadership achieved impressive achievements one after another,becoming an invincible team of talents.

Going down in History as a Hero

On October 19, 2007, Cai Yiqing was leading the submarine team back from training. He remembered that during a training exercise, the hull was bumped by an object. So he ordered to float the submarine.He climbed up the deck with the sonar squad leader, Chen Xiaogang, to investigate the damage. Unfortunately, a swell came. Chen Xiaogang slipped and slid down the submarine. Cai Yiqing held on to the handrail with one hand and grasped Chen Xiaogang in the other. Under the weight of both men and the push of waves, the submarine's handrail where the safety rope was hanging suddenly broke. Both of them fell and were caught in the sea in the blink of an eye... When Cai Yiqing was rescued, he was announced to be deceased. His young life of only 34 years was forever gone to his beloved sea.

The Chinese Navy had lost an excellent submarine warrior,which made people sigh with regret. In 16 years, he had been preparing for battle, yet he did not die in combat, which was a great pity. But he died for his comrade—and isn't that the most glorious heroic feat of a soldier?

爺爺?shù)募視?A letter from Cai Yiqing's grandfather

During Cai's childhood, his grandfather's valiant military temperament and sense of responsibility in defending his country became deeply rooted in his heart. His short yet splendid life also became an immortal monument for newcomers. He has been gone for more than ten years, but it seems as if he never left. In the military camps,in the submarines, deep in the sea, his story always inspires the hearts of officers and soldiers.(Translation: Chen Jiani)

蔡一清這樣成就一流

文 /茆 琳 馬亞倫

蔡一清的榮譽(yù) Prizes and awards won by Cai Yiqing

蔡一清天生就是塊海軍的好料子，一等一的潛艇兵模范。當(dāng)年父親讓他報考上海交大，可他毅然選擇了海軍潛艇學(xué)院。從鉆進(jìn)潛艇的那天起，到他生命的最后一天，16年間，他獲二等功1次、三等功4次，被評為首屆全軍優(yōu)秀指揮軍官、全軍優(yōu)秀共產(chǎn)黨員、全軍青年崗位能手。蔡一清收獲的榮譽(yù)不勝枚舉，一枚枚軍功章證明了他無悔的選擇。

學(xué)求全知

世上沒有閑出來的硬漢，更無不經(jīng)歷寒窗的狀元郎。從學(xué)校到部隊(duì)，蔡一清一直保持勤學(xué)苦練的態(tài)度和熱情。在軍校的4年時間里，他連續(xù)4次被評為優(yōu)秀學(xué)員，在校就榮立三等功，打破學(xué)院學(xué)員立功受獎紀(jì)錄。他自覺學(xué)習(xí)，勇于創(chuàng)新，潛心研究世界各國先進(jìn)的潛艇作戰(zhàn)理論知識，熟練掌握新型潛艇構(gòu)造、性能和武器裝備功能原理，記了49本筆記，積累了300多萬字的軍事資料。他繪制潛艇結(jié)構(gòu)、戰(zhàn)術(shù)訓(xùn)練、作戰(zhàn)方案等各種圖表1500余幅，僅戰(zhàn)術(shù)訓(xùn)練模擬圖就有900多幅。他的搭檔高海波回憶：“蔡一清是一個整天想著打勝仗的艇長！和蔡一清搭檔一年半時間，沒見他晚上12點(diǎn)前睡過覺。世界上可能對中國海防出現(xiàn)的威脅，他都清楚地裝在心里。每次出海執(zhí)行任務(wù)，他都要寫詳細(xì)總結(jié)。蔡一清講過：‘我們的身體雖然局限在一個鋼罐之內(nèi)，但我們的心包容著整個海洋?！?/p>

在這個明星崇拜的時代，蔡一清心里藏著的卻是蘇聯(lián)海軍英雄格依謝德林。蘇聯(lián)衛(wèi)國戰(zhàn)爭期間，這位英雄駕駛的C-56潛艇一舉擊沉了10余艘德國艦船，全艇官兵榮獲“紅旗勛章”。蔡一清希望自己和格依謝德林一樣出色。

練求精細(xì)

