Do You Have to Know Land Navigation Ij the Military

Nosotros've been going back over some of the nuts in contempo weeks as the winter months ways an entirely new batch of Pick classes and candidates. And many of the new candidates have questions, simply similar the last grouping of prospective Special Operations troops did and we'll do our all-time to reply every one of them.

There are always concerns, fears and questions about the Land Navigation course and many students fail and bluntly, they fail because they are psyched out at the very first either during SFAS or the SFQC. Expect, as nosotros've said many times, the land navigation grade is no joke. It is tough, it is the toughest individual land navigation course you'll find in the US military.

But in one case again, and we tin't stress this enough. Thousands of guys before you have passed the course and although it is tough, it is far from impossible. Information technology just takes keeping your wits well-nigh you, learning bones skills and practice. If you are a new person in the military machine or are a junior NCO but hold an MOS where you didn't spend a lot of time in the field with a map and compass, then these quick refresher pieces are perfect for you lot.

Land Navigation is 1 of those skills that while it isn't hard to larn the nuts, mastering them takes practise. And the more y'all know well-nigh it going in, the odds of your being selected go up markedly.

In previous segments, we touched on Map reading and the importance of your pace count. Now nosotros'll move on to the adjacent stride in finding your way around Hoffman. That begins with orienting your map and and so plotting your beginning indicate on the course.

Prior to Starting Out:
Orient the Map – This makes map reading and using the available terrain features much easier to read. What does it mean to have the map oriented? The schoolbook answer is: A map is oriented when it is in a horizontal position with its north and south corresponding to the north and south on the ground. If that is as clear as mud, to the average Joe, information technology ways when y'all're holding the map in front end of you, the terrain matches upwards exactly every bit it is shown on the map.

It makes it much harder to try to read your terrain features upside downwards or sideways. If you are using an Regular army lensatic compass, remember that a compass measures magnetic North. So, don't forget to check your declination diagram which is located on your marginal data at the bottom of your map. Most military consequence maps accept the guess piece of work right out of it and tell you how to catechumen the declination of azimuths from filigree to magnetic and from magnetic to grid next to the declination diagram.

While it sounds quite simple, many people mess this upward and start off on the wrong foot. Don't be Ned the Navigator. Ned the Navigator was the case nosotros used in every SFAS grade. He knew all about Land Nav and we were wasting his time with the refresher classes at Selection. He knew it all. Guess who was the first guy that got lost? Then, have your time and do it right the showtime time.

With the map in a horizontal position, accept the straightedge on the left side of the compass and place information technology alongside the north-south grid line with the cover of the compass pointing toward the acme of the map. This procedure places the fixed black index line of the compass parallel to north-due south grid lines of the map.

Keeping the compass aligned every bit we said in the concluding paragraph, rotate the map and compass together until the magnetic pointer is below the stock-still blackness index line on the compass. You're nigh…. But not in that location yet!

Now rotate the map and compass in the direction of the declination diagram.

If the magnetic northward pointer on the map is to the left of the grid north, bank check the compass reading to run across if it equals the G-M angle (if retentiveness serves me well it is 8 degrees for the Hoffman area) given in the declination diagram. Voila! The map is now oriented. Take your time and try to selection out the terrain features as they lay out in front of you lot. Just be brash, in the Hoffman area, the terrain features aren't as distinct and are a bit harder to distinguish. That'southward why you'll e'er hear from the cadre and it is true, that if you can navigate with ease in Hoffman on the "Star" course, y'all will be able to navigate just about anywhere.

In sure areas, you'll exist able to orient your map only by using terrain features. And when the terrain allows, it is quicker and easier to navigate using the bachelor terrain. If you lot've ever navigated in the mountains, you lot'll find this is much easier and yous'll find that this mode is much preferable than expressionless reckoning. And it definitely comes in handy when having to telephone call for burn down in a jiffy… (that is a grade for another fourth dimension perhaps)

Creating a Get-go Point – At present the map is oriented in the direction that y'all're going to be walking and the next thing is y'all must create a starting location. The starting point is where y'all are standing at. Now pull out your handy, dandy Army protractor. Only wait.

Read Next: Land Navigation 101:  Pinpoint Your Location, Orient the Map

Don't lose your protractor, in example y'all didn't become that, allow me echo. DON'T LOSE YOUR PROTRACTOR!  Always keep it secured within your map case until yous need information technology and ensure it is in there before taking off and hitting your points, especially at nighttime! Nothing worse than losing a protractor during land navigation. While you lot can go past without one, it makes things unnecessarily much harder. So, take the few seconds to check.

Now read the filigree lines to the right and up and brand sure that you're using the i/50,000 scale for the map, which is in the upper right corner of the protractor. That will automatically ensure that the protractor is facing the right way and isn't flipped over.

Call back a 4-digit grid, gets you to inside the grid square or k meters. A six-digit grid gets yous to within 100 meters and an 8-digit filigree gets you inside ten meters. A good rule of pollex to remember is to forget well-nigh where the plastic is cut out of the protractor. Always align the 0'southward and check it twice. Ensure you plot it twice to get the exact spot.

Now we have a starting indicate, that is right where you are standing, only don't bother shaking a tree, it won't move on the map. Don't express joy someone falls for that old one all the time.

So, we have our map oriented and our starting betoken plotted. This is where information technology gets interesting and where nosotros get our navigation from Point A to Signal B started. This is the easy part but regardless, practice doing this until it becomes 2d nature and is there is never a doubt on how to do it. Are we all set? Are y'all sure??? Do it again.

Next upward in 1 of our future posts we'll look at plotting and planning a route.

Photograph courtesy DOD

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Do You Have to Know Land Navigation Ij the Military

Source: https://sofrep.com/specialoperations/selection-land-nav-basics-pinpoint-location-orient-map/

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