Do soldiers use maps?

Map reading skills become very important in military operations. Military strategists use maps to locate opposing forces, plan operations, and to coordinate logistics. The military has many personnel who are experts in reading topographic maps. Topographic maps portray the physical features of an area.

What mapping system does the military use?

The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) is the geocoordinate standard used by NATO militaries for locating points on Earth. The MGRS is derived from the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid system and the Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) grid system, but uses a different labeling convention.

Do soldiers use coordinates?

Soldiers are required to know how to plot MGRS coordinates on a map with nothing but a military protractor, and how to find those coordinates in the field with a map and compass.

What is the precision of an eight digit grid coordinate?

10-meters
8 digits – 23480647 – locates a point with a precision of 10-meters (the size of a modest home). 10 digits – 2348306479 – locates a point with a precision of 1-meter (within a parking spot). Regional Area; 100,000-meter Square Identification.

Where can I get military grid maps?

These are maps that the National Geospatial Agency (NGA) has released for sale to the public. To see which maps are available for sale (or free digital download), go to the online USGS Store: Click on “Maps” in the left navigation menu.

How accurate is a 8 digit grid coordinate?

A 1:50,000 scale map is only accurate to 50m 90\% of the time so a 6 digit (100m precision) or an 8 digit (10m precision) are more appropriate.

How close will an eight digit grid get you to your point?

10 meters
Read to the right and up and using the 1/50,000 map scale, carefully plot your eight-digit grid coordinate to the point that you are navigating to. Remember, four-digit grids get you to within 1000 meters, six-digit grids to within 100 meters and an eight-digit grid gets us to within 10 meters.

Is Land NAV easy?

It is tough, it is the toughest individual land navigation course you’ll find in the US military. Land Navigation is one of those skills that while it isn’t hard to learn the basics, mastering them takes practice. And the more you know about it going in, the odds of your being selected go up markedly.