Difficulties faced by community veterans service stations and countermeasures

Ning Yonggang, Research Institute of Military-Civilian Integration Development, Northwest University of Political Science and Law

【Abstract】The placement and management of retired military personnel are crucial to the stability of the military and the overall stability of society. The Party Central Committee has proposed integrating the work of retired military personnel with the construction of a solid national defense and a powerful people's army in a unified planning and implementation approach. Currently, the work of retired military personnel faces new situations and tasks. As the terminal nerve of the retired military personnel affairs network, community service stations for retired military personnel can directly observe the joys and sorrows of retired military personnel. Their effective operation plays a pivotal role in vigorously advancing the development of retired military personnel affairs. This article, based on the current situation, analyzes the challenges faced by grassroots community service stations for retired military personnel and proposes several countermeasures.

【Keywords】Community Veterans Service Station | Veterans' Reemployment | Dilemma and Countermeasures

The Importance of the Work of Community Veterans Service Stations

Gathering is a blazing fire, dispersing into a sky full of stars. Shedding their military uniforms, retired servicemen return to society, scattered across vast streets, towns, and communities, eventually becoming active in various positions, engaging in diverse professions, and continuing to write different life stories. They have undergone rigorous training in the military, serving as the strong pillars of national defense; after retirement, they fight in various industries, also becoming crucial forces in consolidating the Party's governance and driving the nation's rejuvenation. Therefore, retired servicemen are important human and talent resources, requiring full activation of their fighting spirit, leveraging their intelligence and wisdom, and enabling them to become significant forces propelling economic and social development.

The service station for retired military personnel serves as a bridge, connecting the realities of civilian life with the dreams of military service for the vast number of retired soldiers, making their current lives more secure and their past military experiences more glorious. Doing a good job in the service for retired military personnel is an important means to "stabilize the military's morale, gather the spirit of the soldiers, and strengthen the military's soul." The service stations for retired military personnel in street communities should focus on the goal of "making retired military personnel the most respected people in society and making the military the most revered profession in society," effectively and solidly advancing the work related to retired military personnel. As the terminal nerve of the network for retired military personnel affairs, the community service station for retired military personnel directly senses the warmth and coolness of retired soldiers, understands their joys and sorrows, and its effective operation plays an irreplaceable role in promoting the healthy development of retired military personnel affairs.

II. The Current Dilemmas Faced by Community Veterans Service Stations

In recent years, the service stations for retired military personnel in various communities have achieved certain results while being built, while exploring, and while being standardized. However, due to various reasons, their role has not been fully realized.

(1) Community management work is complex, and the staffing of service stations is relatively tight.

The current community management staff is allocated based on the number of residents under the community's jurisdiction, usually ranging from three to seven or eight people. These staff members also serve as part-time workers at the community's veterans affairs station. The daily tasks of the community include organizing public activities, mediating disputes among residents, assisting in investigating the conditions of shops within the jurisdiction, and visiting and consoling key individuals in the community. The daily affairs are extremely complex and numerous, leading to relatively tight scheduling of community service station personnel. Therefore, the advancement of work related to veterans is often carried out intermittently, and the organization and operation become strained due to limited personnel scheduling. Under normal circumstances, without special requirements, related activities are usually only organized during holidays such as August 1st (Army Day), National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival.

(2) It is difficult to effectively gather retired military personnel due to their diverse employment, making event organization challenging.

The service object of the community retired servicemen service station is the entire community's retired servicemen, and organizing activities is challenging. Generally, communities have over a hundred retired servicemen registered, with a wide age range and diverse professions. From young soldiers in their twenties who have been demobilized, to middle-aged family pillars striving to make a living, and even retired cadres in their eighties; there are young entrepreneurs chasing their dreams, self-selected military officers seeking breakthroughs, as well as retired veterans in dire need of assistance due to illness and unfortunate circumstances. In summary, the identities of retired servicemen are diverse, their occupations varied, and they are busy with their livelihoods, making it often difficult to effectively gather them together. Even with advance notice of community activities and individual phone calls beforehand, the number of people who can arrive on time is usually very few, making it difficult to organize collective activities.

(III) Insufficient activity bases, limited special funds, and difficulties in advancing work expansion

Community Veterans Service Stations should, according to their functional planning, be equipped with offices for veterans' affairs, meeting rooms, psychological adjustment rooms, legal consultation rooms, centers for preferential treatment and assistance, honor rooms, chat bars, book bars, and other activity spaces. Although small, they should have all necessary facilities. However, many communities currently only have a space of about a hundred square meters, which is insufficient for activity areas, leading to limited space and the necessity of multi-purpose rooms. This inevitably causes mutual interference when activities are conducted. Additionally, many communities do not have dedicated funding for veterans' affairs, such as for visits, condolences, and organizing film screenings and social events. Due to financial constraints, these activities often prioritize form over substance. Under these basic challenges, the promotion of innovative work and the exploration of new methods and paths are even more significantly restricted.

