A stable one, for once. FM 3-25.26 (20 July 2001, with a 2005 edition and Change 1 in 2006) superseded
the older FM 21-26 and was later reissued as a Training Circular (TC 3-25.26, Nov 2013) updated for GPS-era
navigation devices. Unlike some of the doctrine covered elsewhere in this toolkit, the core map-reading and
land-nav skills here haven't seen major recent overhauls — this is foundational, durable knowledge.
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OVERVIEW
What this publication is for, and the training philosophy behind how it's taught.
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Purpose
A standardized, Armywide reference source on map reading and land navigation. It applies to every Soldier regardless of service branch, MOS, or rank — proponent is the U.S. Army Infantry School.
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Building-Block Approach
Skills are taught in layers — each skill level builds on the one before it, tied to increasing duty-position responsibility.
At higher levels, skills shift toward problem-solving — route selection, coordinating with staff, and full consideration of navigation in planning operations
Commanders and staff officers must be able to plan navigation using both military and nonmilitary maps, aerial photographs, and terrain analysis of both friendly and enemy positions
Units are expected to run a train-the-trainer program so this skill is sustained, not just taught once
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Training Safety
Leaders must complete a thorough terrain reconnaissance before using an area for land navigation training — checking for dangerous terrain, heavily trafficked roads, water obstacles, wildlife, and leftover training debris.
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Two Parts
Part One covers map reading; Part Two covers land navigation itself, building on the map-reading fundamentals from Part One.
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READING THE MAP
The visual language every military map speaks in.
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Map Colors
Each color on a military map has a specific meaning — knowing them cold saves time reading terrain at a glance.
Color
Represents
Black
Man-made/cultural features, elevation such as contour lines on red-light readable maps
Blue
Hydrography — lakes, swamps, rivers, drainage
Green
Vegetation of military significance — woods, orchards, vineyards
Brown
Relief and elevation, contours on older maps, cultivated land
Red
Cultural features on older maps — populated areas, main roads, boundaries
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Marginal Information
Everything printed around the edge of a map — bar scales, contour interval, edition number, credit line, map information date — all tell you how to trust and use the map correctly.
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Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)
The standard reference system for locating a point on a military map — knowing how to read and report a grid coordinate accurately is core to calling for fire, reporting position, and land nav itself.
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Scale & Distance
Representative fraction and graphic (bar) scales let you convert map distance to ground distance — most maps carry more than one bar scale, each in a different unit, so check which one you're using.
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DIRECTION & TECHNIQUE
Turning a map into an actual bearing you can walk — and finding yourself on it.
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Azimuths
Direction is expressed as an azimuth — a horizontal angle measured clockwise from a base line. Grid azimuths and magnetic azimuths are different things, and converting between them correctly matters.
The declination diagram on a map's margin shows the angular relationship between grid north, true north, and magnetic north
Get the grid-to-magnetic conversion wrong and everything downstream — your pace count, your route, your reported position — is wrong too
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The Protractor
Used to plot and measure azimuths directly on the map — a basic tool every Soldier should be comfortable using without hesitation.
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Intersection & Resection
Two classic techniques for figuring out where you are (or where something else is) using azimuths to known points — intersection locates an unknown point from two known ones, resection locates your own unknown position using two or more known points.
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Dead Reckoning vs. Terrain Association
Two core navigation methods: dead reckoning (following a precise azimuth and distance/pace count) and terrain association (navigating by recognizing terrain features against the map) — most navigation in practice blends both.
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MODERN NAV & TRAINING
How GPS-era tools fit alongside — not instead of — the fundamentals above.
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GPS Receivers
The 2013 Training Circular update added detail on GPS receiver operation — present position, sky-view display, operating modes, and navigation pointers — reflecting how land nav has modernized since the original 2001 manual.
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Position Fixing & Reporting
Knowing where you are and being able to accurately communicate it is treated as crucial not just for navigation, but for calling in direct and indirect fire and tactical air support.
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Orienteering
The publication includes an appendix introducing orienteering — a sport-style application of the same core land-nav skills, useful for building proficiency and unit esprit de corps.
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Institutional Training Progression
Institution courses are built to prepare a Soldier for the next, more advanced duty position — not just to check a box at the current one.