Mounted search and rescue

["T'mi Fi" <tfinkle@erols.com>]

What? I have no CLUE what you are talking about?  Please re-read the 
entire reply, as the statement had nothing to do with or about any AHJ 
procedures!  I was responding to Irv's claim that:

(Irv's 1st comment)  "When we go operational (hopefully very soon)we 
will have more operational expertise in house than any other group has 
to date in the area.  

Then I asked what group and what area.

(Irv's response to my first question) There are no other mounted in the 
immediate metropolitan area (5 counties), TROT to the south being the 
next in that direction and Middle Creek to the west. I remember bringing 
my horse down to train TROT in the beginning."

Irv's team is not operational in his area and the former MSAR members of 
Greater Philly SAR Team quit the team several years ago and they have 
not ridden for an AHJ since.  Currently there is not a SE PA MSAR based 
resource and TROTSAR has been covering that area for several years now 
as an out of state response team.  With that said; It is totally 
impossible for Irv's team to have "more operational expertise in house 
than any other group has to date in the area" and I consider such a 
statement a direct attempt to discredit the MSAR team that is currently 
serving his area, which happens to be the team that I command.  If Irv 
wants to change his original comment and make his comment applicable to 
MSAR teams based within the 5 counties that surrounds him (where is no 
current established MSAR resource), then I will not have a problem with 
such a comment.  But since Irv made a direct reference to my team, I 
wanted the readers to know the truth that Irv's team has a very long way 
to go before they match my team's overall  operational experience.  

As I told Irv; "I realize that you are proud of your team's 
accomplishments, but please use caution when making comparisons to other 
(current) operational SAR teams."  I hope that helps explain my comment.

Tomi`
Commander
TROTSAR Mounted Team
www.trotsar.org
Serving the public since 1992

     

Una Smith wrote:

> Tm' Fi wrote, addressing Irv Lichtenstein:
>  
>
> >        Until your team becomes operational, it has been the TROTSAR 
> > Mounted Team who has and continues to be called by the PA State Police 
> > to perform Mounted SAR function for the Southern tier region of your 
> > State, which includes your 5 county region.
> >    
>
> What?  Should the AHJ call only half the available MSAR resources,
> for a search that needs all the resources it can get?  And should
> SAR units be in the habit of divvying up turf among themselves?  I
> prefer something more like an open market system.
>
>         Una Smith
>         New Mexico