Just came across this little (seemingly free) program by link on a strategy games forum:
http://www.historicalsoftware.com/HSC/HSCmilsketch.htm

If you (like me) occasionally like to sketch out military campaigns, orders of battle, or operational and battle maps then this may be of use for you:

MILSketch is sketching software that makes it easy to create operational diagrams and order of battle hierarchies. Over 2,500 standard NATO unit symbols, line graphics, and tactical mission graphics are included with the program installation. In addition to creating high quality unit symbols over a map or other background graphic, you can create unit boundaries, text annotations, and freehand lines of many standard types. Probably the greatest benefit of the program is its ease of use.

[...]

"I came across this great program through Consimworld. Since I am webmaster of the 70th Infantry Division’s website and also a player of the Combat Mission line of games – I deal with a lot of maps. I was looking to see if this might be the program I was looking for to improve my maps, create illustrated AARs of my games, or create maps for scenarios I may build for CMBO, CMBB or CMAK. I am glad to say this program does indeed fit the bill! Installation went smoothly with no hiccups. I am using a Windows XP system with the latest upgrades with a 1.8 GHz CPU and 512 megs of ram. My video card is a nVidia GeForce 6200. This program is a snap to use. I did have trouble in the beginning in trying to figure out how to create symbols – after re-reading the introduction file and viewing the demo video on the site I was on my way creating maps.

The two samples you see were my first attempts at creating maps. I imported the background picture from Google maps. I cropped the image before importing it so none of the Google extras would show up. I then began picking symbols, adding unit notations and then placed the units on the map. Both maps were done in less than an hour. The program comes with DoD documents as reference material for all the symbols provided (2500!). It’s a great resource for war gamers.

This program does all that it claims. I highly recommend it."

Steve Dixon, Webmaster and VP South, 70th Infantry Division Association






(more screens when you follow the link)