Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] training response from Dana in Kansas

msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Mounted search and rescue

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: una.smith@att.net
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] training response from Dana in Kansas
  • Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:58:14 +0000


Hi Joan,

Unfortunately, I don't have any information for you re MSAR in Kentucky, than
has been given already on MSAR-Riders. (Have you searched our list archive
on the web?)

Here is some more orientation, to add to what I've seen already from Dana and
Irv. The bulk of basic MSAR training is SAR training. Re SAR training, find
out what is expected in your state, Kentucky. To do that, contact
established SAR units in the state, or the state Division of Emergency
Management (DEM). DEM has a SAR Program and among other functions it
provides several SAR courses free of charge[1].

Although someone here has recommended buying Don Cooper's book "Fundamentals
of Search and Rescue" from the NASAR bookstore, it is only fair to mention
there are other sources. On Amazon.com, the current edition (2005) costs
$38.23. The publisher, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, offers the book at
$34.00 if you order 5 or more copies[2] and an instructor's toolkit CD-ROM
[3].

NASAR is a US member organization that runs an annual conference and has a
proprietary training and certification program. SAR TECH I, II, and III
usually refer to NASAR's certifications for, respectively, team leaders,
field team members, and novice field team members. By all accounts, NASAR
SAR TECH II and III test to "Fundamentals of Search and Rescue".

In some states, NASAR certifications are what SAR managers will want you to
have, but that is not the case everywhere. Eg, New Mexico has its own
training manual and certification testing program, at no cost to SAR
responders: the "PACE Exam" that I have mentioned here many times (you can
search our list archive via Google). Once you find out what is expected in
Kentucky, please report back to us! (I would also like to know why Kentucky,
home of so many horse farms, is not already bursting with mounted SAR units.)

Just a caveat: despite their titles, all of these training resources focus on
SEARCH, with not much about RESCUE. Depending on your local situation, you
may or may not need separate rescue training.

Hope this helps, without seeming overwhelming!

Una Smith
New Mexico

[1] http://kyem.ky.gov/programs/searchandrescue.htm
[2] http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763748072/#
[3] http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763748072/supplements.htm




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page