Abstract: A method for “team tracking” delivers position updates for multiple team members using a telecommunications network. Each team member/user carries a handheld and field-portable tracking and messaging device (TMD) that is used to send the current position of the device user to a networked server. The TMD has a built-in GPS receiver which provides the current position coordinates of the user. This position data is periodically transmitted via the telecommunications network to a central server. Team Status Messages (TSM) are sent regularly to each team member, the TSM containing the last known position of each team member. The position data are displayed over a map background, so that each member can see the positions of the other members. When tracking a target, a route is mapped to the target. If the target changes location, the next TSM that is sent indicates a re-calculated map to the target.