Mounted search and rescue

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

Be careful about “cutting the mustard with a little written exam” . There are people who cannot read and write, there are exam phobias, and there are physical challenges to taking exams.  The real test is when it comes to handing them a pager and saying, “this stays on 24/7. Period.” As to on line training realize that there are people who don’t have computers or Internet Access.  I now of at least one very experienced wrangler who manages a charity rodeo and will go anywhere anytime pulling his 5^th wheel rig but thinks fax machines are high tech and doesn’t own a computer.  There are members who want any excuse to get on a horse, whether field patrol at an event or riding 100 miles for a cancer drive.   And there are members who realize that towing a 3 or 4 horse slant with a tack room on icy roads is not smart. And we have members who say, “I will ride anywhere anytime, but don’t put me in a command post,” or “don’t send me to trailer rescues or barn fires.”

 

What we do to search trainees is nothing compared to what other volunteer responders go through. I have been active in the volunteer fire and rescue service for over 37 years now and while fire suppression technology has changed running into burning buildings has actually gotten more dangerous because the buildings burn quicker.  We now require over 188 contact hours to train a basic volunteer firefighter, plus EMT training and auto rescue, haz mat, etc.  How many hours does it take to train a MSAR? Maybe 10 years in the saddle before they even start on search, and maybe a few years hunting experience helps.   I started in search in 1979, when everything was gridding, got on a horse in 1986 to see what you could see, and now I try to train my people in how to communicate with their mounts as search partners.  Along the way I found that ground skills where not always as useful from on top a horse as they where when I was walking, dog handlers are not all perfect, and using somebody else’s command van was more comfortable.   

 

Many exclusions based on “our standards” are really social exclusions. In the past it was ARDA and the German Shepard only dog teams, maybe today it is gaited horses, or Paints, or OTT TBs or English versus Western, bit versus no bit, but the only test of a volunteer is doing the job.  If they can’t the social pressures from the other members of the group will weed them out, just get the pager back.  And you will find that many skills we thought were needed aren’t, or not in as detailed a way as we thought.   And violations of the public trust are not always predictable.  Every volunteer board member, public employee, or elected official in this area busted for criminal activity was a first time offender. Whether it was embezzlement or pedophilia there were no prior indications through police contact and many had held their positions for over 30 years.  You cannot accurately predict how a member will work out until they are placed in a situation that really matters.  

 

 

By the way, if you have any written material you want made available to others you can forward it (Text, Word or PDF, please) and I will add it to the infamous CD of sample documents that is available from me on request.

 

Irv Lichtenstein   

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From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Marie Lester
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 6:59 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] New member requirements