As a leader do you feel that Land Navigation should be taken out from the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development System (NCOPDS)?

My thought it should be a zero day test process with PT. In-process, weigh-in, PT test, and land nav course. BLC should be teaching leadership skills, not level 1 skills. The STX is too reliant on time sensitive completion of tasks to have the timeline sabotaged by Joe having issues with reading a map and compass. Being where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there is 95% of life. Of course, I also wish the Army had the resources so BLC was MOS specific. Here I am speaking like a grunt. I also don't think a grunt should be going to BLC without an EIB. The mastery of skill level 1 tasks.

I agree and disagree, Land Nav should stay within the course but it shouldn't be weighted as a GO - NO GO. Many units don't train on land nav more than once a year and even if they do that training is probably only a few hours long. Land nav should be taught and reinforced. The main focus of BLC is, developing basic leadership skills, land navigation will not help junior NCOs counsel and grow lower enlisted professionally. Those who would argue that NCOs can grow by "teaching land nav", well what if the Army gutted the lesson planning and class development in the BLC course to make room for a solid land nav part; now we would have leaders who can use a map, but can't effectively relay their knowledge to their team. I say, let it stay, but focus on professional growth not basic-skills.

Train Your self and your Troops. As a Fist Plt. Sgt I made up Training Schedule.

ISFC (Join to see) - i am currently helping a soldier get ready for BLC and it has changed so much I saw the curriculum for BLC and they have the students teaching a class how to write a memorandum, a sworn statement?!! I never had to do that when I went through WLC it was all about OPORDS troop leading procedures conduct PT and field time.

I agree, Land Navigation is the most primal example of leading the way. Your Land Nav skills tell you how to get to the objective, your leadership gets your troops there with you. SFC Robert Dimitroff -

The Navy has started bring back the use of sextant training because of electronic failuer

I have as much faith in the Pluger and Blue Force Tracker as much as I in Politicians. My compass and protractor have never let me down and never run out of power or sat relay.

SSG Bob Parenteau - "11B is the primary MOS no matter what your job is." I have heard that said so many times ever since I came into the Army in 1973. It's a great tag line, but it simply isn't true in practice. Beyond BTC, we don't train, drill, or evaluate Soldiers who aren't 11Bs on 11B skills; only on the skills of their individual MOS. Yes, they all have to pass weapon qualification, but only a range test, not any other kinds of skills of maneuver at any level of infantry team, squad, platoon, or above. So we're only kidding ourselves to think that every soldier is an infantryman at the end of the day. I definitely agree with you about our over-reliance on electronics, though, and the need to keep up with our hard skills like land navigation.

MGySgt James Forward That is work! One slow
day at NTC, just for practice, I ‘found’ three Benchmark Monuments. The Bronze Medallion with the co-ordinates stamped upon them had been purloined!