Commander’s Corner
It’s nearly the end of February and it is
snowing a beautiful snow outside following a whole day of steady
rain. This moisture, along with that they promise in the near
future, may be enough to escape forest closures this year, if not
break the drought. Having the forest open will surely mean more
missions and fewer roadblock assignments than last year.
As you may have heard, we plan to hold
various classroom training sessions immediately following many of
the monthly meetings. In March, we will be introducing the basics
of Line Searching. The information in this session coupled with
the navigation skills taught at the Map and Compass class on March
1st in Pine, should help make us, as a squad, much
better searchers in the future. Line search exercises will be
scheduled for later in the month.
April 4th - 6th are the
dates for the 5th annual Arizona SAR Conference held at
Yavapines Campgrounds in Prescott. Registration packets should be
available at the March meeting or before. A lot of valuable
training can be had at this event as many of you who attended last
year can attest. Also, thanks to a lot of hard work on the part of
Johnny Boyles, Tonto Rim will be hosting a SAR academy on April 26th-
27th. ALL members who have not taken the Academy
training are required, by State law to attend. Details are
currently being worked out and you’ll be kept informed.
The new truck is now in the valley being
outfitted with a service body consisting of storage compartments
accessible from the outside plus a roomy inside compartment
complete with shelving. This should be a great improvement in
organizing SAR equipment for deployment on missions. Work is
scheduled to be complete by March 1st.
C U on the trail!
Jim
Don’t forget; the
meetings this month are Mar 11th for the Board
and Mar. 13th for the General Meeting.
Sheriff’s Office
2003 SAR
Conference Coming in April
Once
again Camp Yavapines in Prescott, will be hosting the 5th
Annual SAR Conference from April 4th thru 6th.
Registration packets should be available at GCSO within the next
week. This is the chance you’ve all been waiting for to
receive a weeks worth of training in 3 days. It also gives
us all an opportunity to meet and exchange information with SAR
members from all over Arizona in an informal setting. The
steak dinner and awards ceremony on Saturday night are most
enjoyable.
Classes will begin at 8:00
A.M. on Friday and can be taken continuously for the next couple
of days. We are hoping to include the trainings available
with the registration packet.
Pre-registration will be
$25.00. Registration at the ‘door’ will be $30.00. The
money and time will be well spent. That’s a promise.
Everyone who can, should take
advantage of this opportunity to expand his/her knowledge about
Search and Rescue and it’s many facets.
For more information contact
SAR Coordinator, Sgt Hudgens.
TRSAR Officers
Governing
Board
Commander
Jim Martin, 504
472-7211
Vice-Commander
Dave Pirtle, 523
472-9494
Secretary
Bill Pitterle, 541
468-8685
Treasurer
Bill Martin, 528
472-6306
Board Member
Roger Miotto, 511
476-4734
Board Member
John Boyles, 510
476-3247
Board Member
Ira Gibel, 532
476-5109
Officers:
Property
Roger Miotto, 511
Equipment
Doug Conklin, 534
Safety
Ira Gibel, 532
Data Base
Les Hulse, 527
Communications
Bill Pitterle, 541
Training Officer
Ron Crimmins, 526
Search TrainingLes Hulse, 527
Rope Training
Terry Murray, 529
Librarian
Vynette Sage, 519
Public Relations
Unfilled
Committee
Chairmen
Membership
Roger Miotto, 511
Fundraising
Mike Taylor, 502
Highway Cleanup
Cliff Sage, 516
Rope Rescue
Terry Murray, 529
Man Tracking
Jim McMillion, 517
Equipment
Doug Conklin, 534
Property
Roger Miotto, 511
Social
Patt Peters, 531
Worthwhile Quote
The leader shows
that style is no substitute for substance, that creating an
impression is not more potent than acting from one’s center.
–Lao Tzu
I have found
our current Board lives by this creed. –Editor
Leaders and Legends in
SAR
Jane
Boyles
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME ONE
For the past
year I have been telling you about some of my heroes. These
people have made a difference in the lives of others and in the
advancement of Search and Rescue professionalism. The
compassion, unselfishness, training, organization, attention to
detail, and their leadership have made them special to a lot of
people-those they work with and those whose lives were at stake.
Let us explore the characteristics that made them memorable and
see how they apply to Search and Rescue volunteers today.
The mission has not changed—“THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE”- is still the
motto.
·
COMPASSION- sympathy for others, a desire to
help--Compassion has to come from the heart. We go into this
work, knowing full well, that our reward is just doing the
job to the best of our ability, often under less then perfect
conditions, (weather, temperature, terrain), leaving a warm bed,
driving off into the cold wet night. Because we care
about others we give of ourselves to help someone less fortunate
in their time of need. WE CARE.
·
UNSELFISHNESS-putting the good or the needs of
others first—When the call comes for a mission, we drop what we
are doing, leave the dinner table, the understanding spouse, the
job, and head off to perform the search or rescue task to which we
have been assigned.
