Company goes the extra mile for challenging land nav course

Photo By Amy Christopherson | Sgt. Abdiel Alvarez, a trainer with Alpha Company, 742nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, approaches a checkpoint during the company’s land navigation training July 18 at Fort A.P. Hill, Va.  

FORT A.P. HILL, VA, UNITED STATES

07.18.2013

Story by Sgt. Amy Christopherson 

704th Military Intelligence Brigade

FORT A.P. HILL, Va. - Soldiers with Alpha Company, 742nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 704th MI Brigade, traveled to Fort A.P. Hill to complete a more challenge land navigation course.

On one of the hottest, most humid days of the year, soldiers with Alpha Company, 742nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, loaded onto a bus and headed to Fort A.P. Hill, Va. July 18, to put their land navigation skills to the test.

Though it was a two-hour bus trip, Capt. Jessamyn Liu, the commander of A. Company, explained that she planned the all-day event for a good reason.

“We chose to travel outside of the local area for this training because A.P. Hill has more challenging course with terrain features that soldiers can identify on a map,” she said.

Soldiers receive land navigation training throughout their Army careers to teach them to navigate from one point to another using basic tools such as maps, compasses and protractors. This includes map reading techniques to identify terrain features such as hills and streams. Even with today’s technology, soldiers need fundamental skills to rely on in case of technology failure.

Loaded with plenty of water, bug spray, gloves and eye protection, approximately 30 Soldiers arrived at the land nav. site and split into teams of two to begin the course. They received their maps, protractors and compasses and were given three hours to find four points on their maps. Cadre members waited at points throughout the course with additional cold water and to ensure the safety of the teams.

The training was the culminating event after several weeks of refreshing soldiers on land navigation skills. The company began with classroom training about map reading and using a protactor and compass, followed by urban land navigation training conducted at Fort Meade.

“The only way you can have confidence in the skills you learn is to put them to use,” Liu said. “We can teach things in a classroom but if you don’t challenge that knowledge in real-life scenarios, you will lose it.”

First Sgt. Christopher Bell, the company’s first sergeant, noted that the event was more challenging than the typical weekly training that soldiers receive.

“The terrain and the heat really added more of a challenge to the physical aspect of today’s land nav. training,” he said. “But the soldiers did a great job. It was a great opportunity to get out of their offices and away from our typical training areas that we know so well.”

• Date Taken: 07.18.2013
• Date Posted: 07.23.2013 11:47
• Story ID: 110644
• Location: FORT A.P. HILL, VA, US