Photo By Staff Sgt. Coltin Heller | Spc. Taran Hill, a heavy equipment operator with the 252nd Engineer Company, 103rd...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Soldiers assigned to the 252nd Engineer Company, 103rd Engineer Battalion, 213th Regional Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, conducted land navigation training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Nov. 7, 2013.
The course, instructed by soldiers from the Pre-mobilization Training Assistance Element, provided 252nd soldiers training on how to successfully navigate on foot using orienteering equipment.
“The course was great, gave me a refresher as I really hadn’t touched a compass since basic training,” said Spc. Taran Hill, a heavy equipment operator from the 228th Engineer Company, 728th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 213th RSG deploying with the 252nd Eng. Company.
The training began in the classroom where instructors taught the soldiers how to orient and read a topographical map, in addition to learning how to identify the major terrain features. After the map portion, soldiers learned to shoot the various types of azimuths.
“We learned all the terrain features, how to shoot a grid azimuth and then convert that to a magnetic azimuth,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Lark, originally a motor transport operator with the 1067th Transportation Company, 728th CSSB deploying with the 252nd Eng. Company. “We also learned how to shoot a back azimuth, which gives us more tools, so to speak, when out in the field.”
Soldiers also learned how to input grid coordinates into a Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, also known as a DAGR, or "dagger" a handheld GPS receiver.
“It’s good to know how to use each piece of gear, to be able to read as many as you can. It could one day save your life or the lives of your buddies,” said Sgt. Frank Lombardo a heavy equipment mechanic with the 252nd Eng. Company.
After the classroom portion, the soldiers broke up in to two-man teams. Instructors provided each team with coordinates to plot on a map, who then navigated through rain and dense woods to each point using first a DAGR and then a compass to familiarize with each.
Lark, who deployed to Iraq in 2003, served as a driver delivering supplies to locations so service members stationed there could erect forward operating bases for incoming units.
“We hauled everything they needed to build the FOBs,” said Lark. “Sometimes we were told to drive to this mile marker, make a turn and drive for a certain distance and meet up with guys in the middle of no where. We couldn’t have done that without knowing how to navigate”
This is also a good time for the older guys, the leaders, to share the knowledge they have learned over the years, added Lark.
The overcast and rainy weather hampered the training by fogging compass lenses. For Hill, the weather was little more than a hiccup.
“Even though the rain made things difficult, we were able to use the map and the terrain on it to navigate to our points. It’s good to have all these skills, that way we can always get to where we need to go,” said the Philadelphia native.
For Lombardo, the upcoming deployment being his first, the training proved to be invaluable.
“What’s nice about this course is it teaches you the limits of each thing,” said the Portage, Pa. native. “Many people today rely on technology, very few can pull out a compass and use it. This way we have options if the technology fails.”
The 252nd Eng. Company soldiers will continue to train at Fort Indiantown Gap for the next week and half, conducting roll-over, individual movement techniques and another land navigation course while mounted in vehicles, before leaving to continue training at Fort Bliss, Texas, prior to deploying early next year.
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.08.2013 15:22 |
| Story ID: | 116506 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 643 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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