·
TRAINING-the process of learning a skill—at a tender
young age, we learn to crawl then to walk. We learn to
babble then to talk. First comes kindergarten, then school, then a
degree from college. To be proficient at any skill, it has
to be accomplished in steps. Classroom text and lectures,
then practice, practice, practice. Getting a
certification does not make you an instant expert any more then a
college degree gives you experience. Training does not have
to be an organized event. One can only get better at the
skill if he goes out and practices what he learned on his own.
During an actual mission, you put your practice to test.
Learn from the leaders. Listen to them. Always
remember it takes years of experience to become a leader.
You may not always understand why you have been asked to perform a
particular assignment but trust that the leaders had a reason and
it was probably discussed in the command center. Paying
attention to the equipment others use will show you how
diversified equipment can be. And yes, you may have to buy
it yourself. Asking questions will help you make the
decision as to what is best for yourself and within your financial
means. The internet has become a great source of
information, but nothing beats going to the academies and state
trainings for exposure to the latest and best. SARCITY in
Barstow, CA, has opened the eyes of many a novice about how much
training you need to become prepared. There are levels and
standards of training that you can achieve if your dedication and
desire pushes you to educate yourself.
·
ORGANIZATION-efficiency in the way separate elements
are arranged into a coherent whole—the words “Incident Command
System” are something you will hear a lot about. It is a
structured system in which different agencies can come together as
certified leaders and all will have the same background of
training in preparation to conduct a search or rescue operation.
Often times you will see a leader wearing a vest designating a
specific “branch” of the Incident Command System that he will be
leader of for the time period he is working. You will
find that this allows all agencies or counties involved to carry
out a mission period in the same manner.
·
ATTENTION TO DETAIL-Each and everyone in Search and
Rescue needs to pay attention to detail. Be it the
directions given, the task performed or the paperwork that must be
completed. In a court of law, if you are called to testify
or if a Search coordinator is on the stand, he needs documentation
that you did your job to the best of your ability under the
circumstances you had to perform. Writing down on paper what
and where you did your assignment, documents these acts for him.
If you are given coordinates on a GPS to follow, document what you
did. By calling these coordinates into the command post for
their documentation further verifies that you did what was
assigned. This gives the Search Coordinator the opportunity
to chart your moves and, document where you found a clue or also
what else needs to be covered.
·
LEADERSHIP-The ability to guide and influence
people-A good leader has all of the above skills well learned with
years of practice. He must direct his goals to others so
that the mission or organization operates efficiently. It is
not our place to question his leadership or direction during the
search mission. Good leaders never display arrogant
dominance, but instead use tact and finesse to extract the best
from their teams under all circumstances.
So, does the mold fit? Are you
willing to learn? Are you willing to go the extra mile?
Being the “Best that you can be” applies here. You are a
part of a very special TEAM. Congratulations on your choice
to join Search and Rescue. You are appreciated every time you show
up. Maybe someday you will become the Leader or better yet,
the Legend.
FUNDRAISING
We have kicked
off the Fundraiser this year by buying a 4x4 Jeep from Don Peters
at below wholesale and will be doing a short raffle. The plan is
to sell 500 tickets at $50 each and have the drawing as soon as
the last ticket is sold. This will generate $25,000 and our cost
will be just over $7,000 with a net profit of almost $18,000. We
will not have to stand in booths for hours over several weekends.
Our goal is to have each member sell only 10 tickets. The buyers
have a 1/500 chance and it can be over in a couple months. All
TRSAR members and their immediate household are ineligible to buy
tickets or win this drawing. GCSO personnel on the other hand are
welcome to purchase as many as they care to. (Hint, hint)
The other fundraising event will be to do a bulk mailing to residents
of Northern Gila County. This has been very successful in the past
and requires a minimal amount of time and effort.
We will be asking for your assistance at the next few meetings to
participate in these activities.
Training Schedule
Scheduled Training Sessions
(current)
1 Mar--Sat 0800
hrs--
Map &
Compass Training
Location TBA. Class work in AM and Field exercise in PM.
Bring lunch, compass, ruler & pencil.
26
Mar--Wed 0800 hrs-- ATV/Trail bike
Training. Meet at Pocket Center in Tonto Basin
John Avery
in charge. Bring water, lunch, GPS, warm clothing, etc. Full 8
hour day.
17
Apr--Thu 1800 hrs-- First-Aid
Training. Ira Gibel’s house.
Rope Training TBA
26-27
April Sat & Sun. SAR Academy
in Payson, times and location to be announced.
Planned
Line Search training—Les Hulse in charge
Planned
Tracking practice—all levels—Les Hulse in charge
Planned
SAR Academy in Payson during 1st Qtr 2003
Planned
Radio Communications class
Member Profile
Jennifer Rasmussen; TR553
Jennifer was born in Lodi California in 1975.
She spent the first 17 years of her life in Lodi. Then she
moved to Payson with the family business. Her family owns
Precision Intricast Inc. They make foot orthotics.
Jennifer graduated from Payson High School in
1993. Jennifer is a graduate of Eastern Arizona College in
Pre-Nursing. She is a certified Pedorthist, trained at
Northwestern University in Chicago. Also she is a member of
Pedorthic footwear Association, an Associate of American Academy
of Orthorists and Prosthetists, and a nationally registered EMT.
