A female member of the special assault team eats live yellow mealworm. (Photo/www.81.cn)

A female member of the special assault team takes a gun out of a snake-filled box. (Photo/www.81.cn)

Female members of the special assault team in the midst of intensive training. (Photo/www.81.cn)

Twenty-two female soldiers from a brigade of the PLA No. 14 army group form a special assault team. When they train alongside male soldiers, every one of the women proves herself just as competent as any other soldier.

According to Yang Yuchang, the political commissar of the brigade, these 22 soldiers are the first batch of female members of the special assault team. All were selected on the basis of their physical ability, shooting skills, a psychological assessment and other evaluations. "Female soldiers have delicate minds and quick responses. Their special qualities help them complete some tasks better than male soldiers," Yang said. 

After two years of training, these female soldiers have now mastered all the basic skills such as wrestling, shooting and other combat moves. 

When they attended field training last year, the female soldiers ate wild herbs, drank spring water and lived in camps just like the male soldiers. They have fully proved their readiness for a battle station.