Soldiers explore terrain of Ukraine with land navigation

By Spc. John OnuohaAugust 1, 2016

Soldiers explore terrain of Ukraine with land navigation
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – YAVORIV, Ukraine - Soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd
Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division teach Soldiers of 1st
Battalion, 93rd Mechanized Brigade how to read a map during a land navigation training, July 29, 2016. ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
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Soldiers explore terrain of Ukraine with land navigation
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – YAVORIV, Ukraine - Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 93rd Mechanized Brigade point to their next direction of travel during a land navigation training, July 29, 2016. Soldiers of 6-8 Cav conducted the land navigation training in support of the Joint Multin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Soldiers explore terrain of Ukraine with land navigation
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – YAVORIV, Ukraine - Capt. Abdullah H. Clark, the commander of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division shows one of the Ukrainian instructors terrain features on a map during a land navigatio... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

By Spc. John Onuoha, 6-8 Cav., 2IBCT UPAR

YAVORIV, Ukraine - Soldiers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd

Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division conducted land navigation training with Ukrainian Soldiers here, July 29.

The Mustangs are here in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-

Ukraine. JMTG-U is responsible for training Ukrainian land forces and building a team of Ukrainian cadre who will ultimately assume that responsibility. The training is designed to reinforce defensive skills of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in order to increase their capacity for self-defense.

Soldiers of 6-8 Cav approached the training by learning what the Ukrainians knew about land navigation, in order to teach them what they need and make it easy for them to understand.

"We wanted to see what their knowledge was," said 2nd Lt. Asher Glasgow, a platoon leader with Troop B, 6-8 Cav. "We wanted to get a basis in terms of what they knew, what they wanted to know and what they wanted to do with the type of information that we were giving. From that we devised a plan that was both understandable and easy to comprehend, and to actually apply it and be able to evaluate themselves while doing so."

The training was designed to improve their battle skills and show them how to travel to different points on a map. The exercise was a lesson that can improve the Ukrainian Army and put them ahead of their enemies.

"It is important for the Ukrainians to use this training exercise because it will help them on the battlefield, getting from point A to point B," Glasgow said. "With that they will be able to utilize the training to their advantage, and they will also be able to understand how their enemy fights."

The training will be beneficial not only for the Ukrainians but for U.S. Soldiers as well. According to Glasgow, it will be an opportunity for the Soldiers of 6-8 Cav to also continue working on the fundamentals.

Soldiers of Troop C, 6-8 Cav were training the Ukrainian instructors on land navigation as well, in order to certify them as they get ready to train their future units.

"The combat training center here at the International Peace Keeping and Security Center is supposed to be self-sufficient by next year," said Capt. Abdullah H Clark. "So they can continue training their own units as they come out of operational capacities to even more training capacities here, and then continue on with other units."

Glasgow said the Ukrainians are catching up really well, they are really receptive to the learning and if he was to rate their motivation level, it will be a 10+. He also emphasized the benefits of the training for both American and Ukrainian Soldiers.

"Every instructor that I have talked to have been highly encouraged, respectful and really excited about continuing on to more specialized training," Clark said. "I think there are some things that we can learn from them in exchange as far as tactic and techniques that they are integrating in their Army as well."

Clark said, he talked to one of his platoon leaders today and told him they are going to be talking about this deployment for the rest of their lives. He advised him to think about that every day as they decide what they are going to do to make the most of each day and really get the value out of being here.