European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse The stars and stripes is reckon they can find Way Over Sand by Vince Crawley staff writer with the . Forces saudi Arabia a troops arc learning How to dead reckon their Way across the Barren often featureless landscape in their Comer of the Central arabian desert. Quot there Are very few terrain features that you can take a map out and just look at it Quot said it. Col. John Burch of the 1st Cav div out of fort Hood Texas. A what we re finding is we re having to use the Compass a lot More vehicle odometers a lot More a said Burch who commands the 1st in 8th Cav task Force. They also use stars Burch said a we done to know How to read them. If you navigate just find a Bright one and guide on it for dead reckoning. A dead reckoning Isnit quite As desperate As it sounds. An old seafaring term acad used to be spelled a dded Quot and is Short for deducted you keep track of the direction you re heading and How far you Are at any Given time. Results vary. Christopher Columbus dead reckoned his Way from the Canary islands to the Bahamas. But his math was wrong so he thought head gone All the Way to Japan. On a return trip across the Atlantic More than 400 years later used the same math was better. Navigating from Bis last known Point in St. Johns Newfoundland he crossed 2,000 Miles of Stormy North Atlantic and. Reaching landfall in Ireland the next Day discovered he was Only two Miles off course an error of about 0.1 percent. Once settled into the Ocean of arabian Sand gis spend much of their time out on training patrols where among other things their commanders Hope they in learn to navigate with the accuracy of the Lone Eagle. A a there a always a danger of getting lost a said sgt. David Stine a Light tank scout with the 82nd airborne dives 3rd in 73rd army regt. A a you be just got to keep your eyes open to where you re going a said the 22-Ycar-Oid from Reedsville a. Staff sgt. Shawn Wallace another scout in the same battalion hedged his words. A i would t say a lost a a explained Wallace 26, from Dayton a Ohio. A but we be been. getting Servic members to admit they be been lost is Akin to convincing a Detroit autoworkers to buy japanese. Some troops might be getting disoriented on desert patrols but not pfc. Eric Deninger of the 1st Cav div. Quot you re talking to an infantry Soldier right now a said e turn trip across the Atlantic More than 400 a in 1927, Pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh same Ducaa reckoning As Columbus but his the 19-year-old from Downers Grove Iii. A we do not get Why not Deninger who a with co a in burches task Force Saia his answer might sound like so much military Malarkey but that it is True a we have doctrines Lens Atic compasses. We use terrain association. We Don t have maps it in a sure someone a working on maps Are in Short Supply among the . And forces. Usually they re divvied up one per platoon. And instead of five color topographical maps they re often photocopies or aviation charts. Sometimes they re a combination of both. A if we can operate off them we can operate on the real ones real easy a said sgt. 1st class Willie Ramsey 34, of Martinsville a. More maps Are on the Way said Ramsey a Grenada Veteran and a platoon sergeant in Deninger a company. He pointed out that the map shortage is for saudi training areas. A a we a get additional maps if we went to spotty maps Are not uncommon in big military operations. Historian Cornelius Ryan wrote that . Scouts entering Germany near the end of world War ii sometimes had to thumb through old tourist guides to get their bearings. And folklore in the 82nd airborne div holds that maps guiding Many paratroopers in the 1983 Grenada invasion were based on a common Road Atlas. Desert troops biggest land navigation problem is the same one that plagued Columbus a accurately judging distances. A you can sit and look at one spot think its 1,500 or 2.000 meters but Here it would be every bit of 5,000 or 6.000 meets a said Wallace the scout from the 82nd. A lot of units use a global positioning system Wallace said. This is a High tech Black Box that uses satellites to pinpoint with a meter its exact location anywhere on the planet a and therefore the location of the soldiers lugging it around. The device is too expensive for everyone to have one but Wallace said each member of his Crew has Access to another space age Marvel. His people use laser Range finder Scopes when their eyes Are fooled. Quot its like a pair of binoculars. Look at it push a Button Quot said spec. David Richardson who works in Wallace a platoon. A when i got Here id look at an object. It d look like it was 1,000 meters away. Then it would turn out to be 3,000 or 4,000 with the with practice soldiers Are getting what they Call a desert they re learning to expand their depth perception to Mirror the reality of saudi arabians wide open spaces. Finding ones Way in the desert Isnit As Tough As it might sound said