Our new GT spent all of Sunday training in the field. This was invaluable, as we identified some weaknesses in the cadets navigation skills. First, we realized that compass skills need work:
"Team Bravo, Team Alpha. South mountain is on a heading of 3-8-0 degrees from our location, over."
"Team Alpha, Team Bravo. Be advised. There are only three hundred sixty degrees in a circle, over."
"Team Bravo, Team Alpha. We are heading north on a heading of 1-6-8 degrees."
"Team Alpha, Team Bravo. Walking backwards is not advised in this terrain, over."
So, we are going to work on that. We also found that mapwork is needed. No funny radio calls for this one. We just got incorrect coordinates on two occasions, which made linking up with the other team tricky at best. One thing I learned is how important it is for everyone in a team to understand basic compass work. After the compass man gave the headings to the comms man, they could have stopped right there if the comms man recognized the problem with the statements.
The older members weren't free from error either. I didn't have spare batteries for my GPS in my bag, making my unit useless after a while. Many people didn't have snack bars to munch on, so by the time dinner rolled around, they were very hungry. Even our illustrious leader had the wrong maps for our practice area today. Oops :)
But hey, this is WHY we train like we fight. We can recognize weaknesses in training before we go on a mission. Each GT should go out in the field together at least once every other month. Practice with their gear, make sure they have what they need, get map and compass experience, etc. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend our next practice session, as it is on a weeknight and we meet nearly 90 minutes from my location. So, I will post again after our next training, or if anything big happens with the Guidance mission! Currently, the Ops Plan is at the Group Level.
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3 comments:
Do you know if we are allowed to wear a boonie even if we're not wearing an orange shirt, and if we need to have permission from a groundteam leader? Thanks.
Hi anonymous! That's up to your Wing Commander and GTM. On paper, yes. You can wear the boonie without the GTU. However, if your GTL only wants you to wear the boonie with the GTU, I would do what he says. Thanks for reading!
on the first reading, that might have been me *cough cough* i maintain i must have been hallucinating. that, or i missaid it.
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