How do you join SAR? Is it a long, tedious process?

[zippetydude]

Hi Jim. I saw your other posts and thought a new thread might make the topic more visible. I have considered joining SAR before, but have always feared that the red tape would make it rather impractical for a busy family man with little free time. Still, I would love to be involved, even if it's on a limited basis.

For example, I've run a recon mission for the trail clearing crew over on San G. They needed up-to-date info on the Vivian Creek trail before sending in a crew. I went the day before, got very current information, and had the positions of downed trees back to them by noon. Not very dramatic, but it was fun!

Of course, speed (especially my speed) has its limits. There are others who are much faster, and could be much more effective if they were available and had the contact process set up as well...

Here's a hypothetical situation: Say you get a call inthe night - someone didn't come home as expected. You call me at 4:00 a.m., and (since I'm just one person) at 5:00 I could be on the road. At 5:30 I'm at South Fork Trailhead (or Skyline, or Marion...). Just a few hours later, I've either found the person in question, or eliminated that route as a possibility. Either way, you have a rapid response along the most probable route reporting in with almost no lag time. As I said, I wouldn't be real fast on the trail, but the initial response time could be just a few minutes to get up and get moving.

I don't know how fast SAR can assemble and get on the road (I know you guys probably have that as a priority!), but if it's a normal group of human beings, it would probably take a bit longer than it would take me to simply answer the phone and walk out and get in my car.

Anyway, I don't bring any special skills or value to the table. I'm just close by (for San G or San J) I love running the trails, and I'd love to help out if it's not too encumbered by red tape. (I suppose that sounds selfish, but I'm trying to be practical as a busy dad, husband, and businessman.)

What say you? You have any need for a crazy running fool?

z

[Cy Kaicener]

My friend Quang Than who has climbed Skyline twice in the last three weeks has asked me - how do you join SAR (He is on this message board) Do you need to take a paramedics course? Do you need to carry a 50 lb pack over long distances? Do you need to rappel out of a helicopter? Do you need to live within 30 minutes of Palm Springs?

[dhstein313]

I joined SAR 4 years ago after having some close calls that winter and having very little skills. The county does all your training and each team and each county is set up differently. All are run through the sheriff department. My team in San Berdoo county requires 9 of 12 team meetings and 9 of 12 saturday trainnings. And then at the beginnning a couple of weekends and some voluntary evening trainings. The initial processs does take quite a few months ..... they want to make sure you are committed and have taken the preliminary courses.

After you are trained then the call outs are optional - they understand that people have lives, families and jobs but there is an expectation to ask for FAVORS if it is in our area.

Riverside has a great and active team with RMRU and has similar requirements. LA country, being more urban I think requires paramed and reserve training. In yucaipa there would have lots of options, in SB county Forest Falls and San g have a team and then you are close enough to also to RMRU. Call the yucaipa station to get more info.

One of the better decisions I made to get involved and I highly recommend it!

D

[tradmonkey]

Each team will have its own set of requirements. I've been on the San Diego Mountain Rescue Team for about 2.5 years and our requirements are quite different from the San Diego Sheriff SAR team. We recruit once a year in October. For recruits, we have three simple requirements for consideration:
- Be 21 or older
- Be in excellent physical condition
- Have recent/extensive backpacking or mountaineering experience

If you meet those requirements and get your own medical training (I believe WAFA is the minimum), we'll teach you everything else you need to know related to SAR. The reasoning behind those requirements (respectively) is to help ensure the applicant is mature and more likely to stick around for a while, capable of performing with the team and being an asset rather than a liability, and capable of taking care of themselves in the wilderness.

Find out a little more info here: http://sdmrt.org/recruitment/recruitment.html

Once you join the team, complete a sort-of try-out training, and get the teams voting approval, you become a trainee. As a trainee, you become fieldable after getting your pack check to ensure you have all of the appropriate gear, complete your medical cert, attend three trainings, and get your OES Disaster Service Worker card.

As a trainee, you participate as a rescue member (just not allowed to vote), and you work to check off a long list of skills that we call the "blue card". With your blue card complete, you can then be voted onto the team as a rescue member. The entire process usually takes at least 2 years.

To answer Cy's questions, on the San Diego Mountain Rescue Team, you do not need a paramedic certification. WAFA or higher is sufficient.

You should be able to carry a 50lb pack for an extended distance. The blue card includes some fitness related skills such as hiking to the summit of San Jac from Humber Park and back in 12 hours, and snowshoeing 3+ miles with a full winter pack. Nothing extreme, but there is some level of fitness expectation. It sounds like most of you would have no trouble with them.

We generally do not rappel out of helicopters, but we do train with and utilize helicopters. In San Diego, one-skid and toe-in "landings" are used and trained.

