take the test Navigation

Are you a whizz with a map and compass? Let National Navigation Officer Colonel William "Ginge" Morris put your orienteering skills to the test.

Apenchant for planning routes, taking bearings, reading maps and mastering a compass began for Colonel William "Ginge" Morris ACF when he joined the Cadets in 1976.

Ginge first learned to use a map and compass when he undertook his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award. He then went on to complete Gold and, after leaving Army Cadets in 1980, joined the Army where he utilised his orienteering skills. Today, he advises CFAVs who want to teach navigation skills to budding adventurers within Army Cadets.

As Commandant of Gwent and Powys ACF, he also enjoys seeing cadets take the Army Proficiency Certificate and progress from one star to four star in their navigation skills.

When I was a cadet doing my Bronze DofE at Crowborough Training Camp in Sussex, I had a great instructor, Captain Byron Jenkins, who told me that a map is like a big storyboard. If you spend all your time looking at the storyboard rather than the real-life picture in front of you, then you’ll get confused and lost.

To this day, I tell my trainees the same thing: think of your map as your storyboard and, once you’ve confirmed where you are, then start observing the greatest source of information which is the ground beneath you and the terrain over which you’ll be walking. You then only need to refer to your map for tick off points (for instance an upcoming turning) along the way.

Everyone, from parents to children and pets, has a sense of navigation. When a new cadet is scared of navigation we ask them to draw where they live and their local school on a piece of paper. We then ask them to map out how they usually get to their school: which way they turn on leaving their house, the roads they take and any tick off points (for instance a local shop or a football field) along the way.

In training, we ask a person where they want to go and to write down on a route card how they would get there. We ask other participants if they understand the destination and the route they would need to take to get there. We then say: ‘Okay, you take us there.’ They often look at us as if to say: ‘How are we going to do that?’ We remind them they have their route card with all the directions and tick off points. Then they're happy to lead the way without their face being constantly buried in their map and compass.

Confidence and self-reliance are key attributes but also the ability to plan and prepare. When you're taking part in navigation you’re likely to be out for several hours so you need to think ahead about what equipment to take, what clothing you will require and what food and water provisions you will need. You’ll also need to prepare a route card in advance and leave a copy with a responsible person so that, if you’re not back by an agreed time, they will know where to look for you.

It’s a core skill embedded in many disciplines within the Army Cadets syllabus. For example, if you are doing fieldcraft and told by your company commander to find an enemy position, or meet someone at a rendezvous point, you would need to get there using a map and compass.

A cadet doing the DofE Award may be exceptionally fit and motivated but would fail if they couldn’t navigate to checkpoints. In first aid, you need to be able to pinpoint your location on a map and communicate the correct grid references to emergency services if you need to call for help while on expedition. Even within shooting, arcs of fire are measured using compass bearings so that firing stays within a safety zone.

Some struggle with the mathematics needed to do what we call a ‘back bearing’, but there are tips to overcome this. Others become confused about which arrow to follow on their compass: the arrow direction or the magnetic needle? The magnetic needle moves around so it always points north, therefore it’s important not to accidentally follow it and head off in the wrong direction.

Always know where you want to go but never forget where you came from. If something goes wrong, you can always retreat to where you came from.