Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una@lanl.gov>]

Una wrote:
>> Both states are very large, but their population densities
>> are very different:  California's is high, New Mexico's is
>> low.

Jorene wrote:
>I had to grin at this misconception, because it is so common.

>From an atlas:

                Population (rank)       Area (rank)     Density
California      33,867,000 (1)          155,973 (3)     217/mi^2
New Mexico       1,742,700 (37)         121,364 (5)      14/mi^2

Yes, like New Mexico, California has empty regions;  unlike
New Mexico, California also has enormous urban population
centers within a few hours' drive of those empty regions.  
My point is that California has a vast supply of candidate
"lost persons" for SAR to search for.

In New Mexico, it appears we have relatively fewer searches
that are simple "lost person" situations.  We are already
far down the road to dealing mainly with rescue situations.


>It sounds like you're part of the second wave (after Hasty Team rsponse) if
>you're getting called off fairly regularly, and this is a pattern I suspect
>will continue for MSAR.

Correct.  We do not qualify as a hasty search resource because
we do not have enough members with the necessary medical skills.
The hasty team is sent where the subject is most likely to be,
and their probability of finding the subject is fairly high.  
So in addition to searching, a hasty team must be qualified to
handle at least wilderness first aid (if not also extraction).

I cannot say this often enough:  a hasty search is arguably the
best use of an MSAR team, but *only* if the MSAR team has the
necessary medical skills.  Most do not have those skills.

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