Land Nav Task 4 – Determine the Grid Coordinates of a Point on a Military Map

Standards: Determined the six-digit grid coordinates for the point on the map with a 100-meter tolerance. Recorded the grid coordinates with the correct two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier.

Conditions:
Given a standard 1:50,000-scale military map in a field location, a 1:50,000 grid coordinate scale, a pencil, paper, and a point on the map for which coordinates must be determined.

Standards:
Determined the six-digit grid coordinates for the point on the map with a 100-meter tolerance. Recorded the grid coordinates with the correct two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier.

Performance Steps

Note.

  1. A military map can help you spot your location accurately. The map has vertical lines (top to bottom) and horizontal lines (left to right). These lines form small squares 1,000 meters on each side, called grid squares.
  2. The lines that form grid squares are numbered along the outside edge of the map picture. No two grid squares have the same number.
  3. The precision of a point location is shown by the number of digits in the coordinates; the more digits, the more precise the location. For example: 1996-A 1,000-meter grid square. 192961-To the nearest 100 meters.

1.Look at figure C-11. Your address is grid square 1181. To determine your address, start from the left and read right until you come to 11, the first half of your address. Then read up to 81, the other half. Your address is somewhere in grid square 1181.

Land Nav Task 4 | Grid Coordinates on Military Map Figure C-11. Grid square 1181

Figure C-11. Grid square 1181

2. Determine your address to the nearest 100 meters. Grid square 1181 gives your general neighborhood, but there is a lot of ground inside that grid square. To make your address more accurate, just add another number to the first half and another number to the other half so your address has six numbers instead of four.

  • a. To get these extra numbers, suppose that each grid square has 10 lines inside it running north and south, and another 10 running east and west. This makes 100 smaller squares. You can estimate where these imaginary lines are (figure C-12).
Figure C-12. Grid square 1181 divided

Figure C-12. Grid square 1181 divided

  • b. To get these extra numbers, suppose that each grid square has 10 lines inside it running north and south, and another 10 running east and west. This makes 100 smaller squares. You can estimate where these imaginary lines are (figure C-12).Suppose you are halfway between grid line 11 and grid line 12. Then the next number is 5 and the first half of your address is 115. Now suppose you are also 3/10 of the way between grid line 81 and grid line 82. Then the second half of your address is 813. Your address would be 115813 (figure C-12). (If you are exactly on line 81, the second half would be 810.)a. To get these extra numbers, suppose that each grid square has 10 lines inside it running north and south, and another 10 running east and west. This makes 100 smaller squares. You can estimate where these imaginary lines are (figure C-12).

3. Use a coordinate scale. The most accurate way to determine the coordinates of a point on a map is to use a coordinate scale. You do not have to use imaginary lines because you can come up with the exact coordinates. This scale is on the coordinate scale and protractor (GTA 05-02-012) (figure C-13) or the plotting scale (figure C-14). Both of these devices include two coordinate scales, 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 meters. Make sure that when you use either of these devices, you use the correct scale.

Figure C-13. Coordinate scale and protractor

Figure C-13. Coordinate scale and protractor

Figure C-14. Plotting scale

Figure C-14. Plotting scale

  • a. Locate the grid square in which the point is located (for example, point A, figure C-15) (the point should already be plotted on the map).
  • b. The number of the vertical grid line on the left (west) side of the grid square gives the first and second digits of the coordinate.
  • c. The number of the horizontal grid line on the bottom (south) side of the grid square gives the fourth and fifth digits of the coordinate.
  • d. Place a coordinate scale on the bottom horizontal grid line of the grid square containing point A to determine the third and sixth digits of the coordinate.
  • e. Check to see that the zeros of the coordinate scale are in the lower left-hand (southwest) corner of the grid square where point A is located (figure C-15).
Figure C-15. Placement of the coordinate scale

Figure C-15. Placement of the coordinate scale

  • f. Slide the scale to the right, keeping the bottom of the scale on the bottom grid line until point A is under the vertical (right-hand) scale (figures C-16 and C-17). To determine the six-digit coordinate, the 100-meter mark on the bottom scale, which is nearest the vertical grid line, is the third digit of the number 115. The 100-meter mark on the vertical scale, which is nearest point A, is the sixth digit of the number 813. Putting these together, you have 115813.
Figure C-16. Aligning the coordinate scale

Figure C-16. Aligning the coordinate scale

Figure C-17. Aligning the plotting scale

Figure C-17. Aligning the plotting scale

  • g. To determine the correct two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier, look at the grid reference box in the margin of the map (figure C-18).
Figure C-18. Grid reference box

Figure C-18. Grid reference box

  • h. Place the 100,000-meter-square identifier in front of the coordinate, GL115813.

Evaluation Preparation:

Setup: Give the soldier a standard 1:50,000-scale military map in a field location, a 1:50,000 grid coordinate scale, a pencil, paper, and a point on a map for which coordinates must be determined.

Brief Soldier: Tell the soldier to write down the two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier and the six-digit grid coordinates for one point and the two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier.

