This course will begin your preparation for the land navigation phase of selection and beyond.
This course is for military personnel and those in the recruitment stage (like 18X) with little to no land navigation experience or who need a comprehensive refresher. Most participants are in a SOF pipeline for Special Forces, Ranger, and MARSOC, or are preparing for leadership development like ROTC, WOCS, and BOLC. Others are getting a jump-start on the training that they’ll receive at Third Phase of BUD/S or a service Academy.
Cody W., U.S. Army
All of our classes, unlike other schools, are run as small groups and at a pace to maximize your individual learning objectives. You will build a solid foundation of the key skills as you progress through various crawl, walk, and run phases so that you will understand both the how and the why. This course dovetails with our Advanced Military Land Navigation which many also take to cap their training.
Our training location provides the ideal environment for all skill levels. The vegetation, terrain, and climate spans the mix from open, easy, and pleasant to dense, strenuous, and harsh. This is just one reason why top tier SOF units use this same area to train and conduct their own assessments. So, if you want to learn how to navigate in the same place that they do, then this is the perfect location.
Course Overview
- Course Duration: Two day sessions (14 hours of instruction).
- Start / End Times: 0900 – 1600 both days.
- Topics covered: Gear such as topographic map, protractor, and compass; Declination; Navigating techniques using dead-reckoning and the foundations of terrain association and route-planning; Tools such as pace counting, backstops, hand-rails, boxing-out, search techniques; Coordinate systems (UTM & MGRS); Navigation psychology.
- Fee: $300 per person.
- Location: Quebec Run Wild Area (see below for detail).
- Maximum Group Size: 8
- Description of Physical Difficulty – Moderate to Strenuous: This course involves walking over varying distances at a steady pace over varying terrain that will include off-trail sections, rough spots, unexpected obstacles, and low to steep terrain inclines and declines. This course is conducted in varying weather conditions, including hot, cold, humid, rain, and snow, or a mixed combination. This is a physically challenging course so it is best suited for those in very good physical condition and ready for a fast paced day.
- Note: The course requires a minimum of four persons to run this training. If we are unable to meet this size, then True North will fully refund your payment with as much advance notice as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What happens when I register? We will personally follow up with you with three quick and easy forms for you to complete and return. We will send you a detailed course information sheet which will contain all of the applicable details that you’ll need to prepare and arrive for your training.
True North Training Area – Click to Enlarge.
Where is Quebec Run Wild Area located? Quebec Run Wild Area is a 7,441 acre preserve within Forbes State Forest, located roughly 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, along the West Virginia border, on the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains. It is approximately 25 miles North of Camp Dawson in Kingwood, West Virginia.
What kind of gear do I need to bring? After you register for the course, we will send you a course information sheet which will contain all of the program details, including a list of required and optional gear. Our goal is to help balance what you need to get the most out of your training while still minimizing your costs. We can even loan much of the key gear. We also make some additional equipment and supplies available for your convenience which we sell at-cost.
Where can I spend the night? You can chose to either spend the night in the woods at the training area for free or stay in a local hotel or home-share. Once you register for the course, we will provide more detailed information, which will include some recommendations.
Is this course open to LEOs? This training is open to all sworn law enforcement professionals. Prior clients include federal agents preparing for their agency SOG, members of a state and municipal SRT, Game Wardens, and Rangers.
To learn more, contact us.