At what point do we revamp "basic Soldier skills"?

What happens when your GPS breaks down? What happens when your truck breaks down and you have to hoof it back? etc?

While I do agree that we need to update our skills, we should never remove the "low tech" skills from our knowledge base.

Great point SGT, I would also like to mention.
I do believe in building physical & mental fortitude.
However, just breaking down someone's body so they have a larger Disability claim when the ETS makes no sense. Especially when the training doesn't help combat efficiency or mission success.

I don't think of my self as old since I am only 42, but hearing a soldier ask why we should train soldiers to use a compass and carry a ruck is just basic soldiering. Maybe the
Issue is more of a question on why did they stop issuing compasses. Next thing I am going to hear is why should I learn to shoot when I work in PAC! Suck it up and drive on there hero.

Boot camp (at least for me) is about as much of taking a civilian and turning the civilian into a soldier. It's much implied all that 'up to date' training comes after basic training, when the soldier goes to AIT. Those initial months should be totally focused on putting military values into a non-military body and soul.

That being said, I think the reason why they don't touch all that sacrosanct stuff is because there's a lot of tradition that goes behind it. Rucking is definitely an old-school army tradition that never dies. I don't think rucking well ever go away for as long as the Army exists. Every ruck I was ever in kicked my ass.

But I also see it from your point of view. Sometimes, they just get caught up in all that traditional "basics" stuff and don't realize the real common-denominator basics has shifted. Exactly what you said, compass and land nav. Even the Iraqi insurgents we fought at times showed more technological savvy than what some people gave them credit for, and I highly doubt even they were wrapped up with compasses and maps when they had map-apps and digital compasses for their smart phones. Not all of them were as technologically behind as folks painted them as. So yes, it behooves people to dig in and really hone and refine the tools we have and explore the tools we are developing. I would never trade an MRAP for a horse and expect horseback soldiers to take on MRAPs. What you are observing is the mind-numbing fog of 'check the box' nonsense. Its easier to check the box to say we are refining basic soldiering skills than to say we are helping rank and file soldiers refine newer tools.

Not exactly an answer to your post but that's my .02 cents.

I agree that there does need some updating to the common core skills that Soldiers are training on. But, at the same time they still need to learn the low tech ones. Many times while down range I had to use a compass to adjust my SATCOM and other equipment. While at the same time we had to learn "new" technology while down range, even though it had been around for a few years. I think that a lot of it comes down to the logistics of supplying everyone with all the tools that they need.