Introduction- Kenny

[Arch51]

Roger, Rangerjd and Ranger Disinfertention.

[Arch51]

Rangers, today I went to MEPS and enlisted with an 11x Option 40 contract. I ship out in September. I very excited and I'm ready for the journey I am about to embark on. I can know the Ranger Creed, Soldiers Creed, Battalion Big 5, Army Core Values etc by heart. As broad as it is, I feel I have a good grasp on Ranger history and general knowledge. My physical fitness is steadily increasing. Places in need of improvement are technical stuff like map reading, also need to work on pacing myself on rucking and running instead of burning out to early.

[Jim]

Congratulations on earning an OPTION 40. Check your PMs.

[Disinfertention]

Great news Kenny. Keep moving forward.

[Arch51]

Roger, Ranger Disinfertention.

[Jim]

Kenny, Good to see you are hard charging on your task-list. Do you have any questions for us? Never, never quit!

[Arch51]

Roger, Ranger Jim. No questions. Will have task-list update this week.

[Grim666]

Good job on getting the Opt 40. Now the hard part starts.

[Arch51]

Roger, Ranger Grim666.


There is a chance I will not have internet access on May 1st. So here is my early PT update for the 1st.

Push-up: 75
Sit-ups: 76
2-mile run: 13:37
Pull-ups: 16

APFT Score: 287

[IntelToad]

Good luck, take advantage of the knowledge that it is here. It is a goldmine, PT is critical, knowledge is power.

[Jim]

Kenny, continue to work on your task-list. Never, never quit!

[Arch51]

Roger, Ranger IntelToad.

Roger, Ranger Jim.

[IntelToad]

Kenny, in terms of map reading, explain declination to me, my fellow Rangers and your peers going to RASP.

Then, explain to me why you should have to learn how to land navigate with a rusty relic compass versus a brand new GPS.

(If you quote anything from Wikipedia I will find you and punch you in the head)

Finally, explain how you are going to work on your land nav skills and make us all proud ?

[Arch51]

Rangers and DEPs, to start off you have the true north and the magnetic north. If you look at a globe you will notice that the lines of longitude at the tilted top and bottom of the sphere all connect at one point, the one on top is the location of the geographical north pole. That location in relation to you is true north. There is also a magnetic north pole. When you lay your compass level to the Earth's surface the needle will point to the magnetic north pole, that direction is magnetic north. Your exact location on a map in relation to both the true north and magnetic north will form an angle. The measurement of this angle is the magnetic declination. If magnetic north is east of true north, declination is positive. Vice versa if magnetic north is west of true north, that is a negative declination.

The GPS is a nice gadget to have, it wouldn’t be used so commonly if it wasn’t. The reality is that sooner or later like all electronics it can and will fail on you one way or another. It runs out of batteries, the software programing may have errors, etc. The compass on the other hand is simple, sturdy, and minimal amount of moving parts by design. This in turn drastically reduces the chance of equipment malfunction. Therefore if properly used, one can navigate terrain without having to rely on technology. That way if anything goes wrong with a Ranger’s GPS in the field, he can pull out his map and compass and continue to lead the way. I’ll go ahead and throw in the obvious fact you can't use a GPS in land nav during RASP.

As for working on land nav skills, I will lay the foundation by completing by the Future Soldier training modules which has a section on basic land nav by Friday. Because on Saturday there is a competition for Future Soldiers at different recruiting stations that revolves around PT and Army knowledge based on what is on the training modules so land nav will definitely be a component of the event. I have an assignment that will be completed on the task-list that is land nav oriented. After learning the basics, I will learn them again and again until I know them like the back of my hand. The 2 main resources I found so far that I will use is the Future Soldier land nav module and FM 3-25.26. Something as simple as long drives out of state with map instead of GPS will force me to gain more of a sense of direction and attention to detail. This right here is where I will start at and will find more ways to improve upon mastery of the basics.

[Jim]

Kenny, Good to see you are staying busy and taking an active part in preparing yourself for service in the Ranger Regiment. Never, never quit!