We will be doing some refresher land nav stuff in the coming weeks. This is my own work, please give me credit if forwarded from @trooperchannel / trooper channel /@trooper_channel / thedepending on where you read this.

This refresher is to supplement the courses @LTC_Steven_Murray will be doing on the more tactical and close-proximity mapping with respect to strip maps, route maps, and team/sector/gunner's maps (that we have also covered on my channel, but with more technical focus).

The ice-breaker discussion is global pole shift, and how I rationalize it from a soldier and orienteering perspective with respect to the land navigation courses (compass and map "LandNav" ) that I teach.

"Pole Shift" is nothing new, but dramatic pole shift is getting a lot of attention lately.

A crucial element of understanding is magnetic declination. This is the offset of magnetic (compass) North, vs Map North and True North. Generally "Map North" follows globally recognized Longitudinal Lines and those lines will arc N-S at different headings from "True North" and always be different from "Magnetic North".

When I think of pole shift, I am thinking in terms of dramatic magnetic declination shift from what would be expected for my region. (Phoenix, appx. 10° East (Positive) Declination).

Knowing that offset (difference) from Map North, is critical to navigation. It is absolutely critical if there are no true landmarks to dead reckon toward like mountains or discernible points on the horizon.

If you are 10° off heading in 10km distance traveled, that puts you a little over a mile off-course (1.74km away from target) and over 100m short of that target.

If you are calling an air/artillery strike in a contested area, that miscalculation can kill your own guys (fratricide), or civilians.

If you are in the desert/woods/jungle that is life or death miscalculation. If that is 1,000 kilometers over land, that is collision with a mountain; At sea, that is out of fuel or getting sucked into a tradewind or current.

At a high level, you can take any magnetic compass and stand on the sidewalk of any North-South city street, and see that your compass mostly aligns with the road. Face North, and your North Arrow will point mostly in line with the North path of the road.

From the perspective of your automobile's basic 8-heading electronic compass (N-NE-E-SE-S-SW-W-NW) you don't need any more precision to follow a common map on a typical common roadway with marked DOT signage. The compass can be up to 22 degrees off course and you are going to still be within discernible bearing calibration to your map and the roadway.

But what happens if the pole shift suddenly reverses North-to-South? Or shifts a full 45-46° or more to the East or West?

There are many theories on the ramifications of such a dramatic change with respect to the power grid, electronics, telecommunications, radio wave propagation, geo-magnetic influences on weather, tides, and tectonic plates... But you may not be immediately aware of those theoretical changes.

So to level-set this series, we are going to just focus on you, in your home town, with basic maps, and tactical considerations you should think through in the close-area, self-reliance and physical security domain of concern. Then we'll get into travel/evacuation planning and mapping. Then we will return to the brass tacks of protractors, paper maps, and magnetic compass navigation in the open range.

So let's get started on the basics first: The basics of knowing your immediate area, close-proximity threats, assets, resources, and routes. Then some route planning and mapping. Then return to the basics of which all else starts and returns to from a technical-academic baseline.