Richardson who a 22 and comes from los Angeles. A a it a probably easier than land navigation at fort Bragg with All the terrain and Trees it s hard to see the bigger terrain. Here major terrain Fea. Tures stick not that there Are a lot of those around. A the contours of the land Are pretty much the same a said pfc. Ray Leeds an infantryman in the same outfit As Deninger the Man who does not get lost. A after a while you get to notice some landmarks a said Leeds from Havre mint. A everything does no to look the squad and team leaders a the ones with the maps do most of the actual land navigating Leeds said. But they also let some of the lower enlisted troops help out so that they learn How its done. A we go out on patrol once or twice a week usually at night to practice navigation when there Isnit any Light out Quot said Leeds who a 28 and holds a degree in mathematics. A when the Moon goes Down a said Burch the task Force commander a a it Sas dark As you be Ever seen nine out of 10 times said one of his company commanders capt. David Camps of co a a when we re in the desert Well fight at vehicle odometers and laser Range finders Are Fine but infantrymen also have to get out and March through the Sand said Camps 30, of the new York Burough of Queens. Then they resort to the old trick of Pace counting using soldiers who know How Many Steps they take to go 100 meters said Ramsey the platoon sergeant. Leeds said they usually drive out about 10 Kilometres i or six Miles in their armoured Bradley fighting vehicles i a then Road March a few Kilometres from a higher up elements have the satellite navigation systems Ramsey said. A but for us in the infantry a we use distance and degrees and azimuth on a the infantryman a standby his Compass always Points North. And gis whether they re lost or not know the Needle also Points to Kuwait City and the iraqi army. Sgt. Theodore Johnson is a Mechanic with Camps co a and although he might not be As desert savvy As the infantrymen the 32-year-old from Danville va., Isnit too worried about getting lost. If he gets Cut Oft from the infantry during a Battle Johnson joked a a in la pull my Compass out and head a a the. South a the opposite find fun in the Sun at club saudi marines play water Polo at a posh Complex loaned by the saudi government Eastern saudi Arabia up a it May not be Home but a posh Little Complex dubbed a desert world with a swimming Pool volleyball court and snack bar is giving american and British gis a Little since of heaven after weeks of living in Sand. A a in a always heard of mirages out in the desert so i figured this must be one a said Marine Lance Cpl. Ted Henson 20, of Houston As he sunned beside the swimming Pool during a Day of rest and relaxation sunday. A a it a really Nice out a a it a like putting a Little piece of the states Over Here a added Marine sgt. Lewis Perales 24, of Detroit. A we come in we see people just lounging around and partying and stuff like that. It was almost like being Back Home just relaxing chilling out having the Complex loaned to . And British forces by the saudi government was opened to give troops a break from the tedium of working continuously since they arrived As part of the multinational Force confronting Iraq. The enclosed facility houses two swimming pools one of which is still being refurbished a snack bar Ping orig tables volleyball courts video movie rooms a commissary a gift shop and a Bank of telephones for calling Home. A it provides a Means for rejuvenating our marines mentally and to get them into an atmosphere where they can unwind a said Marine it. Col. Gary Wilson who is in charge of the Complex often called club saudi. Soldiers arriving at the Complex shed their uniforms and their weapons at the front door. The Only military equipment that comes into the Complex with each Soldier is a Gas mask and even military rank disappears in the dressing room. A if somone comes in and he a a general. He a treated like everyone else a said Marine Cpl. Todd Mahoney 21, of Powers mich., a staff member at the Complex. For troops who live and work in the and rarely stray of desert and Camps a break in beyond their to the routine and a Chance to step out for a Day is a Welcome Opportunity. A a it a really Nice for morale a said 3rd class Petty officer Charles Munoz a 25-year-old Seabee from Stockton Calif. It keeps our morale High because being stuck in Camp All the time like we were just working seven Days a week really got monotonous really for the British and american troops who staff the Complex,.boosting the morale of the soldiers is their sole Job. Quot probably one of the most Gratifying things in be Ever done is to work Neie and see the effect that it has a Wilson said. A when you watch the Young men and women come in the front Gate sort of Downtrodden and stressed out. And by the end of the Day Many of them from an services will come up to me and say How appreciative they Are to be Able to visit the facility and use it for a
