# Wsar



## nyranger (Dec 11, 2011)

I just found out that i was accepted into the local Search and Rescue team. And was wondering if any one had any tips on what the training must consist of. And any other helpful tips.


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## WhiskeySix5 (Dec 11, 2011)

Are you already a SAR TECH 1 or 2? If not that will probably be the first cert they will have you get.


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## JCyrus (Dec 11, 2011)

I've been volunteering with "wilderness" search and rescue for around four and a half years now.  My first year was in a much more urban/suburban setting outside Pittsburgh PA, since then I've moved to West Virginia and now do much more rural/woodland searching but it would still be a stretch to call most of our search areas "wilderness."

Basically, there are two schools of thought for the organization of SAR... One puts you within a large response framework of other first responders including local police, fire and EMS, the other results in SAR being THE response agency.

The first mentality is much more common on the East Coast.  On a typical search, I will either get pulled into command to help plan or coordinate operations, or will get sent out to lead a team of local personnel.  You might end up with 10-15 trained searchers and dozens or even hundreds of untrained personnel (either other first responders or local volunteers) in which case you likely end up as the only trained searcher in a group of 4-5 sent out to complete a specific task.

The other system is basically that when someone is lost or missing, that SAR is pretty much the only resource utilized.  A SAR team's officers would be coordinating and sending out their team members in groups of 2-3 to complete the tasks.  This is much more common West of the Mississippi but is also a model seen on the East Coast as well.

The type of training you will need and receive will depend greatly on where your SAR team fits into local resources, but the one thing that is probably important to brush up on no matter what is your land navigation skills...  If you have a GPS, make sure you know all of the ins and outs of how to use it.  You should also be comfortable with "manual" navigation using map and compass: be able to tell where you are on a topographic map by looking at surrounding terrain, be able to navigate between two points, follow a compass bearing, plot coordinates on a map, etc.

Good luck!  Search and rescue can be really rewarding, and is fascinating if you're interested in emergency management because it is one discipline that almost fully utilizes ICS in just about every callout, large or small.


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## AK_SAR (Dec 12, 2011)

The above suggestions are all good. I would add that you ought to try to find out what types of missions are most common for your team, then try to get some experience in those areas.  Your team will presumably teach you the specific SAR skills, but you want to get familiar with the environment.

For example, if your team does a lot of searches for lost hikers, you should try to get out hiking on the local trails as much as you can. You will learn a lot about the routes, where people might go astray, and build your fitness. If your team does tecnhical high angle rope rescue, you might want to get into rock climbing or mountaineering.  If your team does swiftwater rescue, then some background in whitewater kayaking would be good.  Etc, etc. The more comfortable you are in the specific environment, the more you can focus on learning specific SAR skills, and the more you will get out of your team training.

Have fun. As JCyrus said, SAR can be very rewarding. I've also found that the folks who are attracted to SAR, the ones who stick with it, tend to be a very good bunch of people to hang out with.


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## mycrofft (Dec 12, 2011)

*Just like any other deal like that.*

Be in good shape, don't injure your self, listen up, then get additional study info after you see the curriculum. Stay out of trouble, and keep a clean LIVESCAN and DMV record.


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## yowzer (Dec 15, 2011)

Every group is different, of course, but expect things like land navigation, wilderness survival, how to use a litter or any other specialized rescue equipment your SAR group works with (If you do high/steep angle rescue rigging, for example), basic search techniques and styles (What you do when going through a field on hands and knees looking for shell casings, or when you're looking for somebody who never came back from an afternoon hike), administrivia like how you're notified of callouts and what the procedure is when you're responding, maybe some first aid... stuff like that.


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