Kyrgyz soldiers well trained for Beijing V-J Day parade

BISHKEK - For an eye-catching march at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Sept 3, the Kyrgyz National Guard soldiers have been in intensive training for four months.

Before they departed for China to attend the grand parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Xinhua reporters visited the training center at their headquarters.

INTENSIVE TRAINING

It was raining when the reporters arrived at the training center, but Kyrgyz National Guard Commander Satybaldyev Melis did not order a stop to the daily outdoor training, keeping giving repeated exercise orders -- "Stand at attention!... Quick march! ... Parade step, march! ..."

"This is the first time that China invites foreign troops to participate in a grand military parade at the world's biggest square in the heart of Beijing," Melis told Xinhua during a break, calling the invitation an honor for the Kyrgyz soldiers.

The Kyrgyz side has attached great importance to the forthcoming parade, made careful and special preparations for this big event, and set very high standards for selecting and training soldiers, he said.

More than half of the selected soldiers have rich experiences in army parades both at home and abroad, such as Russia's Red Square parades, said the commander.

"A total of 83 soldiers were picked out of over 200 troops for the Beijing grand parade, they are highly disciplined, skillful and all above 1.8 meters in height, with other factors like facial features also being taken into account," he said. "Among those selected, we have eight soldiers as backups in case of emergency situations in order to ensure the successful completion of the parade mission."

In order to prepare for the parade, the soldiers have conducted four-month exercises and more-than-one-month special training in the sweltering summer time, while the air temperatures in July and August always surpassed 40 degrees Celsius, he said.

Every day the soldiers spent five to eight hours in hard training. Besides outdoor exercises, they also needed to do some strength training.

Mairambek Imanaliev, vice team leader of the parade soldiers, told Xinhua that the guns they carry weigh nearly 5-kg each and the strength training and some sport exercises can help them hold and raise the guns more stably when marching in the parade.

Another special training task for the soldier is to learn a new kind of marching steps. Kyrgyz soldiers normally walk 120 steps per minute in parades, but in the upcoming Beijing parade, for more harmonious effects, they will have to keep pace with Chinese drum beats, namely 112 steps per minute, noted Imanaliev.

"Our soldiers have already been well adapted to the new steps. The only thing left now is to join the training in Beijing. We will stay at a military camp in Beijing and start joint training immediately upon arrival," said Melis.