Using our Map Scale Cards

But it is much harder when the terrain is nearly flat and visibility is only a few yards.
 
Horn Dog said:
But it is much harder when the terrain is nearly flat and visibility is only a few yards.
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Agreed. Terrain association in low jungle that we haunt is impossible. Unless you are on a river then you're pretty much screwed. Just have to stay on azimuth and press on.
 
R.A.T. said:
Agreed. Terrain association in low jungle that we haunt is impossible. Unless you are on a river then you're pretty much screwed. Just have to stay on azimuth and press on.
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I learned that the hard way. Trust the darned compass! :eek:
 
HD, another thing we do and might help you as well is print out a Google Earth Satellite map of the area you're working. You can usually see most of the rivers on the Google Earth maps and you've got a North reference, so even with a map such as these you can always get yourself found.
 
It does make more sense. I think we called them protractors or some such in the Army, and they were confusing to me. I probably still have some in my gear some place. My biggest problem was running off the darned map. One time I got my whole tank platoon lost behind "enemy" lines in a war game in Germany. How in heck you can penetrate enemy territory with five noisy tanks and go undetected is beyond me, but chalk it up to dumb luck for a new LT. CO had to find me and get me a map without getting spotted himself. Turned out well. We were near the enemy TOC and POL supplies. Went on an armored rampage Patton himself would have been proud of.
 
Horn Dog said:
But it is much harder when the terrain is nearly flat and visibility is only a few yards.
Click to expand...


I agree with you 100%. There are times you can use terrain association and times you can't. You have to learn to trust your equipment. To me that is why it is better to pony up the extra money for quality. If you doubt your equipment then you are screwed. I think that is one reason some people get lost. It is easy to get confused in heavily wooded or jungle areas where evrything looks the same and thnk you are going in circles. It is like trusting your flight instruments in clouds and fog.


mlrs
 
Thanks. I wish I had better maps with the grid lines for the Altamaha. I got my maps from US Geological Survey locally. They are out of date anyway. My buddies who used to go with me are dead or no longer able to do such. I do miss the swamps terribly. You have real gear for real outdoorsmen. I enjoy this forum a lot.
 
HD, check mytopo.com and you can buy your topo maps with UTM grid already printed.
 
I love and hate land nav. :) Saturday I have a land nav. course to do day and night. It really sucks I did it twice last year and its a MOFO. Lucky I can terrain Assoc. it, but its still a killer. As for Terrain Assoc. in a jungle. I remember doing land nav in Panama and though WOW I know doing this for a mission would suck then I thought about the terrain the guys had to work in in Vietnam. :) Thing I don't like about the protractors they give us is that you always have to trim them
 
Lots of interesting information here. Downloaded the .PDF file for a JIC-scenario, but I won't get lost here in Nebraska. Let's hope I move where I'd like to...then I can imagine getting lost in the mountains/forest....I guess you can always just walk down, though :)
 
R.A.T. said:
HD, check mytopo.com and you can buy your topo maps with UTM grid already printed.
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They make some great maps!:thumbup: I've had them print up a bunch for me of the area in which I live for my bug out bag.
 
Jeff, thanks for posting this. I'll have to keep my eye out and scoop up a set of those cards. They look like they're pretty user-friendly once you get the hang of it. Thanks again, man!

-Nadz
 
mlrs said:
When I was recon, I used terrain association a good amount. Alot of people have a hard time using it because they don't know what all of the lines on a topo map mean. I have seen guys get lost on the land nav course from not being able to use terrain association. They get confused and freak out because they think they are lost. As long as you understand a topo map they are easy to use.


mlrs
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I was able to "Handrail" my way through the PLDC land nav course at Camp Williams, UT in about 2 feet of snow. Terrain association was very easy on that course.

In the swamp or thick forest....that's a different story.
 
mlrs said:
When I was recon, I used terrain association a good amount. Alot of people have a hard time using it because they don't know what all of the lines on a topo map mean. I have seen guys get lost on the land nav course from not being able to use terrain association. They get confused and freak out because they think they are lost. As long as you understand a topo map they are easy to use.


mlrs
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This... I learned land nav in the Army during my two NCO academies I attended... In BNCOC our instructors emphasized terrain association.. In fact for a exercise we didn't have clear targets like painted coffee cans or such but rather we had to navigate to the coordinates specified and then call in the terrain features seen to see if we had found the target...
 
And the funny thing is we all use a version of terrain association every day and don't even realize it ;)
 
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