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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Reaction to Dion

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Irvin Lichtenstein " <ilichten1@verizon.net>
  • To: "'Mounted search and rescue'" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Reaction to Dion
  • Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:52:21 -0500

The lurker who popped up, Mr. Dion, without stating his affiliations or
credentials is reported to be a paid NASAR instructor and board member of
that organization. He has an obvious conflict of interest in pushing NASAR
Testing. When entering a discussion of this subject within a volunteer
community you should reveal your affiliations and offer credible references.

Not doing so and the e-mail showing up from someone claiming unstated
credentials created a possible knee jerk reaction. There are "volunteers"
who get paid to volunteer for committees and go to meetings and conferences
by supposedly non-profit organizations and there are those who really
volunteer their time and expertise. I have requested Mr. Dion to supply his
credentials off list with no response as yet.

The average MSAR member spends thousands of dollars per year on their mount,
insurance, tack, vehicles, fuel, and training costs. I board and my
accountant figures I spend over $6000 per year, plus time and dues to NASAR,
ASTM, APCO, Keystone State Fire Instructors, local and state equine
councils, donated time and services to the local MSAR, Red Cross, volunteer
fire company, and Rotary. Because I teach management, not suppression
courses, I spend my time keeping up to date, not teaching, at the fire
academy.

Many of us on this lister have been volunteering for over 20 years. Many
have written peer reviewed articles on MSAR, on SAR; helped found
significant organizations, such as ASTM F32 or state SAR councils, and have
assisted with writing or adopting minimum expectations. We provide this
information at no charge. And until old age or cardiac conditions finally
keep us at home when a search is going on we will still respond when
dispatched. We have seen intellectual property stolen by others and then
sold in books without crediting the source. And we have seen the rise of
the expert with no experience.

There are several items of information you should consider when evaluating
what you read: who wrote it, is it consistent with other sources, who
reviewed the materials, and who paid for it to be written. I qualify my
statements by geography because I have only dealt with certain geography.
I have attended training and meetings in PA, NJ, MD, DE and CO. I have been
involved with training in PA for over 30 years and have an idea how it
works. I also know why NASAR materials and testing were rejected by the PA
state training system because I was there.

We do do things a little differently in PA than in other places. We insist
that instructors be trained in the course material, how to teach that
course, and how to teach, and attend continuing education. Curricula for
the fire service is reviewed by the state fire academy, EMS by the Health
Department, and rescue by both. The state department of education then does

QA on the teaching process through the community colleges. Out of state
instructors must apply for visiting status and present credentials and
material for review.

Wilderness SAR is not a required public safety function in PA. There is no
state law or code that requires a municipality to have a SAR organization.
We just passed a law (2009) that requires localities to have EMS, and pay
for fire and EMS services out of their budgets. We have townships, not
counties. There are 93 fire chiefs and 63 police chiefs in my county, plus a
township or two that use state police instead of local police. We even have
multiple 9-1-1 PSAPS in our county because we have local police that insist
on being dispatched locally, not by the regional center.

Unfortunately, having been around for a while means I have a stack of
t-shirts that say "been there, done that" on them. If you want to reinvent
the wheel, fine. There is a lot of expertise available, often for free,
often for the travel expenses only. But do the research first. Hiring
instructors, particularly from out of state to bring in so-called national
programs is a lot like on-line dating, no guarantees that the picture
matches.

Irv Lichtenstein
Chief of Operations
SE PA SAR

-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Hill, Victoria
L.
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 8:42 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] MSAR Standards





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