Land Nav skills

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bigcountry1315

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Aug 3, 2009
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Figured I would ask this here in WSS forum. I teach Land Nav for our ERT team at work. Problem is almost all of our training is geared towards GPS use and plotting coordinates. I am not a depend on technology type of guy. I am fairly good with map and compass and use a lot of base line and dead reckoning techniques. I wanted to ask the guy's on here for any suggestions that would help me become a master navigator that I can pass the skills on to my team.

Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
Don't know if i fit the definition of expert, but this is some of how i approach teaching land nav fwiw.

Since you're using map and compass already, maybe start enhancing/expanding the map reading/grid coord aspect of your courses. I'd suggest doing some nav exercises involving map/terrain reading only. That will mitigate some of the strength of GPS coordinate seaching methods.

In orienteering comps, most/many of the more successful competitiors are expert terrain readers and develop a sublime capacity to read and associate map-to-terrain and feature-to-feature relationships. In this, their compass reading often takes a secondary position in their racing.

This can be correlated in SAR activities by knowing potential victim pathways/destinations as viewed on maps.

The potential snafu lies in the Teams dedication to/reliance on GPS plotting - it may turn out to be a full-on marketing maneuver. Everyone likes to "play" with their nifty toys - SAR/ERT are no exception. In fact, maybe the opposite and especially the young "go get 'em" mavericks. JMHO.
 
I don't know much at all about GPS other than the basics of how it works, so I am of no help there. Using a map and accurate compass in most terrains is a good technical skill to own and hone. The best compass in the world won't help you if your map reading skills are lacking.

I recently read a fiction novel (The War after Armageddon) in which the premise was based upon systems from both sides of the conflict used to deny tech based communication and navigation. It was a plausible premise just because the rudiments of such systems are already in place and have been for quite some time. I've always felt that it was a mistake to rely entirely upon GPS for land navigation, not only for military, but civilians as well.

Sooo... growing up I learned to navigate using neither method, first because GPS did not exist, and second because I did not have an accurate compass. But I did have fairly accurate maps and I worked on learning to use those maps alone to navigate. I developed the ability to read maps and match them to terrain features. I learned to closely approximate the cardinal directions by observing the world around me as men have done for many centuries. I seldom get lost (but I do get a might turned around occasionally).

Whatever device or method you teach for orienteering, firstest should be familiarization with maps and using them to orient with visible land features.
 
thanks for the input Fmajor007. Any help is appreciated.Yes you are correct the younger guy's really love their new gadgets.



Mike
 
Thanks Codger. I should also tell you guy's a little about our terrain. We have very thick cedar swamps. There is no way of using resection to determin your location. Thats why they rely on plotting your coordinates. But if your batteries die or the sattelites go down you could walk a long way with out hitting a road.


Mike
 
Water still flows downhill no matter where you are. Even a relatively flat terrain is still a watershed, even desert. Trees can be climbed for sighting of landmarks. Many radios with an antenna will evidence a stronger signal when pointed at the source of the signal (aviation navigation). Unless you are navigating in a cave or a dense fog, the sky is still visible. That means the sun, moon or stars paths can be tracked for identifying cardinal directions.
 
I dunno, if they wanna be the SAR/ERT they better be able to keep themselves outta trouble too. A few well-bounded nav areas unfamiliar to your Team and well-staffed to avoid 'temporary mis-orientations' are the perfect place to try out their newly developed terrain association nav skills. A 33% participant ratio will allow for enough on-site "Runners" stationed appropriately to keep all the participants on the hunt and will yield excellent results.

Make a time-centered competition out of it and it can serve you very well in many things related to true survival situations - including some of the feelings with being lost.

I've been temporarily lost more than a few times and it utterly blows. For me, more of an inconvenience, but it still sucks being "off". Practice is the *only* thing that keeps these skills sharp. Head knowledge, not regularly proofed, leads to over-confidence and ultimately a lovely epic!!!
 
in case you have to interact with military units, make sure you are familiar with 1:50000 UTM grid coordinates in addition to USGS charts
 
Well, going into the woods fully depending on a GPS unit is asking for trouble, especially if those woods are unfamiliar. I would focus more on map reading, ie. recognizing terrain features. As a Land Surveyor, I use a compass and GPS fairly regular but I am fortunate that I have developed a knack for being able to read the terrain, and rely on that skill more than anything.

