Yes, management should know better ... I wouldn't
call it gross negligence, but would certainly suggest those management
personnel have a refresher course in incident fundamentals that are common in
every emergency / disaster response.
1. Personal safety.
2. Team safety.
3. Other person's safety.
Also remember the SEARCHER - in this case the
rider - also has the personal responsibility to say no if the mission
assignment doesn't appear to address normal safety concerns. So the individual
also has personal responsibility to speak up.You want to be part of the
solution, not create a possible new problem.
A pretty common rule of thumb in SAR is a team of
2 if close to other support, team of 3 if a bit more distant. Team of 4-6 if
far from other resources ... but add more personnel if a distance litter carry
is anticipated. (Locally we use minimum 12 - preferably more - ground
personnel for a backcountry litter carry.)
Commonly MSAR teams are 2-4 riders. Teams of 4
MSAR are particularly valuable if those riders are trained to perform a
carry-out in the saddle - assuming appropriate medical circumstances - so
having this training is advantageous since it is notably less labor intensive
than the normal distance litter carry and a valuable management resource.
Riders can also move more quickly on the horses than the normal walking ground
searchers, which reduces the time frame.
I agree entirely with
Jorene.If the situation under discussion ever happened it would in my
opinion be gross negligence on someones part...incident controller,team
leader?
Sorry, I disagree.
Size of the MSAR unit isn't an issue. The scenario you described - a
searcher out in the field alone, separated from the horse - is a
situation that suggests poor management of resources. Sending out a
searcher alone off-road is not considered appropriate, regardless of the
resource type. Minimum teams of 2, and increase that number as the
personnel are farther from support. (For example, in deep backcountry we
use teams of 4 riders.) Safety of the searchers is a primary issue.
[...]
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[MSAR] Subject: Re: :* HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING - What would you do if
, (continued)