UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH. Land navigation. This was the only thing at TBS I failed. I was HORRIBLE at it. But...better to fail at something than to cheat. Don't do it! You WILL get kicked out. Also, this is another thing that could mean life or death in the future.
Don't bring a phone. Don't bring a GPS. Don't use your white light at night. Don't ask your friends for answers.
You'll get classes on this from an instructor that can help you more than I can. LOL.
You'll have both day and night land navigation. You'll have a bunch of practice ones before you get graded.
Key things:
Route planning. You may have to just straight up ignore a box that is way out of the way.
Choose good attack points (starting points). During the practices, you'll find out that some attack points on the map are not accurately depicted. Better to choose a better attack point that is farther away, then a close one that is iffy.
Be careful going box-to-box. This means choosing a box you just found as the starting point for your next box. I used this during one of the practices and found 7/8 boxes and finished early. I used it in the final and failed miserably. One wrong box and you're out of luck. If you land squarely on a box and the terrain matches perfectly, go for it. I used a mixture of the two strategies when I finally passed. If you go box-to-box and are unsure, if you have time, you can shoot a back azimuth (opposite way) and see if you land back at the box you were at before.
No brainer: make sure you do your map work correctly. You'll have time, and this is way in your control Adjust for your compass error. Make sure you convert from grid to magnetic azimuth correctly (your instructor will explain this).
Get a protractor with the string attached. They sell them at the PX and it worked great. Bring at least one extra protractor. The extra $6 you may spend is worth it.
Make a little booklet out of plexiglass so you have a hard surface to do more mapwork in the woods.
Use the finest-tipped pen that you can. A thick-tipped pen can throw off your degree ever so slightly, which results in you being way off the farther away your box is :(
Do NOT lose your card. I wrote all my card info in a notebook and worked from there. Carried that while I walked instead of my card.
Make sure your pace count is accurate.
When you finish your paces, and you don't see a box, hang a glow strap where you can see it and then look for your box.
When shooting an azimuth, pick a distinct point to walk to, but also keep in mind one just beyond that, to keep yourself straight.
If you have to walk around an obstacle, alternate between going right or left around it.
Night land navigation:
Get good at using your night-vision goggles. Know how they work, and know if they are broken. Bring extra batteries.
Wear your eye-pro!
Bring your tarp, and only use your red light.
Please don't use your white light. It's not allowed, but it's also really frustrating to walk towards a glowing box, only to see it moving and realize it was another Lt. using their white light. Not only did you not find your box, but now you're lost :(
Biggest take-aways:
All this advice came from my instructor. Listen to them.
DON'T CHEAT. Just don't. I had to do final day land navigation three times, and final night land navigation four times. Yeah it hurt my pride, but I still have a job now and I know I was honest.
Don't give up. Land navigation can be super frustrating and soul-crushing. Trust me, I've been there. If you haven't found anything for hours, don't give up, even if it's impossible to pass. Use the time you have left to practice.
AND...be careful out there.