Define every route your group may use — bug-out, patrol, resupply, egress. Each route gets a designation, type, and waypoint list. Use bearings and named reference points only — no raw GPS coordinates in this document. Routes are categorized by type and flagged active, standby, or archived.
Plan a minimum of three bug-out routes — Primary, Alternate, and Contingency. Each should be independent of the others and use different road/terrain corridors. For each route, document waypoints as bearings from named reference features, not raw coordinates.
Patrol routes should vary in timing and path to avoid pattern establishment. Document checkpoints along each route, expected time at each checkpoint, and the challenge/response procedure for friendly recognition. Patrol routes should integrate with the watch rotation from the Roster module.
Choke points are locations where movement is constrained and vulnerability is elevated. Identify each one, classify its threat level, and document the bypass or mitigation. Every route should be analyzed against this list before being designated as primary.
Rally points serve two purposes: intra-group link-up during dispersed operations, and inter-group link-up with MAG partners. Intra-group RPs are defined here. Inter-group RPs are imported from Allied Force. Every member should be able to reach the primary RP from any position in the AO without using a route that passes a known choke point.
Terrain knowledge is the foundation of good route planning. Document the key features of your AO — ridgelines, waterways, wood lines, fields of view, seasonal road conditions, and night navigation anchors. This section produces a terrain reference that feeds route planning decisions.
Not every route works for every movement type. A primary vehicle route may become a foot-only route after a choke point is blocked. Document which routes are viable by movement type and under what conditions each degrades. Every route needs a foot-viable alternate.
Routes defined in Module 01 will appear here for viability assessment once this module is built out.
Doctrinal Speed References (FM 3-25.26 / RHB 7-8): Foot movement in woodland terrain averages 1 km/hr day and 0.5 km/hr night. Add time for mountains, swamps, or dense brush. Normal 8-hour foot march rate: 4 km/hr. Vehicle: convert slope using contour count — 1 contour line per 100m map distance = 10% slope; avoid routes with 4+ contour lines per 100m for wheeled vehicles.
Pace count must be established individually on similar terrain. Adjust for conditions: uphill increases pace count, downhill decreases it. Mud/snow/gravel, headwind, poor visibility, and excess clothing all shorten the pace. Night pace count must be established separately — smaller steps at night require a dedicated night pace course.
Generate laminated route reference cards for each defined route. Cards include waypoints, bearings, recognition signals, choke point warnings, and fallback instructions. Each member carries only the cards for routes they are authorized to know.
One card per route. Waypoints, bearings, choke point warnings, rally points, and fallback instructions. Designed for lamination and field carry.
Single-page summary of all identified choke points with threat level and bypass instructions. Suitable for briefing or wall posting.
One page per rally point. Location description, recognition signals, trigger conditions, and time window. Matches Allied Force RP reference format.
Everything in one document: cover page, table of contents, and every section — registry, bug-out, patrol, choke points, rally points, full OCOKA terrain, and movement standards. Page-broken per section for a three-ring binder.
This manual assumes you have never opened GHOST ROUTE before and explains everything from zero. Every screen is described and labeled. Work through it in order the first time. After that, use the table of contents to jump to what you need.
GHOST ROUTE is where you plan and write down how your group moves — getting out, getting around, and linking back up. Roads get blocked, bridges get watched, and stress erases memory. This module turns "we will figure it out when the time comes" into a written, rehearsable plan that everyone shares.
The program does six jobs for you:
This is the one habit that makes GHOST ROUTE safe to print and carry. Do not write raw GPS latitude/longitude or full grid coordinates into these forms. A captured document full of exact coordinates hands an adversary your entire plan. Instead, describe every point the way you would tell a trusted neighbor:
The window has three parts. The top bar shows the WATCHMAN : GHOST ROUTE name, a COMMAND SUITE link back to the launcher, and a ⚙ settings gear. The left sidebar is your menu — seven numbered modules, an OUTPUTS item for printing, this HELP manual, and the Demo sandbox (RETURN TO LIVE when you are inside the demo). The main area on the right is whatever module you have selected.
You do not have to fill in everything at once. Do this much first and you already have a usable plan:
The Route Registry is the master list of every route, of any kind. Bug-out, resupply, patrol, egress — if your group might move along it, give it an entry here. Each route gets a designator (a short name like "RTE-NORTH"), a type, a status (Active, Standby, or Archived), an origin and destination, a rough distance and time, and a list of waypoints.
Bug-out routes are your evacuation routes from home to safety. The doctrine here is simple and worth memorizing: plan a PACE set — at least a Primary, an Alternate, and a Contingency. Each should use different roads and corridors so a single roadblock never takes out two of them at once.
Each bug-out card holds a destination, the trigger conditions that tell you it is time to use it, a link-up or rally reference, an estimated time, and a waypoint list. Press SAVE BUG-OUT ROUTES when done.
Patrol routes are the paths your security element walks to check the AO. The two things that keep patrols safe are varied timing (never patrol the same path at the same time twice — that is a pattern an observer can exploit) and recognition signals so a returning patrol is not mistaken for a threat.
Each patrol card records the frequency, duration, team size, and order of march, then a Signals & Passwords block:
Below the signals you list checkpoints along the route with the expected time at each. Press SAVE PATROL ROUTES.
A choke point is anywhere your movement is squeezed and your exposure rises — a bridge, a tunnel, a narrow pass, a single-lane underpass, a gated intersection. These are the spots an adversary watches because they know you must pass through them. List every one that touches a route, classify its threat level, and write the bypass.
