Which navigation technique involves checking the direction back to your starting point to verify your course?

Which navigation technique involves checking the direction back to your starting point to verify your course?

• A. Pace count.
• B. Terrain association.
• C. Back azimuth.
• D. Magnetic declination.

Answer: (C)

Back azimuth is the direction from your current position back to your starting point, and it’s used to verify you’re still on the intended line. When you travel from A to B on a given bearing, you can check the direction from B back to A to confirm you’re aligned with the route. This back azimuth should be the forward bearing turned 180 degrees. For example, if you moved from A to B on a bearing of 70 degrees, the back azimuth from B to A should be about 250 degrees. If your compass shows a different direction, you know you’ve drifted and you can re-adjust to get back on course. Pace count, terrain association, and magnetic declination all serve different purposes: counting steps measures distance traveled, terrain association uses recognizable features to estimate position, and magnetic declination is about correcting for the difference between true and magnetic north.

Back azimuth is the direction from your current position back to your starting point, and it’s used to verify you’re still on the intended line. When you travel from A to B on a given bearing, you can check the direction from B back to A to confirm you’re aligned with the route. This back azimuth should be the forward bearing turned 180 degrees. For example, if you moved from A to B on a bearing of 70 degrees, the back azimuth from B to A should be about 250 degrees. If your compass shows a different direction, you know you’ve drifted and you can re-adjust to get back on course.

Pace count, terrain association, and magnetic declination all serve different purposes: counting steps measures distance traveled, terrain association uses recognizable features to estimate position, and magnetic declination is about correcting for the difference between true and magnetic north.