I live in North Georgia and we have a mix or swamps, hills, hardwoods, and some areas are thick privot, briars, and Kudzu. It can be hard to read the terrain when it gets thick, but part of knowing where you are is knowing where you've been.
 
Thanks guy's for all the responses.Please keep them coming. I appreciate all the info on terrain association. I have always plotted coordinates on a map and then take a bearing to go to it. Like I was saying I use a lot of dead reckoning and usinig handrails.For work we use Lat and Long coordinates for my self I use UTM because they are much faster to plot and use. We have to use Lat and Long because that is what the USCG use.

Mike
 
I have appreciated Codger's comments. I too am a little older, 62 now, and can remember when we went camping and hiking many times taking off for 7-10 day trips. We always had the appropriate maps. Of course we had no gps but did have a very good feel for East/West and Southern horizon. The most important thing we thing we had going for us was map reading skills. We had USGS maps and made note of them about every half hour of walking paid attention to changes in elevation even when slight. We also had a compass but I really don't remember using it that much. It was mostly reading the land and making note on a map keeping track as we go. Gps is really a terrific tool now and I find it absolutely amazing and definitely believe it should be used as much as possible. But we all know the importance of being able to use your mind properly. I also think you enjoy the experience more when you have to think a little bit. When it comes to ERT/SAR folks they really need to have the ability to navigate without GPS and I commend you bigcountry for taking the time to learn and teach some of the skills that can really keep you out of trouble
 
Thanks Xbxb. Our ERT team are used sometimes to help look for lost persons are primary use for land nav is for the apprehension of escaped prisoners.fortunately we have only had one escape from our prison and we apprehended him in 2 1/2 days.


Mike
 
one technique i was exposed to that emphasizes the culmination of a lot of different aspects to land nav was this. a topo map of the training area was projected onto the wall. the briefing included your starting point, objective, and ending point. the students were equipped with a pencil and blank paper. they had a set (short) amount of time to complete a personal strip map with all things they believed pertinent to their success. then, they had to execute using only that handmade strip map. i learned a lot!

if trying this, i would suggest the inclusion of boundary features, aka collection features, that should be immediately obvious to a student that he/she is venturing outside the training area, with instructions on what to do if these are reached.
 
bigcountry1315 said:
Figured I would ask this here in WSS forum. I teach Land Nav for our ERT team at work. Problem is almost all of our training is geared towards GPS use and plotting coordinates. I am not a depend on technology type of guy. I am fairly good with map and compass and use a lot of base line and dead reckoning techniques. I wanted to ask the guy's on here for any suggestions that would help me become a master navigator that I can pass the skills on to my team.

Thanks in advance,
Mike
Click to expand...
You have not described the environment that you are working in or might be called to work in. I am guessing flat land with sometimes forest canopy, sometimes open, no natural or man-made landmarks.
"No Landmarks" would make the sighting feature, of a compass, less useful.
Likewise for a Clinometer or altimeter, on flat land.

The biggest mistake that we (amateur navigators) make is not taking nav seriously from
the beginning of the trek. Start taking shots from the parking lot or base camp.
Shots of distinctive trees or rocks take good notes, make quick drawings if needed.
Flag those objects if you pass nearby. Take back-shots if you can.

Any of these Nav practices will be distracting to your main purpose. If someone is seriously hurt or if a storm is moving in, time is even more critical.

Consider, when using GPS to take notes in a small field-book (water-resistant paper),
like surveyors use. You could take readings on distinctive places on a trail, distinctive objects that could later be used as landmarks, and, of course forks in a trail or where you leave a trail. If your GPS conks out, you got the book, and you got map and compass.
This would take very little time, so as not to distract from your mission.

I think the preceding paragraph is the most practical way to go. However, if you want to get more geeky with instruments or methods, let me know.
 
Thanks again for the tips. The areas we work in are thick swamps and hardwoods. There are some ridges but the whole U.P. of Michigan is pretty flat in our area. Not many roads or trails. when tracking we generaly use a wedge formation and have one member as the navigator.


Mike
 
another technique that emphasizes land nav skills is coordinating multiple teams in jumptracking, that is, cutting distance between you and the quarry by inserting another team ahead to bisect the quarry's line of travel. in theory, one of the teams will eventually be ahead of the quarry and can intercept. it definitely requires at least one pretty decent land nav/map reading guy on each element, as well as one monitoring/directing both teams.
 
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