III. Several Suggestions for Advancing the Work of Community Veterans Service Stations

Veterans are a valuable human resource. During their service, they underwent rigorous training and served as the strong pillars of national defense. After retirement, they continue to contribute across various industries, playing a crucial role in consolidating the Party's governance and driving the nation's rejuvenation. Therefore, fully harnessing their talents is a significant achievement and central task for community veteran service stations.

(1) Providing assistance, conveying care, building a bridge of hearts, and inspiring the social responsibility awareness of retired servicemen

The community's retired servicemen service station should ensure that service and support work reaches the grassroots level, always adhering to the philosophy "Your needs are our responsibilities." In daily operations, through information platforms and WeChat groups, relevant policy information such as national preferential policies, medical clinics, skill training notices, and job postings is disseminated promptly. Additionally, through regular visits, phone calls, WeChat, and video calls, a constant and humane service is provided, with special attention given to families of retired servicemen facing life difficulties, serious illnesses, or mobility issues. Targeted psychological counseling services are offered to retired soldiers and self-employed officers, ensuring they receive material assistance and emotional support when needed. Community work unfolds in meticulous detail, making every retired serviceman feel the warmth of the collective and the care of the organization upon their return to society. This builds a close-knit communication bridge, fostering a favorable atmosphere for military-civilian integration and encouraging community retired servicemen to actively participate in service station activities.

(II) Innovate operational mechanisms, strengthen meticulous management, and absorb retired military personnel to expand the vital force

The primary functions of the veterans' service stations are service, management, and support, aimed at ensuring that veterans within the jurisdiction have venues for activities, channels for voicing their needs, platforms for resolving difficulties, and comprehensive service guarantees. Therefore, actively recruiting outstanding veterans to participate in the daily operations of community service stations serves two purposes: one is to meet the diverse and personalized service needs of veterans; the other is to promote communication, understanding, and mutual assistance among veterans. To this end, the service stations should first establish a set of rules that manage people, affairs, and behaviors according to standards; then clarify job responsibilities, processes, and reasonable divisions of labor; finally, create individual files, make dynamic adjustments, and strengthen the implementation of management on work performance, thereby promoting and improving the participation of veterans in community work.

For example, the regular update system for retired military personnel information can fully leverage the strengths of retired military personnel. Careful and conscientious retired military personnel can be selected as grid members to conduct house visits and information collection, understand the family situation and the number of people, organize the archives of retired military personnel, and manage the collection and updating of tracking information and archives, ensuring that both electronic and paper archives are updated simultaneously. The community can also rely on an information platform to conduct propaganda and learning activities during the "National Defense Education Promotion Month." Emphasizing the employment and entrepreneurship of retired military personnel, timely job recruitment information is pushed through the platform and WeChat groups to help "zero-employment" retired military families achieve re-employment. Additionally, regular checks are conducted on conflicts and issues among retired military personnel in the community, and ideological guidance is provided to petitioners to resolve conflicts and difficulties at the grassroots level. Through their involvement in service station work, retired military personnel further familiarize themselves with the living conditions of different comrades, stimulating mutual care and mutual promotion among them and fostering a harmonious community atmosphere.

(III) Optimize the work of supporting the military and giving preferential treatment to veterans, jointly expand the frontlines, and guide retired servicemen to venture out and explore new stages

The community's service station for retired military personnel should carry forward the idea of "strengthening the unity between military and civilian, and promoting the glorious tradition of supporting the military and giving preferential treatment to military families," further optimizing the dual-support work mechanism. Under the leadership and assistance of the higher-level street office, it should seek to achieve joint dual-support construction with key enterprises in the area. It should further explore new ways for retired military personnel to gather at the grassroots level, grow at the grassroots level, and play a role at the grassroots level. Various volunteer service teams for retired military personnel should be established, guiding them to go out and expand new stages of serving society, thereby enhancing their sense of social value. For example, forming volunteer service teams of retired military personnel who are also party members, leveraging their exemplary role as party members to participate in community activities such as policy advocacy, dispute mediation, public security patrols, and conflict resolution. Organizing individuals with employment and entrepreneurship aspirations to attend various job fairs and entrepreneurship project recommendation meetings, broadening employment channels and boosting entrepreneurial confidence for retired military personnel in the area. Through a series of volunteer service activities, retired military personnel should be promoted to become the backbone force in serving grassroots social governance, while maintaining the original intention of not fading away after retirement and not leaving the party after leaving the military, creating a strong atmosphere of supporting the military, supporting the government, and supporting the people, achieving a win-win situation between the community service station and retired military personnel.

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Editor of this issue: Chen Luyang

This issue reviewed by: Lin Yingxi

Layout Design: Zhou Kaikai

Article Source: "China Military-to-Civilian Magazine"

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