Mounted search and rescue

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

It is also necessary to differentiate between a standby order and a respond
order. In many cases there are actually two types of standby.  The first is
given to your home organization when the dispatching authority thinks they
have a search for you but have not yet confirmed the incident sufficiently
to dispatch resources.  The other occurs when your organization is
dispatched and the surrounding organizations are notified that you are on a
job and not available to them for mutual aid and or may be requesting mutual
aid in the near future.  

Depending on practice in your dispatch area the next ring of resources may
be placed on alert or standby.  Unless this is made clear, you may have
resources on the road you didn't ask for, didn't plan for, and may be needed
somewhere else.  

Our dispatch center has clearly defined language for each situation and it
is included in our dispatch protocol and our SOG's:
Standby is don't go anywhere but be ready for a future order
Report is go, but at traffic speed, no warning devices authorized
Respond is go, at best speed given conditions, warning devices are
authorized
Reduce is continue in but at traffic speed if the previous status was
respond
Hold is do not leave if you haven't already (usually reduce and hold is the
order, combining these statuses, and meaning those on the road can continue
but don't leave home/barn/station without further orders)

In the past mutual aid organizations sometimes read an alert as an order to
respond despite the language and procedures being written in the mutual aid
letters and dispatch protocols.

If you keep you, your horse and trailer at home being on the road in an hour
or less is feasible.  If you board away from home you have to get there
first, and in some cases you have to get home and trade the hybrid in for
the pickup before you get to the barn.  It is often advisable to have one or
two early responders go direct, without mounts, to survey the situation and
report to the follow on troops as to urgency, low or light bridges, humps,
base setup.  They then rotate and ride in the second sift.  It is also a
good use of persons not currently mounted due to any reason. 

Irv Lichtenstein 
-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Una Smith
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:58 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Deployment readiness = quicker response time