Mounted search and rescue

["IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN" <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

First, be careful using terms like grossly negligent.  People argue for years in court over that one.

No matter how big or small the organization responding it is the response that matters.  If you have insufficient resources to carry out a task you don’t do it.

Mounted is best at being mobile and using the detection capability of the horse.  We work 3 whenever possible because you can work a trail and the sides rapidly and reasonably thoroughly at a walk.  This has been the practice in this area since the we convinced the dog handlers that they worked better with support in 1980 or so.

 

If you need support to operate get it assigned. The dog people used to show up with a dog and maybe a backpack and they were going out alone. We made sure they had a radio and two ground people, one to talk and navigate, and one first aid and local knowledge.  

 

We carry a total of 10 VHF portables (field programmable) and 2 800 MHz trunks.  The local response volunteer fire company is supposed to have 1 radio for every seat in the apparatus and the field communications step van from the county has lots more and a tactical repeater.  So nobody goes out without a radio, a spare battery, and usually a second radio with a 3 man crew.  They may be on 2 different systems—800 Fire, 800 Police, or 150 SAR and PA DCNR but that doesn’t always hurt.

 

The idea of 3 is that 3 is minimal number to self recover a person.  Two can carry the third or if absolutely necessary, one can care while the other goes for assistance where the radio and cell phone don’t work or have been damaged.  Being left alone with a stranded horse or rider while waiting for assistance is no fun.  Once when out for pleasure with another we ended up in a creek that some beavers had modified since our last visit.  I was wearing a radio and had a cell phone in my pocket, neither of which kept working under water.  Eventually we got her horse out and sent her for help while continued to work on mine.  I  got him out and was on the way home when the barn owner passed us on the biggest Deere on the place draped with ropes.

 

As to line searches—unless you are working an area where every inch has to be trampled, they are a waste of trained resources.  Use skills available to the best of their ability and save man hours and miles.  A good tracker with 2 support personnel, a good tracking dog similarly supported,  MSAR working in 3’s can save lots of  other resources.  Even if the POD is only 50% in two passes you get it up to 75% and 3 is 87.5%, and time to move on to the next area.

 

Irv Lichtenstein