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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] MSAR "national" standards

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] MSAR "national" standards
  • Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 15:51:16 -0700

From: "Una Smith" <una.smith@att.net>
Jorene Downs wrote:
Going forward you'll want to meet MSAR national standards, which are
currently stalled

Folks, Jorene is referring to the pace of work within ASTM F32's
MSAR task group. For what it's worth, I am a member of several
ASTM committees, not just F32, and in my experience the pace of
the MSAR task group's work has at times been extraordinarily fast
and furious; the current pace is more normal.

We seem to have different perspectives regarding what is a "normal" pace. ;) At the ASTM F32 meeting in TX in May, the entire F32 committee expressed concern that there was no follow-up from the meeting in CO last November. (They had been expecting to review a revised Mounted Searcher document that had again gone to ballot.) I'm active developing other ASTM standards, but just a contributor and voter on the group working on the MSAR standards. But I regularly get inquiries on the MSAR standards progress ... and for about 8 months I have had to reply that the first of 2 related MSAR documents is very close to completion, but progress appears to be stalled for some reason.

national standards for ground SAR, which is ASTM F2209
(NASAR SARTECH II www.nasar.org or equivalent)

There is no national standard for ground SAR. ASTM F2209 is one
standard that applies to ground SAR, but ASTM F2209 is not a
national standard because it has not been adopted by a national
authority. [...]

What "national authority" would you expect to adopt ASTM F2209? ASTM F32 is active at the national level with feds, etc. NASAR is recognized and is active at the federal level, and NASAR follows ASTM F2209. NASAR will also use the pending ASTM MSAR standards. MRA (Mountain Rescue Association) is the other prominent SAR organization in the country, also recognized by the feds, and they also support ASTM F2209. So, indirectly the feds are already recognizing ASTM F2209 simply by recognizing NASAR and MRA. But hopefully the new nationwide State SAR Coordinators Council formed in May will fill the role as a single, official "national authority" for SAR going forward.

Regardless, ASTM F2209 has already been identified a part of the requirements for meeting the pending ASTM standards for the mounted searcher. So folks who want to meet ASTM national standards for MSAR will also need to meet ASTM F2209. Also, to meet federal NIMS requirements, folks who want to respond mutual aid are expected to meet national standards for that resource type ... and ASTM is recognized de facto as the source for national SAR standards.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
www.ceoates.com/msar






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