Mounted search and rescue

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

The way most grant programs are written SAR is not eligible because we are
not a single municipality service the way the sheriff or fire department is
under contract to each municipality in the county or service zone. We did
get some regional task force money to start up but none since. 

What you have to do is learn to function within the system.  As a second due
organization we are treated as an emergency responder by the dispatch
center. By being a county/regional dispatch center client (free by the way)
we get the 9-1-1 center to answer our emergency phone and dispatch us. We
get access to other services the county provides to other responders. We can
use the county radio system as needed.  We can call on any county dispatched
resource for mutual aid so we have a mobile canteen, Johnny on the spot,
power and lights, and best of all the Field Com units which can provide
several millions of command post gear just by asking. Our forensics are done
by the county detectives and the medical examiner, on the county payroll or
state police or even the feds. We can call upon the Incident Support Team to
fill in all those boxes on the NIMS charts. 

You were stating that your maps are out of date.  The newest USGS topo in
our area is a section of the Valley Forge map that was ground checked in
1976 when Valley Forge State Park became Valley Forge National Park and the
boundaries had to be surveyed.  Most of our topos date back to 1929 when the
benchmarks were established.  Nobody has ground checked anything for over 30
years, and even the street maps can be wrong.  

Our challenges are maintaining compatible communications with the myriad of
agencies we may interact with.  Many of these are analog on 150 MHz Part 90
systems that are subject to narrow banding by 2013. Some of these agencies
have not started planning on how to do this, or maybe they think they will
get a waiver at the last minute.  

The important thing is not necessarily to have the resource yourself but
know where to get it.  A mounted team has enough problems without being a
dog team, a ham radio club, and who knows what else.

I run with a township fire company as well as a regional mounted SAR team. 
This morning fire went out for 18 people stuck in cars calls, and 2 real
wrecks in about 3 hours of flash floods.  We borrowed ambulances and extra
fire engines to get everything covered and our fire budget is close to
$250,000/ year between capital and operations. You cannot be all things to
all people. 
You need dispatch, some tactical communications, and knowing where to get
everything else.   

Irvin Lichtenstein