I want to be the very best

Editor’s note: China Daily is not authorized to disclose the name of Ding’s squadron.

Ijoined the People’s Liberation Army in 2004, and started my flying career in 2010. The PLA visited my high school to look for prospective candidates when I was in the first year. More than 10,000 people in Hunan, my home province, applied but only about 90 were selected. After graduating from school, I enrolled at the PLA Air Force Aviation University. To be honest, I never thought I would be eliminated because I was confident about my abilities.

In 2015, I joined my squadron. After learning about its illustrious history, I understood that it was dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Its achievements are legendary within the PLA. We are given many important tasks, and commanders at all levels are likely to focus more on our unit. It is a great platform for a pilot; I don’t need to worry about a shortage of opportunities. I am very proud and lucky to be a member of this team.

However, honor comes with pressures. We have always been deemed number one — in return, we feel obliged to repay that status with excellent performances. So, when there is a training session between different squadrons, I am unable to prepare with real peace of mind, and I often dream about our combat strategies for nights beforehand.

You can see the common characteristics among pilots in my squadron — that is, we all look older than we are. At age 40, some pilots already have white hair and many wrinkles on their faces. Of course, that also depends on genetics. We work out every day, and the intensity of the training and the stress of flying the aircraft places a burden on our bodies. This will not change throughout our careers.

Psychologically, our families also need to be as strong as we are. For example, my wife took care of herself when she was pregnant because I had to do my duty and her parents were far away taking care of her younger brother. I didn’t even see her on the day our baby was born.

My wife gives me a lot of support, and we share life values and beliefs. She takes responsibility for looking after and educating our child when I am not at home. She is the one I can trust.

My goal is to become the PLA’s best pilot. If someone cannot be the best in his country, how can he be the best in the world? Ding Tang spoke with Li Hongyang.