Mounted search and rescue

[Paul Fleming <pfleming@nwlink.com>]

> > There isn't much need for support in an MSAR group;  unless they
> > already have SAR skills, non-riders are a lot of work and someone
> > who does have SAR skills needs to stay with them.

 Take a horse trailer up a unfamiliar narrow mountain logging road in 
the snow at night to get to a search area, then tell me it isn't 
necessary to have a support vehicle safety check the road first and 
locate any turn around points or parking areas. These unnecessary 
people in our unit run the base camp, also maintain a radio relay 
communications link between base camp and search teams. Move trailers 
to pick up and re deploy teams. Sometimes they even bring hot coffee 
to the search teams. The support folks increase the search teams 
effectiveness by at least 50%.


Paul Fleming
Training Officer
Peninsula Mounted Search And Rescue
Regards
Paul