Mounted search and rescue

["Irvin Lichtenstein " <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

In some cases the priorities are dictated to us. To be an emergency
responder in PA it is understood that you should have the ICS/NIMS basics
because the governor told the feds we would do this and get grant money
back.  The on-line courses are way too much material for most SAR personnel
who merely need to know who is in charge of them and how to follow
tasking/orders. But this is a regulation and we use the issuance of an ID
card as the carrot.

Riding is a necessity to carry out the base mission. Nuff said

Talking on the radio is often a challenge. Our county has a trainer to help
people figure out how the 800 MHz trunk works and what the county manual
says.  He does MDT's too.  Since we don't talk on the county radio as our
primary radio we just hand out the manuals. 

Not getting lost yourself is important so land navigation/map and
compass/what to do if your GPS breaks, etc. are all survival skills but
practiced every time you ride. 

Tracking is very important but OJT every time you ride is fine. We track
from on top of a horse so the fine details of a track may not be evident.
What we need is a clue aware searcher who can say, "they went that way" with
a high degree of confidence. 

Medical training is always questionable.  Under NIMS there are two medical
units.  The first, under logistics, treats responders.  The second, part of
the medical branch of operations, treats victims.  In most cases this means
one task crew plus medics stands by in case we have a find so they can treat
the subject and another crew stands by to treat responder injuries.  And
maybe a vet too. Local law and practice will dictate how much medical
training you should have.  Current levels of state certification vary but
generally first responder, EMT-B, EMT-I, EMPT-P are certified and medical
professionals are required to take a pre-hospital caregiver course.  More
training means more paperwork, more QA, and more continuing ed.  It may not
be possible to be active enough for advanced care levels to be retained in
many states.  An EMS provider agency must run 400 or more ALS calls per year
to retain ALS status in this region. 

Resources are scarce and time is the least available today. What makes you a
better searcher is what you need to know. And only you can decide that. 

Irv Lichtenstein