On April 21, 1991, Su Ning was commanding a team to train how to throw live grenades.
Su Ning shouted out for everyone to drop to the ground and he moved to get rid of it.
In 1993, the Central Military Commission granted him the honorary title, "Model of all officers dedicated to the modernization of national defence" (献身国防现代化的模范干部).
He received a Military master's degree in 2007 and returned to Su Ning Regiment.
The movie The Artillery Major (炮兵少校) is based on Su Ning.