GridReady

Curriculum

The land nav curriculum

Taught to TC 3-25.26 Map Reading and Land Navigation, with FM 21-26 and GTA 5-2-12. Lessons run in teaching order.

01MODULE

The map

Marginal information, the legend, scale, contour interval, declination diagram, and what the sheet tells you before you look at terrain.

  • Marginal information
  • Legend and symbols
  • Scale and contour interval
  • Declination diagram
02MODULE

Contour lines

How lines on paper become ground under your boots.

  • Contour intervals
  • Spacing and slope
  • Index contours
  • Summits and depressions
03MODULE

Terrain features

The features you will be asked to identify, and how to tell them apart.

  • Hill, ridge, spur
  • Draw, valley, saddle
  • Depression, cliff
  • The draw-versus-spur rule
04MODULE

Grid coordinates

Plotting and reading points to 10 meters.

  • 6- and 8-digit coordinates
  • The 1,000-meter grid square
  • Eye-tenths
  • GTA 5-2-12 protractor at 1:50,000 and 1:25,000
  • Plotting step by step
Reading an 8-digit grid coordinate One 1,000-meter grid square between easting lines 12 and 13 and northing lines 56 and 57, divided into tenths. A point sits 3.4 tenths right and 7.8 tenths up, which reads as 1234 5678. 12 13 56 57 RIGHT 3.4 TENTHS, THEN UP 7.8 4-DIGIT12 56 6-DIGIT · 100 m123 567 8-DIGIT · 10 m1234 5678 READ RIGHT, THEN UP. DO NOT ROUND.
Illustration. One 1,000-meter grid square divided into tenths.
05MODULE

Direction

True, grid, and magnetic north, and converting between them.

  • True, grid, magnetic
  • The grid-magnetic (G-M) angle
  • LARS: left add, right subtract
06MODULE

The lensatic compass

Holding it, reading it, and using it at night.

  • Parts of the compass
  • The two holds
  • Bezel clicks at 3 degrees each
  • Azimuths and back azimuths
  • Night use, red versus white light
  • Metal separation distances
07MODULE

Orienting the map

Turning the map so it matches the ground.

  • Compass methods
  • The 180-degree trap
  • Facing features
08MODULE

Distance

Knowing how far you have gone without a GPS telling you.

  • Pace count and calibration
  • What changes your count
  • Judging distance by eye
  • Bar scales
  • Ground versus map distance
09MODULE

Route planning

Building a route you can actually walk.

  • Legs and azimuths
  • Handrails
  • Attack points, backstops, catching features
  • Deliberate offset
  • The box method for obstacles
  • Resection and modified resection
  • The leg card
  • Standard leg shape
Example route plan with handrail, attack point, and backstop Two legs from a start point to a hilltop objective. Leg one follows a stream as a handrail to a stream junction used as the attack point. Leg two is a short leg to the objective. A road beyond the objective serves as the backstop. START LEG 1 · 066° · 2,190 m HANDRAIL: STREAM ATTACK POINT STREAM JUNCTION LEG 2 · 056° · 1,210 m OBJECTIVE HILLTOP BACKSTOP: ROAD OVERSHOOT ENDS HERE GN 1,000 m
Illustration. Grid azimuths and distances are for this diagram only. Grid squares are 1,000 meters.
10MODULE

Execution and recovery

Walking the route, and what to do when the ground stops matching the map.

  • The box method
  • Resection and modified resection
  • Steering marks, not needle-watching
  • Right feature, wrong point
11MODULE

Night navigation

Navigating after dark. Night pace count is its own calibration, separate from your day count.

  • Pace count at night
  • The compass as your primary instrument
  • Setting the bezel by clicks
  • Steering marks in the dark
  • Light discipline and red light
  • Reading the map under red light
Illustrated

Pictures after the answer

Training-poster illustrations pair map crops with terrain photos. They appear after you answer so they teach rather than tell.

In order

Eleven modules

From the map sheet to night navigation, in the order an instructor teaches them.