Baseline Military Land Navigation
Overview
This course will begin your preparation for the land navigation phase of selection and beyond.
The Baseline Military Land Navigation course is for military personnel and those in the recruitment stage (like 18X) with little to no land navigation experience or who need a comprehensive refresher. Most participants are in a SOF pipeline for Special Forces, Ranger, and MARSOC, or are preparing for leadership development like ROTC, WOCS, and BOLC. Others are getting a jump-start on the training that they’ll receive at Third Phase of BUD/S or a service Academy.
Highlights
All of our classes, unlike other schools, are run as small groups and at a pace to maximize your individual learning objectives. You will build a solid foundation of the key skills as you progress through various crawl, walk, and run phases so that you will understand both the how and the why. This course dovetails with our Advanced Military Land Navigation course, which many also take to cap their training.
Topics Covered:
- Gear such as topographic map, protractor, and compass
- Declination
- Navigating techniques using dead-reckoning and the foundations of terrain association and route-planning
- Tools such as pace counting, backstops, hand-rails, boxing-out, search techniques
- Coordinate systems (UTM and MGRS)
- Navigation psychology
Our training location provides the ideal environment for all skill levels. The vegetation, terrain, and climate spans the mix from open, easy, and pleasant to dense, strenuous, and harsh. This is just one reason why top tier SOF units use this same area to train and conduct their own assessments. So, if you want to learn how to navigate in the same place that they do, then this is the perfect location.
Course Overview
Description of the Level of Physical Difficulty – Moderate to Strenuous: This course involves walking over varying distances at a steady pace over varying terrain that will include off-trail sections, rough spots, unexpected obstacles, and low to steep terrain inclines and declines. This course is conducted in varying weather conditions, including hot, cold, humid, rain, and snow, or a mixed combination. This is a physically challenging course so it is best suited for those in very good physical condition and ready for a fast paced day.
Course Duration: Two day sessions (14 hours of instruction)
Start/End Times: 0900 – 1600 both days
Our training location provides the ideal environment for all skill levels.
What should you bring?
Items to Bring
- Sturdy closed-toe footwear (ideally with ankle support)
- Appropriate Clothing (for season and conditions, non-cotton recommended)
- Appropriate Outerwear (for season and conditions)
- Backpack
- Water - 4L Minimum
- Meals and Snacks
- Compass (mil-spec lensatic)
- Protractor
- Pen and Mechanical Pencil
- Notepad ("Rite in Rain" type)
- Map Case
- Watch or other timepiece
- Any necessary medications
- Whistle (standard type that you can put in pocket)
- Blaze Orange Headwear (e.g., hunting-type hat)
Optional Items
- Extra under/outer garments
- Gaiters
- Knife (fixed or folding)
- Gloves
- Highlighter
- Reflective PT Belt
- Insect Repellant
- Sunglasses
- IFAK
- Hand disinfectant/wipes
- Body wipes
- Duct Tape - 3 feet
- Camp Chair
- ANSI-rated protective eyewear
Just wanted to let you know that the Land Nav course did made the Land Nav at Ranger School super easy.
Course Gallery
This course will begin your preparation for the land navigation phase of selection and beyond.
We’re often asked these questions about this course...
Yes, our Mil-Nav Program prepares individuals for the land navigation phase of an assessment and selection course. We provide this training for both individual candidates and units. We’ve worked with most branches and ranks. Many are in an SOF or leadership pipeline, like Special Forces (18X), Ranger, OCS, BOLC, and WOCS, while others are preparing for CAG selection. We also provide instructor development to combat training groups and special mission units.
Our training site provides an ideal learning environment for all skill levels not found anywhere else. The vegetation, terrain, and climate spans the mix from open, easy, and pleasant to dense, strenuous, and harsh. This is why the SOF community uses this same area to conduct their own specialized training and assessment.
This training is open to all sworn law enforcement professionals. We highly recommend these courses for LEOs who are interested in improving their physical fitness and endurance, expanding their skills and mission readiness, or looking to advance their careers by expanding their expertise. Prior clients include federal agents preparing for their agency SOG, members of a state and municipal SRT, Game Wardens, and Rangers.
You will have the choice of using either a Suunto MC-2 orienteering compass or a mil-spec Cammenga lensatic compass supplemented with a protractor. During your training, we will explain the differences and list the pros and cons of each platform so that you can make the best choice for your needs. Most military personnel preparing for a selection and assessment course will need to use the lensatic. If you’d like to use your own, please feel free to bring it.
Ready for an Adventure
Because Mother Nature doesn't care about your skill level. And She doesn't just give up because you've had enough. Get the skills you need to survive and conquer any situation!