正所謂讀萬卷書還要行萬里路，學(xué)習(xí)一流更要實(shí)踐一流。潛艇艇長的成長可以和航天員媲美。每次崗位選拔他們都要學(xué)習(xí)相應(yīng)的技能，從最初的獨(dú)立導(dǎo)航作業(yè)到戰(zhàn)術(shù)科目，再到模擬訓(xùn)練等，選拔機(jī)制和過程都很“復(fù)雜”。優(yōu)秀指揮員要從潛艇兵開始干起，一名合格的潛艇兵需要熟練掌握潛艇結(jié)構(gòu)。所以，蔡一清上艇之后的第一項(xiàng)任務(wù)就是“摸管路”，熟悉潛艇的管路構(gòu)造。他從不帶管路圖，而是按照實(shí)際管路自己畫，休息時再對照標(biāo)準(zhǔn)管路圖進(jìn)行檢查。爬艙底、裝填魚雷、操控準(zhǔn)確發(fā)射，他樣樣精通。

2007年9月，美國海軍作戰(zhàn)部長馬倫上將上艇參觀。從首艙到尾艙，蔡一清始終陪在馬倫身邊，對他提出的各種問題對答如流。馬倫驚訝于這名年輕艇長對自己潛艇的熟悉程度，他指著一條電線問：“在允許的情況下，你可以告訴我這條線路通向哪里嗎？”“當(dāng)然，這是一條負(fù)責(zé)輸送直流電的線路，它一共有25米長，負(fù)責(zé)14臺設(shè)備的供電?！比缓蟛桃磺灏?4臺設(shè)備的名稱一個不漏地背了出來。馬倫向蔡一清豎起大拇指，驚嘆道：“太讓人驚訝了，閣下是我見過的最熟悉自己潛艇的艇長。”

戴著白手套的馬倫把手伸進(jìn)管路最深處，四處摸了摸，白手套居然雪白如故?！斑@么偏僻的地方都保養(yǎng)得這么好，這充分體現(xiàn)了你們對潛艇的熱愛，你們軍事素質(zhì)好，裝備保養(yǎng)好，我相信你們在海上也是最棒的！”

人求同心

將能能一軍。一人精不如人人精。蔡一清作為艇長，深信沒有不好的兵，只有帶不好兵的人。一艘潛艇就是一副完整的“戰(zhàn)斗鏈條”，每個戰(zhàn)位都是其中的一個環(huán)節(jié)，一個戰(zhàn)位出現(xiàn)“短板”，就可能導(dǎo)致一個團(tuán)隊(duì)“短命”。為了實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)，蔡一清絕不放過任何一個“短板”，帶出了一支作風(fēng)嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)、思想統(tǒng)一、操作嫻熟、協(xié)同高效的隊(duì)伍。幾年來，他的艇隊(duì)涌現(xiàn)出一批士官小專家，先后有30多人次立功受獎，3人榮立二等功，4人撰寫的學(xué)術(shù)論文在專業(yè)核心期刊發(fā)表，8人分獲全軍優(yōu)秀士官人才獎一、二、三等獎。該艇還捧回了沉甸甸的“海軍人才培養(yǎng)先進(jìn)單位”獎牌。315艇在他的帶領(lǐng)下取得一個個驕人的成績，成為一支無堅(jiān)不摧的鋼鐵團(tuán)隊(duì)，成為一支人才濟(jì)濟(jì)的精英團(tuán)隊(duì)。

悲壯史冊

2007年10月19日，蔡一清率隊(duì)駕艇返航。他想起訓(xùn)練中，艇體被異物剮碰，于是命令潛艇上浮，自己帶著聲納班長陳曉剛爬上甲板，準(zhǔn)備勘察潛艇受損情況。誰料，不幸就發(fā)生在這一刻。一個涌浪打來，陳曉剛腳下一滑，順著艇舷下墜。蔡一清一手拉住扶手欄，一手抓住陳曉剛。在兩人重力和海浪的推動下，掛著保險繩的潛艇扶手欄突然斷裂，兩人落入海中，眨眼間被卷入大?！痪绕饡r，他已經(jīng)沒有了心跳和呼吸。蔡一清將年輕的生命永遠(yuǎn)融入了自己鐘愛的大海，年僅34歲！

中國海軍損失了一名優(yōu)秀的潛艇戰(zhàn)將，令人扼腕嘆息；16年厲兵秣馬，未在硝煙中成仁，也是深深的遺憾。但為戰(zhàn)友而死，何嘗不是軍人最光榮的犧牲。

蔡一清的部分手稿 Manuscripts by Cai Yiqing

幼年時，祖父雄赳赳的軍人氣質(zhì)和保家衛(wèi)國的責(zé)任擔(dān)當(dāng)，曾在蔡一清的心里深深地扎下了根。而他短暫而絢爛的一生，也為后來者鑄就了一座不朽的豐碑。他已離開十年，卻又從未離去。在軍營里，在潛艇上，在大海深處，他的傳說隨著浪花不斷拍打著官兵的心，激勵他們潛行明志，蹈海礪鋒。