Can anyone suggest a GPS that is suitable for military and civilian use? thanks

i don't really have any suggestions on what unit to use. but i have a few comments since i've used a few units before, mainly civilian. for some reason, whenever i go hiking, i tend to go places where the cell phone doesn't work, radio signals are weak, and there is too much canopy cover to get a decent satellite signal. so if you're looking to get one because you don't want to learn how to use a map and compass it's a bad idea. as a backup though, they're great, makes life a whole lot easier when they're working.

Yeah... Well I've been using a map and compass for years, thats why I haven't bought a gps yet, but now, because I'm getting to that point in my carrer where I have to start leading patrols and stuff like that I think I need one. The military has one you can sign for, but it is rather large and bulky, plus very complicated to use, so I'm looking for a more simplistic one.

If you plan to use it for military purposes (patrols etc..) then you should use the military version....

A civilian and military GPS are (mostly) two different things.

Most of the civilian GPS units are sentisitive towards jamming as well, so it's not a reliable thing to have in a conflict/war zone either..

"Train as you fight"

Yeah... we use the precision lightweight global positioning system Rockwell model 96 and for the most part all we use it for is finding where you are and of course plotting routes... The same as a civilian GPS... Also Jamming the system doesn't happen all that much, but you are right, the civie GPS is not encrypted. The only other thing we (the infantry) use it for is plugging it in to vector Bino's the get an exact grid... All I really want is a rugged compact precise GPS so I can use it as a backup... anyone recommend anything?

I've had some experience using GPS (after all I am a geography major) and I'd say the models from Garmin are pretty solid. I've had my unit for years now and it worked a charm, even though it was an old model that you couldn't download maps into.

Slightly robust and heavy is the new Garmin 1000. Actually, it consists of two 10 inch displays and is being installed in private aircraft like the new Cessna 182 were getting.

http://www.garmin.com/products/g1000/

Its nice though.

Thanks for the reply, but I think that its a little different than what I'm looking for....

How about this one?
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrex/