UNIT SUSTAINMENT

Land navigation is a skill that is highly perishable. The soldier must continually make use of the skills he has acquired to remain proficient in them. The institution is responsible for instruction in the basic techniques of land navigation. The institution tests these skills each time a soldier attends a leadership course. However, it is the unit's responsibility to develop a program to maintain proficiency in these skills between institution courses. The unit sustainment program provides training that builds on and reinforces the skills the soldier learned in the institution. It should use the building-block approach to training: basic map reading instruction or review, instruction on land navigation skills, dead reckoning training, dead reckoning practice, terrain association training, terrain association practice, land navigation testing, and building of leader skills. These leader skills should include following a route selected by the commander and planning and following a route selected by the leader. The unit trainer should be able to set up a sustainment program, a train-the-trainer program, and a land navigation course for his unit's use. It is recommended that units develop a program similar to the one outlined in this chapter. Complete lesson outlines and training plans are available by writing to Commander, 29th Infantry Regiment, ATTN: ATSH-INB-A, Fort Benning, GA 31905-5595.