Land Nav Course

avidwanderer · Post by **avidwanderer** » August 25th, 2004, 7:45 pm

To practice land nav, the thing I have most fear of failing at RS, I am building a course myself. (Base doesnt have one). So far I have obtained a 1:50,000 military grid map of the area I am building it, and a PLGR from my supply Sgt. I plan on going to random points marking them with the PLGR, and doing randomn legs from these points. I would like to know if there is anything I should take into account when choosing my points, and also how I should mark them so that I find them at night. I do not want points on my course to be easier to find (at night) than the points at the RS course. Again land nav is very important to me, and any suggestions on how to go about building my course would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Rangers!

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » August 25th, 2004, 8:08 pm

I don't have any advice in building a Land Nav course as I've never built one. I would think it would sort of defeat the purpose of learning Land Nav if you set up your own course using the PLGR. These points would then be known to you.

It may be better practice to go out and place points with your map and compass then afterwards, verifying their placement using the PLGR to see how far off you were.

But as far as learning to actually do Land Nav -

I think the main thing that contributed to my success in doing dismounted land navigation, both in Ranger School, SFQC and throughout the time I spent in the military is the ability to read a map and associate what is on the map to what is on the ground.

There is pretty good terrain at Ft. Benning that you can read if you have put in the time to learn how to do so. But if you lack this skill, and limit your methods to reading a compass, and using azimuth and pace count as your primary means of navigating from one point to the next, you will have problems and correcting mistakes will take far longer if you get disoriented.

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » August 25th, 2004, 8:24 pm

First of all you want to learn how to terrain associate. This can be done very simply by taking a hike with a map. During your hike you should:

1. indentify a terrain feature visually
2. locate the feature on the map.
3. indentify your location by appromimating your location on the terrain feature.
4. Plot your current location
5. Confirm your grid with a plugger

Conducting a "Terrain walk" will build confidence in your ability to associate terrain with the graphics on a map. There are also 3 simple rules to land navigation. The rules should be applied prior to moving out.\

1. Know where you are
2. Know where you are going
3. Know how you are going to get there

avidwanderer · Post by **avidwanderer** » August 25th, 2004, 8:50 pm

Thanks for your replies and advice Rangers Silverback and Spartan. I will be implementing your suggestions into my training. During the day I dont have to many problems navigating, but at night time I am horrible... mainly because I have never practiced navigation at night with just a compass. I admit it, I love using the GPS to find camp as soon as nightfall comes. I realize at night one must rely completely on compasswork and pace count at night. Also I wanted to practice finding markers, especially after reading F8s posts concerning land nav at RS. I really dont want that to happen to me. Thanks again.

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » August 25th, 2004, 8:53 pm

avidwanderer wrote:I dont have to many problems navigating, but at night time I am horrible... mainly because I have never practiced navigation at night with just a compass. I admit it, I love using the GPS to find camp as soon as nightfall comes. I realize at night one must rely completely on compasswork and pace count at night.

Young Jedi,
What you are experiencing now is the realization that most night courses are Compass Courses.

I also forgot one important fact in my previous post. You must be an expert in "Map Reading" prior to starting any of this. I have a good map reading class if you are interested.

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » August 26th, 2004, 8:02 pm

Failure use the vast amounts of information presented by the map and available to the eye on the ground reduces the chances for success in land navigation. The Soldier who has repeatedly practiced the skills of identifying and discriminating among the many types of terrain and other features knows how these features are mapped. He can begin to visualize the shape of the land by studying the map, estimate distances, and perform quick resection from the many landmarks he sees. This Soldier is the one who will be at the right place to help defeat the enemy on the battlefield.