FORT KNOX, KY. – Cadets went through the Land Navigation Course portion of their Cadet Summer Training (CST) at Fort Knox on June 1.
“They just go out there with a map, compass and protractor,” said cadre member 2nd Lt. Victoria Tobitt. “It’s old school, and they go out there to find the points.”
2nd Lt. Victoria Tobitt, Texas A&M University. (Photo by Nicholas Bafia)
The course began at 4 a.m. and concluded at 9 a.m. Cadets had to locate at least four of the six points from their map without the use of modern technology.
“GPS isn’t always going to be reliable,” Tobitt said. “If God forbid your electricity goes down, you may not have GPS all the time. If a satellite goes down or anything, you have to be able to navigate using a map and protractor and be able to do it that way.”
Cadre members at the Land Navigation Tactical Operation Center (TOC) kept track of the Cadets via the Homestation Instrumentation Training System (HITS) to ensure Cadets don’t get lost or injured.
Cadre members graded Cadets’ performances once they completed the course. The Cadets turned in their radios afterwards.
The Cadets were briefed on the course prior to starting it. This course was designed to give Cadets the training in land navigation that they need before becoming officers in the Army.
Cadet Ioannis Skapinakis, University of Wisconsin, Waterfront, Wis., moves on to the next training after a succesful completion of a Land-Nav exercise at CST in Fort Knox, Ky., on June 3, 2017. (Photo by Nicholas Bafia)
“When you do certain movements throughout your missions, you need to find a certain point where you have to place your entire platoon,” said Cadet Ioannis Skapinakis of Delta Company First Platoon from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. “You need to be able to use land navigation to find that certain point. If you’re not skilled at that, you will be completely lost in the woods.”
Cadet Summer Training will bring over 8,000 Cadets through Basic and Advanced Camp at Fort Knox this summer. The camps are designed to help Cadets become future leaders in the Army. If you think you have what it takes to be a Cadet or are interested in a job after college, click the following link: https://my.goarmy.com/info/rotc1/index.jsp?iom=IP08-AUTO-R1NA-BR-XXX-XX-XXX-MO-XX-X-BRCMAC:IP08
