Camp Pendleton -- In this day and age of smartphones and Global Positioning Systems, most people don’t know how to use a compass or map. For a Marine this knowledge must be second nature.
Armed with compasses and maps, recruits of Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, maneuvered through the Land Navigation Course at Edson Range aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Jan. 6.
During Field Week or week seven of recruit training, throughout the hilly terrain of Camp Pendleton recruits learned the basic fundamentals of combat, everything from combat formations to land navigation. The course is buried deep in the midst of the mountainous terrain of Camp Pendleton, covered with cacti, bushes, and wildlife.
“Prior to recruits using practical application they received classes on the basics of plotting points, finding their azimuth and doing a pace count,” said Sgt. William P. Robinson, drill instructor, Platoon 1022.
They recruits learned how to measure ground distance using pace count. A pace count is how many steps it takes a person to walk a known distance. It allowed them to keep track of how far they had traveled from their starting points.
“The recruits were broken up into teams of two and were given six points to plot with different distances and obstacles,” said Robinson, a native of Erect, N.C.
Each navigation point is marked with a numbered ammunition can. Each pair of recruits was given a different route to obtain to.
“Recruits had two hours to find each of their points,” said 25-year-old Robinson. “Once they thought they had found all of their points, they would check with one of us (drill instructors) to see if they were all correct, if not, they would have to go back out and find their mistakes.
According to Recruit Devon M. Ghiloni, Platoon 1022, being out in the field seemed a lot harder than he thought it would be.
“At first when I was in class, it seemed like it wouldn’t be that hard,” said Ghiloni, a native of Burkburnett, Texas. “Once I had to maneuver around bushes and objects that threw our entire route off, it was pretty difficult.”
The land navigation course seemed more than just land navigation, explained Ghiloni.
“We really haven’t had this type of freedom from the beginning of training,” said the young recruit. “We had the chance to take initiative and lead our fellow recruits to get the job done.”
During recruit training, recruits learn how to take charge and lead each other both using confidence and leadership traits that they learn in various events. Events like Land Navigation allow recruits to practice those skills.
Recruits will be able to utilize their land navigation skills again once they are Marines after they graduate recruit training when they move onto the School of Infantry.
“There is always a chance that a group of Marines can end up getting lost, anywhere in the word,” said Robinson. “These are the basic fundamentals that these recruits will develop and one day it might bring them to safety.”