The Army Training System - AskTOP

Figure 9-9leave the assembly area at the sametime. One to two hours is the optimaltime for conducting the activity. Asample location marker is shown atFigure 9-9.For this example, team number 54found the marker. The letters correspondingto 54 are LD, so they place“LD” on line 39 of their scorecard.This line number corresponds to thelocation’s marker number. When thelocation marker code is deciphered,the team moves on to the next markerof its choice. Each team goes to asmany markers as possible within theallotted time. After all teams havefound as many location markers aspossible and have turned in their map/scorecards, the points are computed bythe orienteering marshal to determinethe teams’ standings. He has the keyto all the points and can determineeach team’s accuracy. Handicap pointsare then added. Each soldier getspoints if his 2-mile-run time is slowerthan 12 minutes. (See Figure 9-8.)The teams’ standings are displayedshortly after the activity ends.Safety BriefingThe orienteering marshal gives asafety briefing before the event starts.He reminds soldiers to be cautiouswhile running across streets and toemphasize that team members shouldalways stay together.Set Up and MaterialsThe course must be well thought outand set up in advance. Setting uprequires some man-hours, but the coursecan be used many times. The majortasks are making and installing locationmarkers and preparing map/scorecardcombinations. Once the location markernumbers are marked and color codedon the maps, they are covered withcombat acetate to keep them useful fora long time. Combat acetate (alsocalled plastic sheet) can be purchasedin the self-service supply center storeunder stock number 9330-00-618-7214.The course organizer must decidehow many location markers to makeand where to put them. He should usecreativity to add excitement to thecourse. Suggestions for locations to putpoint markers are as follows: at intersections,along roads in the tree line, onbuilding corners, and along creek bedsand trails. They should not be too hardto find. To help teams negotiate thecourse, all maps must be preciselymarked to correspond with the placementof the course-location markers.9-16