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msar-riders - [MSAR] Consistent standards / Mounted SAR Standards

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: "Discussion list for Search and Rescue" <sar-l@ml.islandnet.com>
  • Cc: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [MSAR] Consistent standards / Mounted SAR Standards
  • Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:12:28 -0700


----- Original Message ----- From: "Una Smith" <una.smith@att.net>
Jorene Downs wrote on SAR-L:
ASTM will have the international Mounted SAR standards. NASAR will have a
Mounted SARTECH certification program.

[...] This is why I argued strongly
last year that the MSAR standard, then being developed by NASAR, must
not include a requirement that the candidate pass a NASAR exam nor
take a NASAR course. A standard that does not stand on its own legs
is not a standard.

I confess I never understood this objection. NASAR certification tends to be respected and accepted across the country. With no existing national standards for MSAR, and too many MSAR teams with no written standards at all, I can understand why people will be very interested in the MSAR requirements that emerge from NASAR. However, if you want someone's certification, you meet their requirements. You're in NM and must meet NM standards. I'm in CA and meet CA requirements. The same is true in NASAR.

It still makes no sense to me that you wanted all MSAR riders to be able to acquire NASAR MSAR certification without meeting NASAR requirements. What I think you really wanted were standards that everyone has access to, regardless of organization / team / county / state / nation. I agree that is invaluable - hard to have consistency without it! We're now going there in MSAR with ASTM international standards. (But if you want to be certified as a NASAR Mounted SARTECH II, where requirements will meet / exceed the ASTM standards, you will still need to meet the prerequisite of being certified by NASAR as a SARTECH II.)

What I like about ASTM standards is that everyone has access, and can use them as their foundation for testing and certification. Going forward, the team / county / state, and even national requirements that are based on ASTM standards will provide nationwide / international consistency. And consistency is a huge advantage when people might be crossing borders to work with other teams to help others.

This is why in the USA we're finally seeing the skills Typing system, consistency in terminology, etc., finally emerging at the federal level related to disaster. Common ground. I think we also need to go there in SAR for common ground. This is particularly important because SAR is converging with disaster-related response. NASAR has already been included in a nationwide call-out for hurricane response in FL, with available personnel coordinated through local Citizen Corps Councils when FEMA called up 2600 people who responded from CERT, NASAR, etc.

The precedent is already there for SAR in disaster response at a national level, and SAR needs to address the potential of SAR (including MSAR) in disaster response, be it local or on a larger scale, as part of our future. I believe we'll see standards emerging for SAR that will include required training on at least fundamental disaster safety issues, and perhaps other disaster-related training.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare SAR - Hasty Team ICP Team
www.ceoates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT
www.tk-cert.org




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