Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego

             As technology advances and smart phones and Global Positioning Systems become the norm, the art of navigation by using only a compass or map has become virtually antiquated. However, for a Marine, this knowledge must be second nature.
           
            Armed with compasses and maps, recruits of Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, maneuvered through the mountainous terrain of the Land Navigation Course at Edson Range aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, March 31.
            
            During Field Week, or week seven of recruit training, recruits learned the basic fundamentals of combat, with topics ranging from combat formations to land navigation. The course is buried deep in the midst Camp Pendleton, covered with cacti, bushes and various wildlife.

            Prior to setting out to find their way through the course, recruits underwent a series of classes and learned how to shoot an azimuth, establish pace counts and map different points.

            A pace count is the number steps it takes a person to walk a known distance. Since each step is different, each recruit may have different counts.  A consistent pace count is important because it allowed them to track of how far they had traveled from their starting points.
            
           “We had one partner to figure out where we were supposed to be going,” said Recruit Aaron M. Whitney, Golf Company. “One of us is shooting the azimuth while the other is using pace counts to find our next point.”

            Each navigation point is marked with a numbered ammunition can, and each pair of recruits was given a different route to follow. Recruits were given five points to find along the course and while they had already plotted where each point was, they had to use what they learned to identify the correct direction. 

            They were encouraged to use different terrain features with the navigation tools they were given to find their points. 
            
              “Once we (recruits) find all of our points, we get them checked by a drill instructor,” said Whitney, a native of Tulsa, Okla. “If we got any wrong, we would need to retrace our steps and find where we made any mistakes.” 
             The recruits were allotted approximately four hours to complete the course.
           
             “When I first got to the course, I drew a blank about everything we had just learned,” said 17-year-old Whitney.  “Once we reached different obstacles, it came back to me and my partner more and more.”
          
              For Whitney, this was more than just a land navigation exercise.
          
              “We got to get away from the drill instructors for a couple hours and make our own decisions,” said Whitney. “I feel like we got a chance to work on our team building and unit cohesion as recruits.”
            
            During recruit training, recruits learn how to take initiative and to lead each other. Events like land navigation allow recruits to build those skills.
            They will further develop their land navigation skills at the School of Infantry following recruit training.

            “I feel like this is very important to recruit training,” said Whitney. “This knowledge could potentially save one of our lives someday.”