Performance MeasuresGONO GO
1. Determined the six-digit grid coordinates for the point on the map with a 100-meter tolerance.
2. Recorded the grid coordinates with the correct two-letter 100,000-meter-square identifier.

Evaluation Guidance:
Score the soldier GO if all performance measures are passed. Score the soldier NO GO if any performance measure is failed. If the soldier scores NO GO, show the soldier what was done wrong and how to do it correctly.

 

Land Nav Task 2 – Identify Topographic Symbols on a Military Map

Standards: Identified topographic symbols, colors, and marginal information on a military map with 100 percent accuracy.

Conditions:
Given a standard 1:50,000-scale military map.

Standards:
Identified topographic symbols, colors, and marginal information on a military map with 100 percent accuracy.

Performance Steps

  1. Identify the colors on a military map.
  1.  
  • a. The ideal situation would be that every feature on that portion of the earth being mapped is shown on the map in its true shape and size. Unfortunately, that is impossible.
  • b. The amount of detail shown on a map increases or decreases, depending on its scale; for example, a map with a scale of 1:250,000.
  • c. Details are shown by topographic symbols. These symbols are shown using six basic colors as shown in table C-1.
Table C-1.
Colors on a topographic map
ColorsSymbols
BlackCultural (man-made) features other than roads
BlueWater
BrownAll
relief features-contour lines on old
maps-cultivated land on red-light
readable maps
GreenVegetation
RedMajor
roads, built-up areas, special
features on old maps
Red-BrownAll
relief features and main roads on
red-light readable maps

2. Identify the symbols used on a military map to represent physical features, such as physical surroundings or objects, as shown in table C-2.

Table C-2.
Features on topographic maps
Land Nav Task 2 | Topographic Symbols on a Military Map
  • a. The shape of an object on the map usually tells what it is, for example, a black, solid square is a building or a house; a round or irregular blue item is a lake or pond.
  • b. Logic and what the colors mean must work together in determining a map feature. For example, blue represents water. If you see a symbol that is blue and has clumps of grass, this would be a swamp.
  • c. The size of the symbol shows the approximate size of an object. Most symbols are enlarged 6 to 10 times so that you can see them under dim light.
  • d. Use the legend; it has most of the symbols used on the map.

2. Identify the marginal information found on the legend.

  • a. Marginal information at the top of the map sheet.
    • (1) The top left corner contains the geographic location of the map area and the scale of the map.
    • (2) The top center has the name of the map sheet.
    • (3) The top right corner contains the map edition, map series, and the map sheet number.
  • b. Marginal information at the bottom of the map sheet.
    • (1) The lower left corner of the map contains the legend, the name of the agency that prepared the map, the map sheet number, and the map sheet name.
    • (2) The bottom center contains the bar scales in meters, yards, miles, and nautical miles; the contour interval of the contour lines; the grid reference box; the declination diagram; and the G-M angle (mils or degrees).
    • (3) The lower right corner contains the elevation guide, the adjoining map sheet diagram, and the boundaries box, which shows any boundaries that may be on the map.
 

Evaluation Preparation:

Setup: On a 1:50,000-scale military map, circle each item of marginal information found on the map. Randomly letter the circled items A through J. Circle an item or feature shown on the map by color. Randomly number each colored item 1 through 10. The items are listed in the Evaluation Guide/Performance Measures. Have a sheet of paper and two pencils available for the soldier being tested. For each soldier tested, provide a duplicate set of the map, paper, and pencils.

Brief Soldier: Tell the soldier to letter the paper A through J and 1 through 10. Tell the soldier to write down the name of the item contained in each lettered and numbered circle on the map.

Performance MeasuresGONo GO
1. Identified the sheet name.
2. Identified the sheet number.
3. Identified the contour
interval.
4. Identified the G-M angle (mils or degrees).
5. Identified the legend.
6. Identified the bar scales.
7. Identified the declination diagram.
8. Identified the grid reference box.
9. Identified the adjoining map sheets diagram.
10. Identified the elevation guide.
11. Identified 2 of 2 specific man-made features (shown in black on the map).
12. Identified 2 of 2 water features (blue on the map).
13. Identified 2 of 2 vegetation features (green on the map).
14. Identified 2 of 2 man-made features; for example, main roads or build-up areas (shown in brown or red-brown on the map).
15. Identified 2 of 2 contour lines (shown in brown or red-brown on the map).

Evaluation Guidance:
Score the soldier GO if all performance measures are passed. Score the soldier NO GO if any performance measure is failed. If the soldier scores NO GO, show the soldier what was done wrong and how to do it correctly.

 

Draw (Minor Terrain Feature)

Draw. A draw is a less developed stream course than a valley. In a draw, there is essentially no level ground and, therefore, little or no maneuver room within its confines. If you are standing in a draw, the ground slopes upward in three directions and downward in the other direction. A draw could be considered as the initial formation of a valley. The contour lines depicting a draw are U-shaped or V-shaped, pointing toward high ground

Draw Minor Terrain Feature
 

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