Land Nav Question

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I know land nav is a pretty big thing in SFAS(but from what I've read on here its really not that hard at all once you know what you're doing) and I was wondering if I really even need to practice it (if even possible) before I ship assuming I go the 18x route. From what I've researched, you get taught and practice land nav in Basic, AIT, and SOPC.

Shouldn't I be fine if before I go to basic I learn my pace count and the basics and terminology of land nav then just lead whatever group im in during those times to get better and more experience at said land nav?

To clarify what I asked above, Its obvious that if I practice something before I leave ill be better at it if I don't practice, but i'm really even wondering if that necessary.
 
If you aren't able to physically practice before shipping, don't worry about it. Most X-rays don't. The land nav instruction at SFAS is top notch. I would recommend this YouTube series on land nav taught by a former SF guy. It will at least get you used to how MGRS works, how to plot points, shoot azimuths, etc.

Land Nav
 
The military will teach you everything you need to know about being a soldier/sailor/airman/Marine. There is a reason you will be in a training environment for a quarter (or more) of your enlistment. I'd also argue that a lot of people who come in with some type of knowledge often times have bad military habits and are difficult to break of.
 
REAL map reading is like "seeing" in the matrix. When you are looking at a map - initially the contour lines will just look like somebody spilled spaghetti noodles on a sheet of paper. A lot of what people start out with is nothing more than dead reckoning. Early on, you will find that you spend a lot of time following your compass and staring at the map like a dog watching a ceiling fan...

As you get more comfortable 'seeing' the terrain, you will realize that the better you can read the map, the less time you will spend staring into your compass and mindlessly counting knots on an old shoestring trying to keep track of your pace count.

Eventually you'll be able to just "follow the edge of this ridgeline until we get to the tip of that valley"
Just PAY ATTENTION to what you are being taught during land nav instruction at SFAS.
 
DeadZeppelin said:
If you aren't able to physically practice before shipping, don't worry about it. Most X-rays don't. The land nav instruction at SFAS is top notch. I would recommend this YouTube series on land nav taught by a former SF guy. It will at least get you used to how MGRS works, how to plot points, shoot azimuths, etc.

Land Nav
Click to expand...

Thanks for linking this. This was the only way we had to plot our position and course BITD. It would've been nice to have GPS. I'm watching these to refresh my memory and skills. Good stuff.
 
Ocoka said:
Thanks for linking this. This was the only way we had to plot our position and course BITD. It would've been nice to have GPS. I'm watching these to refresh my memory and skills. Good stuff.
Click to expand...
I went to Selection with an LT that said "why do we even need to learn land nav? We have GPS for a reason." Needless to say he didn't get picked up.

Technology fails, there is a reason we learn to navigate with a map and compass.

I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. They helped me before I went to Selection.
 
I’m not SF but was taught land nav by the best instructors our tax dollars can buy. SF soldiers are really patient with indig but I know I REALLY pushed their limits: “did you eat paint chips as a kid?” The Navy doesn’t land nav so when an E-7 showed up not knowing skill level one stuff, well you can imagine.

I like to know “why” and “what’s this for” so perhaps the very basics would help the newbs like I was. I liked these vids:

Map Reading - YouTube
 
I'm shooting for REP 63. Unlike 18x, the 19th doesn't send guys to OSUT anymore. It's basic, AIT, Airborne, then SOPC before SFAS. The feeder MOS' look like land nav isn't part of AIT.

So from this standpoint, would a REP 63 guy need to prepare for land nav more than 18x or will basic and SOPC be sufficient?
 
Lots of great advice you’ve received, for obvious reasons. If you look closely you can see a pattern here.

1) There is the right way, the wrong way and the Army way. In other words you’ll be trained on what you need to know. But you’ll need to study. This goes for land nav, language, SUT, BRM, whatever.

2) Only perfect practice makes perfect. So, if you choose a bad training source before training and learn something you’ll need to unlearn...Well, that will suck very badly for you, especially on a timed course and they’re all timed.

As it was mentioned on this thread, a basic familiarization of terrain features and a protractor is a good starting point. Plenty of current FMs out there.

I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority of the service members here didn’t know very much about land nav before shipping, let alone what a protractor was. But they learned it in training.

Good luck.
 
Watch_out_Ops said:
I know land nav is a pretty big thing in SFAS(but from what I've read on here its really not that hard at all once you know what you're doing) and I was wondering if I really even need to practice it (if even possible) before I ship assuming I go the 18x route. From what I've researched, you get taught and practice land nav in Basic, AIT, and SOPC.

Shouldn't I be fine if before I go to basic I learn my pace count and the basics and terminology of land nav then just lead whatever group im in during those times to get better and more experience at said land nav?

To clarify what I asked above, Its obvious that if I practice something before I leave ill be better at it if I don't practice, but i'm really even wondering if that necessary.
Click to expand...

It's NOT hard once you know what you are doing. Nothing is hard once you know what you are doing. It's a skill; anyone can learn it. But it takes practice to perfect it. I LOVE the matrix analogy, because it's true. When the map, compass, and ground all become zen-like and one with one another, it's almost stupid-easy.

That said....plenty of people show up having never done it, and they excel. IF you can be ahead of the game, then sure; if not, then trust the process.
 
lindy said:
I’m not SF but was taught land nav by the best instructors our tax dollars can buy. SF soldiers are really patient with indig but I know I REALLY pushed their limits: “did you eat paint chips as a kid?” The Navy doesn’t land nav so when an E-7 showed up not knowing skill level one stuff, well you can imagine.

I like to know “why” and “what’s this for” so perhaps the very basics would help the newbs like I was. I liked these vids:

Map Reading - YouTube
Click to expand...
Loved the vids, differentiating between the features. When I was starting out learning about contours, for our first lesson the instructor used a Playboy Centrefold as an aide: pointing to peaks, ridges, valleys etc. still remember it, funny that.
 
Last edited:
I have an old Army FM 21-26 Map Reading and Navigation published in '93. I picked it up a long time ago at the MacDill BX to sharpen the memory. But the videos posted by @DZ are a lot more interesting.
 
Pay attention in basic, take the land nav in the prep course seriously, pay attention in the classes they give at SFAS, and take the practicals seriously and you should be fine. I hadn’t done any real or challenging land nav in years and did just fine.
 

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