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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Night lights - Part 1

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Night lights - Part 1
  • Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 10:57:53 -0700

Ter wrote:
>The key to good night MSAR is night training and the correct lighting.

That's for sure. And the correct lighting depends very much on
your specific search assignment. If you are tracking an ELT,
or looking for a camp site or a group of people or a vehicle,
your task is *not* to scan the ground for small clues. Doing
so probably would consitute a waste of precious time.

When your assignment is to scan the ground for possibly small
clues, take it from someone who has spent *many entire nights*
doing this, swinging your flashlight around in an attempt to
follow your focus of vision is a poor search strategy. When
the location of the light source(s) changes in too rapid and
irregular a mannner, especially when there are deep shadows,
it is mentally and visually very fatiguing, and hard work for
your brain to maintain an adequate search image and match seen
objects to the search image, when the location of the light
source changes in a rapid and irregular mannner.

So, Ter has the right idea, using a relatively *fixed* light
source to flood the ground in his vicinity, when a close search
of the ground is needed to find tracks or other clues. You
can wear a headlamp (hands free is very convenient), but then
to maximize your search effectiveness you'll need to learn to
hold your head still while scanning the field with your eyes.

Una Smith
Santa Fe County Sheriff's Posse, in New Mexico




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