LEBANON, Mo., - Missouri National Guard members recently spent part of their annual training in a Humvee traveling the back roads of Laclede County.
About 16 Guardsmen from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3-135th Theater Aviation Battalion were learning how to use a new piece of navigation equipment – the Army’s defense advanced global positioning system receiver.
The device works much like a commercial GPS, but instead of plotting routes to points of interest, it plots directions to grid locations on a map. Combined with the device’s built-in compass and a county map, the Guardsmen in four Humvees traveled to a series of points within the Lebanon area.
The purpose of the training for these aviators had nothing to do with directing aircraft, but instead focused on land navigation so these Guardsmen could be more of an asset to the state and nation in the event of a disaster.
“The whole reason we are doing this is to train for state emergency duty,” said Master Sgt. Matthew Francis, the unit’s first sergeant. “We can get coordinates through the Internet and our systems, so if we put together a convoy and have to go to St. Louis to help out with floods, then we’re going to use these devices.”
Not only will the device help the Guardsmen get where they are going, but it can also act as a locator for any vehicles that get separated from a convoy.
“They would be able to tell us where they are at specifically, so that we can find them,” said Francis, who lives in Blue Springs.
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Halley was the lead instructor on the afternoon training.
“Basically the intent of the instruction is to familiarize the Soldiers with the new equipment, gain a little bit of confidence in the equipment and get hands-on experience,” he said. “This is the first chance we’ve had for all our Soldiers to use them.”
Halley said the device doesn’t have to get Guardsmen to the exact spot on the grid they are plotting, but should get them pretty close.
“The idea of any navigation is to put you as close as possible to the intent,” he said. “You’re not going to be on a dime, but if it gets you reasonably close – within 100 yards - it’s a success.”
Because the data is all taken from satellites that are in constant motion in space, there is usually some slight variation on exact coordinates, Halley said.
The Guardsmen first worked with the receivers, which can not only be used to navigate in vehicles, but also on foot, Monday morning in a classroom setting. After they went over the training manual, groups of Soldiers used the devices to plot points in walking distance around the armory before finding locations in the vehicles.
“We received a class on it and then immediately got to put it to the test,” said Pfc. Damion Becker, of Lebanon. “It’s a little primitive compared to the Tom-Toms, but it still gets the job done pretty well.”
Spc. Shane Norman, of Lebanon, said using the device is a little more complicated than using the GPS application on his cell phone, but is more applicable for Guard use.
“You can use the receiver anywhere just by coordinates,” Norman said. “It’s a good system and it was good training. These are skills we’ll need overseas or right here at home.”
Spc. James Fetterhoff, who lives in Long Lane, said he liked using the new device.
“I found it easier to use than our old system,” he said. “They give a lot better information and the navigation view is superior. It not only tells you the grid coordinate you’re sitting at, but you can also see what direction you have to go and where you can go. It makes navigation so much easier with a lot less equipment to carry.”
The afternoon training reinforced what the Guardsmen had learned in the morning by allowing them to apply it to real-world scenarios and identify the capabilities and limitations of the equipment, Fetterhoff said.
“We had an overcast sky today, which actually interfered with some satellite signals,” Fetterhoff said “But the training got us out of the armory - it wasn’t just us sitting in front of a view screen and watching slides. While the slides are informative, they tend to be dry. The real-world scenario is exciting and gets you using the equipment hands on.”
The unit plans to travel to Fort Leonard Wood to utilize what they’ve learned at the post’s land navigation course as part of their annual training.