Security Forces battle the woods

By Tech. Sgt. Scott G. Herrington, 148th Fighter Wing / Published June 08, 2011

Staff Sergeant Mitch Pitoscia and Airman 1st Class Corey Pitoscia, members of the Security Forces Squadron, 148th Fighter Wing, Duluth, Minn., consult their map and compass as they make their way through the land navigation course at Camp Ripley, Minn. on June 5, 2011. The land navigation course tests the ability to plot out a course prior to entering the woods, but also the ability to stay on that course despite difficult terrain. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Scott Herrington)
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Staff Sergeant Mitch Pitoscia and Airman 1st Class Corey Papke, members of the Security Forces Squadron, 148th Fighter Wing, Duluth, Minn., consult their map and compass as they make their way through the land navigation course at Camp Ripley, Minn. on June 5, 2011. The land navigation course tests the ability to plot out a course prior to entering the woods, but also the ability to stay on that course despite difficult terrain. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Scott G. Herrington)

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CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. -- Small teams of 148th Fighter Wing Security Forces members set out to navigate part of the Camp Ripley, Minn. wilderness Sunday, June 5, 2011 as part of their week long field training exercises. The teams were given multiple sets of coordinates and a map; from there it was out to the woods to figure out the location of several hidden markers.

The land navigation course was made difficult by terrain that offered steep hills, dense foliage, and a thick, seemingly impenetrable cloud of mosquitoes. Staff Sgt. Mitch Pitoscia and Airman First Class Corey Papke were tasked with finding 13 markers using predetermined compass directions and calculated distances between each marker.

For Staff Sgt. Pitoscia, the hardest part of the course was not over correcting when it became apparent that he and Airman 1st Class Papke were slightly off in the direction of their movements. The over correction to either the left or right of their predetermined route would have sent the two of them far from their intended objective. 

Despite the abundance of wood ticks and warm weather the majority of the teams were able to find all of their markers in the two and a half hours of allotted time.  For the few teams that did not, they were given feedback on where they went wrong in their calculations and navigation.