During the National Day holiday, the 49th naval escort fleet held a flag-raising ceremony in the distant seas.

During this holiday, some people work non-stop during the holiday, while others stick to their fighting positions and protect safety. During the National Day holiday, the 49th escort fleet of the Navy, which was performing escort missions in the distant seas, held a special flag-raising ceremony. The five-star red flag rises over the deep blue ocean. The escort officers and soldiers stick to their fighting positions and protect the safety of international waterways in the high seas with loyalty and responsibility.

The person who raised the national flag personally was Zhou Zixuan, leader of the signal squad of the Kunming ship. After joining the army for 9 years, this is her first time to participate in a escort and her first time to participate in a flag-raising ceremony overseas.

In addition to being responsible for raising flags and setting up signal flags, Zhou Zixuan is also responsible for daily external communication. During the escort mission, it is necessary to communicate frequently with the protected ship. Her voice is the sense of security that can be heard, and her confidence is the determination of all the comrades behind her to be in place to protect the safety of international waterways and never retreat.

If the signal corps is the window for external communication, then the special forces members are the iron fists that guard merchant ships. They are the backbone of the anti-terrorism and anti-piracy forces in the escort formation. It is also the first time for the special forces member Fu Chuangchuang to follow the ship on the high seas and participate in the escort operation. In the sparkling Gulf of Aden, the Chinese naval escort fleet is constantly guarding this sea area, guarding every passing merchant ship.

Special Forces member Fu Chuangchuang: Since the escort, my comrades and I have based on the actual mission, focused on the core capabilities of counter-terrorism, anti-piracy and armed rescue, using the high seas as a training platform, carried out various targeted training and special subject drills, and maintained a high-intensity alert state at all times to ensure that emergencies can be quickly responded to and effectively handled.

Watching Qin Chenyang just finished the drill and rushed to the cab for duty. In the vast sea, even the most advanced radar equipment will have blind spots, and with the close cooperation of lookouts and radar soldiers, it can ensure that there are no blind spots in the detection range.

Navy Yueyang Ship Qin Chenyang: Our lookout duties are basically part-time. In addition to doing our own jobs well, we also need to cooperate with each other and share this work. Sometimes we need to fight continuously, and our lookout duties require us to be highly concentrated.

The work of the watchman seems simple - "stand, watch, and report" repeatedly. No matter how big the storm is, they have to stand at their posts for three or four hours, concentrating and not letting go of any suspicious target on the sea. Fishing nets, driftwood, suspicious boats... every discovery may be related to the safety of the entire sea area. In this deep blue, what Qin Chenyang looks forward to and pays most attention to when looking out is the ship flying the Chinese flag.

Qin Chenyang: On the first day of the watch, the squad leader told me that watchmen should have a light in their eyes and a string in their hearts to keep an eye on the sea at all times to ensure safe navigation. This is my first time to participate in escort, and also my first time to spend the National Day overseas. My mother sent me a message yesterday saying that everything was fine at home and asked me to take care of myself and work hard to complete the escort mission. Watching the escorted ship safely pass through the Gulf of Aden, I felt that it was worth it no matter how hard and tiring it was.

The signal soldiers raising the flag, the special operations team members on duty, the sailors on the lookout... On this National Day, every battle position in the escort formation is paying tribute to the motherland in its own way. They integrate their love for the motherland into every flag slogan, every duty, and every report. On the far sea, that bright Chinese red is the most solid spiritual coordinate in the hearts of the officers and soldiers.