Military training held in Jinan

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has held an eight-day combat training program in Jinan, Shandong Province, the China News Service reported Sunday.

The Lianhe 2009 exercise was the first of its kind to involve the army, navy, air force, missile units, armed police and local reserve forces, the report said.

It was also the first time an "integrated command platform" had been used for combat training at such a high level, it said without saying when the exercise began or ended.
More than 1,100 military officers and government officials within the Jinan Military Area Command took part in the training.

"This kind of integrated combat training does not involve on-the-ground soldiers or real aircraft like a drill, but is rather designed to train officers in decision making and the deployment of forces," a retired military officer, who refused to give his name, told the Global Times yesterday.

"The Jinan Military Area Command is the first in the country to stage this kind of integrated training, because it will act as the central command in the event of the Central Military Commission HQ being unable to function," he said.

Combat training is designed to improve the command area's decision-making skills and to test the coordination of different units in large combat, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Lianhe 2009 was also the first time the local government had taken part in military combat training.

"Last year's earthquake taught us that we need better coordination between reserve forces and the military, especially in non-war situations," the anonymous officer said.

The PLA has seven military area commands, located in Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan, Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing and Guangzhou.