Each choke point has a name, a type, a threat level (Critical, High, Medium, Low), a location description, the routes it affects, the bypass, and observation notes. Press SAVE CHOKE POINTS.
A rally point (RP) is a pre-agreed spot where the group re-forms after a split — planned or not. Good rally points are easy to find, give cover and concealment, sit away from the obvious lines an enemy would travel, and can be held for a short time. A rally point nobody can find, or that sits in the open, is worse than none.
Each RP card records a type (intra-group, inter-group MAG link-up, emergency, ORP, and so on), a location description, a trigger, the wait limit, and four recognition signals: far/near, day/night. It closes with a site characteristics check drawn from the Ranger Handbook (RHB 7-14).
Terrain knowledge is the foundation of every route decision. This screen organizes your notes around OCOKA, the Army's five-part way of reading ground (FM 3-25.26).
Fill in as much as you can in plain sentences. There is also a four-box seasonal obstacles grid (spring/summer/fall/winter), because a creek that is a stepping-stone in August is impassable in spring melt. This screen auto-saves, and there is a SAVE button too.
Not every route works for every kind of movement. A fast vehicle route becomes a foot-only route the moment a choke point is blocked. This screen has three parts:
This screen auto-saves as you type, and the SAVE button stores the matrix as well.
The Generate Docs screen turns your data into printable paper. Each button opens a clean, black-and-white print view in a new tab and brings up your browser's print dialog. From there choose your printer, or choose "Save as PDF" to keep a digital copy.
The same screen has Data Management: export all your GHOST ROUTE data to a JSON backup file, import it back, or clear everything. Always export before clearing or moving to a new machine.
GHOST ROUTE saves your work inside this browser on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere. That means two things: your plan stays private, and your plan is only as safe as this device.
Military and preparedness writing is full of shorthand. Anywhere in this program, when you see a word with a faint dotted underline, hold your mouse over it and a plain-language definition appears. It works on this manual and on the program's help text. The full list is in the glossary below if you would rather read it on paper. (Try it now: hover AO or OCOKA.)
| AO | Area of Operations — the ground you are responsible for monitoring and defending. |
| PACE | Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency — a planning method that layers four independent fallbacks. |
| OCOKA | Observation & fields of fire, Cover & concealment, Obstacles, Key terrain, Avenues of approach — the five-part terrain analysis. |
| RP | Rally Point — a pre-designated spot where a group re-forms after a split. |
| ORP | Objective Rally Point — a rally point set short of the objective, typically 200–400 m away. |
| ERP | En Route Rally Point — a rally point designated along a movement route. |
| MAG | Mutual Assistance Group — allied families or households who agree to support each other. |
| Handrail | A long, linear feature (creek, ridge, power line) you deliberately walk alongside to stay oriented. |
| Catching feature | A landmark past your turn that tells you that you have gone too far. |
| Attack point | An obvious landmark near your goal where you begin the final, precise leg. |
| Dead ground | Terrain you cannot see from a given observation point — a blind spot. |
| Choke point | A place where movement is constrained and exposure is high — a bridge, pass, or bottleneck. |
| Bearing | A compass direction in degrees: 0°/360° north, 90° east, 180° south, 270° west. |
| Order of march | The set sequence of people in a moving file (point, navigator, leader, rear security). |
| Running password | A word yelled under fire, with the count of people coming in, so a patrol returns without stopping. |
| FM 3-25.26 | The US Army field manual on map reading and land navigation. |
| TC 3-21.76 | The Ranger Handbook (a US Army Training Circular) — patrol and small-unit techniques. |
| GPS | Global Positioning System — satellite coordinates. Deliberately kept out of these printed forms. |
No. Bug-out routes (02), choke points (04), and rally points (05) are the core. The rest make the plan richer and you can add them over time.
Because the printed plan is meant to be carried, and a captured page of coordinates exposes your entire group. Bearings from named landmarks are nearly as fast to use and far safer if the document is lost. See Section 2.
It is stored only in this browser on this device. Nothing leaves your machine. Back it up with the JSON export.
Outputs → Generate Full Binder Package. It produces one document with a cover, contents, and every section, with page breaks between sections.
Yes, but share deliberately. Print only the cards a person needs, and remember that recognition signals and rally points are sensitive — change them if a copy is ever lost.
GHOST ROUTE ships with a demo sandbox — a separate copy pre-loaded with a worked example: a primary vehicle route and a concealed foot alternate with waypoints, a full P.A.C.E. bug-out ladder, a perimeter patrol with challenge/password and near/far recognition signals, two analyzed choke points with bypasses, two rally points with the five selection characteristics marked, a complete terrain study, and a movement planning table with a route viability matrix.
Opening and leaving. In the live module, click DEMO in the sidebar under this manual. Inside the demo, that same slot reads RETURN TO LIVE and takes you back. An amber banner across the top of the demo tells you which copy you are in at all times.
Your real data is safe. The demo keeps its data in a completely separate storage slot. Nothing you do in the demo — adding, editing, clearing — can touch your real routes. Experiment freely.
Resetting. The ↻ RESET DEMO button (top bar and amber banner) wipes any changes and restores the sample scenario.
How to use it. Read RTE-NORTH's waypoints and notice they are landmarks and bearings, never coordinates — that is the OPSEC standard from Section 2. Compare the two rally points against the site characteristics check in Section 9. Study how the River Road Bridge entry names a bypass for every affected route. Then open Generate Docs and print the movement binder — that is what your own finished plan will produce.