The field manual provides a standardized source document for Army-wide reference on map reading and land navigation. It applies to every soldier in the army regardless of service branch, MOS, or rank. This manual also contains both doctrine and training guidance on map reading and land navigation. Part One addresses map reading and Part Two, land navigation. The appendices include an introduction to orienteering and a discussion of several devices that can assist the soldier in land navigation. For soldiers, hunters, climbers, and hikers alike, this is the definitive guide to map reading and navigation. Readers interested in related titles from The U.S. Army will also want to
The Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency within which the United States Army is organized, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has statutory authority 10 U.S.C. § 3013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the Secretary of Defense and the President.
The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other senior officials of the Department are the Under Secretary of the Army (principal deputy to the Secretary) and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (principal deputy to the Chief of Staff.)
The Department of War was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States, and was renamed by the National Security Act of 1947 to the Department of the Army on September 18, 1947. By amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949, the Department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status.