Mounted search and rescue

[Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>]

Sherry C. Hicks wrote:
>I started my SAR TEK II class last weekend.

Meaning NASAR SAR TECH II?  Good for you.  That curriculum,
and probably also SAR TECH III, probably meets ASTM standard
F2209, which defines basic skills for land search.  (I say
probably because to my knowledge no one has evaluated the
current NASAR SAR TECH curriculum to see if it meets F2209.)


[...]
>I would have
>thought most MSAR would require this class, am I wrong?

Most SAR units should (and many do) require training on all
these topics, but not necessarily NASAR's SAR TECH program.

The NASAR SAR TECH curriculum is very well known but it is
not a national standard:  it has no national agency mandate.
Also, NASAR's membership is thin in some regions of the US;
in those regions, logistics and cost of NASAR programs can
be prohibitive.  Fortunately, there are other curricula and
sources of training programs.


There is a free training book, the PACE Study Guide, developed
and used in New Mexico, that probably also meets ASTM standard
F2209, which anyone can download off the web from New Mexico
Emergency Services Council (on http://www.nmesc.org/ , click on
"PACE" in the left menu bar).  New Mexico's PACE certification
is a one-time exam involving a written test on the PACE Study
Guide, a written test on ICS-100, a pack check (equipment list
is in the PACE Study Guide), and a simple field compass test.
Apart from the New Mexico SAR Act and Plan, all the content is
widely relevant to SAR outside New Mexico.

The PACE Study Guide pre-dates F2209, but if it does not meet
F2209, it comes very close.  The PACE Study Guide now is being
rewritten.  I expect it will then meet F2209 on all points of
consensus.  There may be some points on which F2209 could use
improvement;  F2209 is a rather new standard and has not yet
been heavily "field tested".  Meaning, adopted and adapted by
multiple users, independently.  Revision of New Mexico's PACE
Study Guide is one such field test;  another field test is Don
Cooper's revision of the book that NASAR uses in its training
program.

What book is that?  "Search and Rescue Fundamentals:  Basic
Skills and Knowledge to Perform Wilderness, Inland, Search and
Rescue".  There is a companion instructor's manual and training
kit.  All available from Emergency Response Institute in Canada
(http://www.ericanada.com/) and ERI International everywhere
else (http://www.eri-intl.com/).

Hope this helps,

        Una Smith
        New Mexico