We have no requirement as to where the applicant lives. There are, however, attendance requirements. Living far from San Diego would make attendance to the two monthly meetings, trainings, and searches more difficult, but that is left up to the applicant.

Clear as mud, eh?

I know it doesn't answer any questions about RMRU or others, but it does at least sum up how things work here in San Diego with the Mountain Rescue Team. And if anyone is interested, we'll be recruiting again in October.

Adam

[Cy Kaicener]

Thanks for your valuable information dhstein313 and tradmonkey. I will forward this thread on to Quang. A lot of people I know have expressed an interest in joining you including other hikers/climbers on this board.

[Jim Bakos]

This is likely to be a bit long, so please forgive me in advance…

When I joined RMRU five years ago, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. I’d lived in Idyllwild for a decade, hiked all the trails, climbed all the rocks and glissaded all the inclines. I knew what I was doing.

After being on the team for a while, I found myself surrounded by like-minded individuals. They were like the brothers and sisters I never had, but always wanted. And, they also taught me things far beyond my (pseudo-superior) knowledge base.

To join a SAR team, as an avid high-country adventurer, is a humbling experience. At some point you step back and say, “wow, I don’t know anything”. We work as a TEAM, and as the tired old adage goes: There’s no “I” in TEAM. But, we have a lot of fun too. I like to say that RMRU puts the “FUN” back in dysfunctional…. We are a family, albeit a dysfunctional one.

If you can walk upright, you can join the team. We will teach you everything you need to know. We teach: Snow and ice travel and rescue, Technical rock, vertical/high angle rescue and search and tracking. Plus: CPR and First Responder courses along with orienteering, backcountry travel, helicopter training (we use a winch, no rappelling) and all other related skills. RMRU is “One Stop Shopping for SAR Skills….”

The team is comprised of folks from all walks of life. We have businessmen, teachers, fire chiefs, computer programmers, engineers, doctors and nurses, ex border patrol, cops, CSI and real estate agents. Frankly, all we’re lacking on the team is a good lawyer!

The red tape isn’t too bad here in Riverside County – I can’t speak for other counties. You must be accepted by our Board of Directors (RMRU), and also pass a background check with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, because you will be a volunteer member of the Sheriff’s Department once you're on the team. They cover us for workers compensation, liability, etc. while we’re on missions or training. The Sheriff’s Department is our governing authority; they call us out to missions, support our team by giving us garage space in Hemet for our vehicles, and kindly give us access to the county Airwing, and OES command posts.

We don’t send people out alone. There is a minimum of two rescuers per field team. When we rollout, we meet at the site that will become the command post. Search or rescue assignments are given there. You may balk at a particular assignment, but just like I said earlier: It’s just as important to know where someone isn’t, as where they actually are.

To join our team, you need to show up for a team meeting (first Wednesday of every month) at the Hemet Sheriff’s Station. There you’ll get an application from us (RMRU), and the Sheriff’s Dept.
Fill those out, come back to a second meeting and be interviewed by three team members. At that point your applications are turned over to the Board of Directors, they vote to accept or deny.

We expect most folks to show up for our meetings, and our trainings (the weekend following the team meeting). We know everyone can’t come on every rescue, but by increasing our rank and file, we’ll make it easier on everyone. The more folks we have on the team, the more we’ll get on each individual search/rescue.


It’s pretty simple. Come and visit us. See if you want to join…

--Jim

[Jim Bakos]

What!

Is this a bidding war between RMRU, SBCO, and SDMRT???

Maybe we should start a reality television show “Who Wants To Be A Mountain Rescue Member”…

Seriously, if you’re close to any of the above-mentioned teams, drop by and ask how to join. Mountain Rescue as a whole will be better served with more participation.

Start here for Mountain Rescue Team addresses and websites:

http://www.crmra.org/teams.html

--Jim

[beastie]

That sounds intriguing Jim B, sign me up! Good info on the topic; thanks all!

[zippetydude]

Wow. Sounds a lot more promising than I had thought. Talk to you soon.

z

[magikwalt]

Jean and I visited with the RMRU at the Wed meeting. What a great bunch of folks. We were happy to see a few from the message board. After talking it over with a few of the members we have learned a great deal and still have new questions.

Given the drive for us we are also going to take a look at the Desert Rescue unit out of Palm Desert and the Palm Springs Posse which I was told no longer uses horses (What a shame since it would make it possible for my fat ass to keep up with some of the young folks.)

We are intending to visit with each of the groups and see what they have going on. Jean and I were very impressed with the RMRU outfit.

I would recommend taking a night and visiting a meeting. You might find something and some folks you really enjoy.