Gen Neller says Get Out Your Maps

[AKkeith]

To like, agree, hate, or disagree?
Hmm.

Foretrex semi-useless users manual is online .

At least you'd have a small clue. Find a tech savy guy (like yourself) and just play with the fucking thing in your backyard, neighborhood, etc.
See what it can do. That's what I'll be doing this week with mine.

I'm sure I could have gotten some of it figured out, if I had time with it.

Of course brilliance in the basics is the foundation, but if we actually trained our units in the newer technology we could refine our tactics even more and catch up with the 21st century.

*This is most likely only directed at the Marine Corps, as we are notoriously behind the times with gear, and stubbornly stuck in the old ways.

 

[Gunz]

Interesting. Strange they'd give you a GPS and not instruct you in its proper use. Actually not so strange when I think about some essential skills I had to learn OJT in the field, most notably comm.

 

[DA SWO]

I'm sure I could have gotten some of it figured out, if I had time with it.

Of course brilliance in the basics is the foundation, but if we actually trained our units in the newer technology we could refine our tactics even more and catch up with the 21st century.

*This is most likely only directed at the Marine Corps, as we are notoriously behind the times with gear, and stubbornly stuck in the old ways.

No, even some of the SOF units had issues with new stuff.
One problem was staffers ( such as I ) shipping new gear to units already deployed and expecting them to get trained on it while conducting ops. Doable, but only if you have a good idea of what their environment is, and develop a good plan.
I actually had a new radio slapped into a rucksack as we were headed to Green Ramp, too bad the battery case and batteries were left in the supply room.

 

[x SF med]

I would be shocked if I hadn't witnessed this first hand in Afghanistan. We had a few people who considered Google Maps to be too difficult so I'd hate to see them with a 1:50k map.

Um, what about a 1 over the world? :dead:


(1 over the world is 1:250,000 for the non map reading types)

 

[Devildoc]

Land nav is a skill. Clearly, if any 13 year-old in the Boy Scouts can learn it, anyone can. I am 'old school' as well in that GPS and electronic optics didn't get to us until WELL after we had been using map/compass (and iron sights). As much as I appreciate GPS, and I do, I am a believer in "two is one, one is none," and although I have never seen a GPS go down I like the comfy feeling of knowing I can go full 'old school' if I had to.

I have zero prob with having new technology and even qualifying on it as long as one can qualify on the Mark 1 Mod 0 stuff as well.

 

[Gunz]

Land nav is a skill. Clearly, if any 13 year-old in the Boy Scouts can learn it, anyone can. I am 'old school' as well in that GPS and electronic optics didn't get to us until WELL after we had been using map/compass (and iron sights). As much as I appreciate GPS, and I do, I am a believer in "two is one, one is none," and although I have never seen a GPS go down I like the comfy feeling of knowing I can go full 'old school' if I had to.

I have zero prob with having new technology and even qualifying on it as long as one can qualify on the Mark 1 Mod 0 stuff as well.

My Corpsman at 2nd CAG could plan and encode night acts, call in CAS, Arty, Medevacs, even lead a patrol if need be. And likewise he made sure we all knew how to give IVs and stabilize wounds. There were only 12 of us so we all needed to know how to do everybody else's job, at least the basics, if we ran into trouble.

We also rotated weapons and gear. We were all 03xx, but everybody got time carrying and using our two M79s or the PRC25s, everybody knew their maps and call signs, everybody knew how to rig C4 and detcord and I made sure everybody knew the M60. Theory was the last man standing had to be able to pick up anything and use it effectively. This was not a Corps-wide policy. I believe cross-training was unique at the time for Recon and Combined Action units and not generally done in the rifle companies.

 

[DA SWO]

You have to be able to use maps, anyone thinking GPS is secure and jam proof is a fool.

I would not be surprised to find out that the Russians gave Iran GPS jammers, and that cost us a drone and riverine boat/crew.

 

[AWP]

I would not be surprised to find out that the Russians gave Iran GPS jammers, and that cost us a drone and riverine boat/crew.

Slow down, killer, are you saying Russia would engage in a virtual proxy war against the US? I am disappointed in your lack of trust in Russian and Iranian leadership. Next you're going to say Russian's deployed spy planes to Syria or they've intercepted our aircraft.

In Russia, GPS jams you.

 

[Devildoc]

My Corpsman at 2nd CAG could plan and encode night acts, call in CAS, Arty, Medevacs, even lead a patrol if need be. And likewise he made sure we all knew how to give IVs and stabilize wounds. There were only 12 of us so we all needed to know how to do everybody else's job, at least the basics, if we ran into trouble.

We also rotated weapons and gear. We were all 03xx, but everybody got time carrying and using our two M79s or the PRC25, everybody knew their maps and call signs, everybody knew how to rig C4 and detcord and I made sure everybody knew the M60. Theory was the last man standing had to be able to pick up anything and use it effectively. This was not a Corps-wide policy. I believe cross-training was unique at the time for Recon and Combined Action units and not generally done in the rifle companies.

And I always thought it made great sense because we never got to fire GLs or LAAWs at SOI and comm training was very rudimentary for non-RTOs...basically "Don't say 'over and out' and say 'say again' instead of 'repeat' and you press this little doohickey when you want to talk..."

:wall::wall:

My favorite PC was a Mustang who dearly believed the same. All of the platoon would cross-train and "next man up" was his favorite phrase. And that's how I got as proficient as I did with land nav, because on admin patrols he would make me the navigator.

 

[AWP]

I mean, who among us hasn't used a civilian GPS to accidentally get into a fight?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/world/middleeast/waze-israel-soldiers-west-bank.html?_r=0

Traffic app Waze denies misdirecting Israeli troops - BBC News

Waze, the Google-owned traffic app, says it is not to blame after two Israeli soldiers drove into a Palestinian refugee camp.

Their arrival sparked fierce fighting, with Israeli reinforcements also then deployed to the Qalandia camp site.

 

[Gunz]

Those Israelis, what pranksters. It wasn't all just fun and games, they got to take out a BG.