In the first half of May, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Engineer Command College held a military exercise code named "Vanguard-2010," which was participated in by its graduating students.

The exercise was a joint military maneuver based on information warfare. It included such operations as equipment transportation, moving into the battlefield, combat operations and withdrawals. Real military equipment and weapons were used during the 15-day field exercise. It covered nearly 20 subjects listed in the new syllabus, including emergency road repair, bridge building, construction of military headquarters and battlefield water supply. These maneuvers are usually compulsory items in military training programs and conventional practices in military exercises.

New equipment debuted during the exercise, including tracked multipurpose engineer machines, bridge-laying tanks, a wheeled mountain bridge layer and rocket mine-laying system. The exercise provided an opportunity to test the equipment.

The students were grouped into military combat units. To simulate a real combat environment, the exercise was done in unfamiliar terrains, in inclement weathers and went on day and night. The electronic squad of a neighboring army division was invited to participate in the exercise. The squad caused electromagnetic interference. The student force could be raided by its enemy, the "blue" side, at any time. In the nearly real combat scenarios, the students practiced commanding, tactics, combat logistics and battlefield management. n

Vanguard-2010 military exercise

Rocket mine-laying system

Wheeled mountain bridge layer

Bridge laying tank

Tracked multipurpose engineer machine

Mountain excavator

The author works for the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department