Navigate WAS Re: [WW] A few questions

[A Voice From the Bewilderness <hercubadger@yahoo.com>]

> for the Grunt Class?  I thought that all US
> soldiers were taught how 
> to
> read a map in basic training and this skill would
> be doubly 
> important
> for a Tank Crew.

Not everyone is a US soldier. Using WW rules you could
be a Russian recruit (map? Maps are for officers), a
tank driver (left at the next cross roads driver, then
straight ten miles then another left), roughly trained
native milita (not necessarily a resistance fighter as
it is written), etc. If you're in the desert you could
be a digger grunt who can't find his arse from his
elbow without an NCO to point the way. Not all troops
are as well trained as others in the basics.

Tanks crews are specialised. The commander reads the
map. The loader just loads. They barely need to read
to perform their duties let alone know how to
navigate. Same goes for the driver. The driver is too
busy to read a map. As in the above example, they're
told where to go by the commander. They don't
necessarily choose for themselves. For examples of
this, try a few Harold Coyle novels (the early ones,
the latter ones blow goats. Try "Team Yankee" or
"Sword Point"). 

Perhaps, map reading isn't necessarily taught all that
well to the troops. Knowing which way is up is
definitely another kettle of fish to knowing how to
orientate yourself through hostile terrain. How many
basic grunts know how to shoot stars for direction or
calculate latitude (?) from the time of day and angle
of the sun? It's not all compass and map reading. 

For an experienced troop, sure, let them have navigate
as a skill. Yet, for a basic recruit grunt? No. 

Still, YMMV.

Cheers.

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