She is also a volunteer at the Payson Fire Dept. in the Support
Rehab Group.
Jennifer is Single, but attached.
Baking is one of her favorite things to do. She has a Pit
Bull named Joe and a Cat named Samantha.
Denise Baehr and Adam Sheppard were
instrumental in her joining Tonto Rim Search and Rescue. She
became a member in Nov. 02 and has many hidden talents to offer
the Squad. We are fortunate to have her on the roster.
Changes
The position of
Sr. Rope Instructor was vacated by Chris Christy in early February
and Terry Murray accepted
the position. Terry attended the Ropes That Rescue course
in Sedona at the same time as Chris and has done an excellent job
as his assistant. The Board is very confident in Terry’s
abilities.
With the
election of Dave Pirtle to Vice Commander, the position of
Secretary was vacated Jan 1st. Commander Martin appointed
Bill Pitterle to that position
at the February General meeting. Bill has only been with us for
six months but has already shown his merit and commitment in many
ways.
Anita Carnine
resigned from the Squad on Feb 19th and left the
position of Treasurer vacant. Commander Martin has appointed
Bill Martin (no relation) to
that position. Bill retired from the IRS after about a hundred
years so we are confident in his abilities to handle our books.
Don Bell and
Chris Christy both resigned from the Squad in February also. Don
resigned due to health concerns and Chris and Anita resigned over
a conflict regarding policies and procedures. We will miss these
people but everyone has to be in charge of their own destiny.
We have two new
members this month; J.J. Logan
of Payson was voted in at the February meeting.
Bill Daily requested
re-instatement and was voted back into the Squad also. Bill was an
active member for about three years till ill health forced him to
drop his membership. He was our rope team leader and we look
forward to utilizing his talent again.
Three members
were upgraded to active status at the February meeting.
Tim Somsen, Bill Pitterle and DJ Johnson
have all met the criteria and were upgraded with pleasure.
Rescue Archives
Mike Taylor, 502
One of my most memorable missions was in Graham County in Dec 1994 when
we were called to do a rope rescue of a college student who had
poured gasoline into a crevasse and lit it.
You have to understand the geology of the place to fully appreciate what
took place here and the rigging challenges we faced extracting
this young man. Just north of Pima AZ there is a small hill that
is comprised of dirt with a 18” layer of rock on top. The
dirt has washed away anywhere there is not solid rock creating
many vertical shafts and straight cliff faces. The entire hill,
which is about ten acres in size and a couple hundred feet high,
looks like Swiss cheese. It is hazardous to walk anywhere except
on the worn footpaths.
Naturally it is a popular place for young people to congregate and on
this night, several college students had the great idea to show
off to their girlfriends by creating a light show; they would pour
gas into one of the vertical shafts, light it and the girls could
see the plume of fire from miles away at their homes. Our subject
poured a five gallon can of gas into a 18” diameter hole of
undetermined depth and struck a match while standing next to it.
The resulting explosion caved in the edge where he was standing and he
fell into the hole, becoming buried under 2 feet of rubble
about 35 feet below the surface. He was alive and could converse
with his friends but he could not move or be seen. The friends
called 911 and the Graham County deputies assessed the scene. They
realized it would take technical rope personnel to extricate him
and we were the closest available so Sgt. Hudgens was notified.
Four of us responded and drove down together. The top of the hill
was flat barren rock with no anchor locations and the blasted-out
8’ diameter hole was at the bottom of a depression with loose rock
all around. Any movements we made caused rocks to cascade down
into the hole. One of our team was able to tie off a rappel line
around a rock outcropping at a nearby cliff face and he rappelled
into the hole to assess the subject. Upon setting foot on the
bottom, he could talk with but could not find the subject. Finally
he determined he was standing on top of him. The boy’s head was
under a 200 pound rock that was wedged diagonally against the wall
and provided him breathing space. A high-lift jack and trenching
tool was lowered to him and he managed to get the boy uncovered
but space was very limited and he needed help to get him into a
litter.
In order to lower a second rescuer and the equipment and to raise the
subject we had to use two ladders spanning the hole as a change of
direction for the pulleys and we had to employ all the people
available as anchors to secure the system.
It was the most challenging rope rescue I have seen. None of the
textbook systems applied here and we had to create our own
one-of-a-kind rigging. I learned a lot of respect that night for
rope rescue in general because it is and has to be flexible, but
also I saw the quality of the man who is our Coordinator. Ever
calm in the face of disaster and rising to any challenge, Sgt.
Terry Hudgens is a great leader and I am proud to be able to work
for him in SAR.
SAR Junkie
You know you are a
SAR Junkie when:
You have more
than 4 rolls of flagging in your car at any one time.
You can hold an
entire crew briefing in acronyms (Considering the PLS, LKP and POD
the Type 3 POA for SEC 3 will be...).
You can wear a
different rescue shirt everyday of the week. (CARDA on Monday,
EDCSAR on Tuesday, NASAR on Wednesday...).
All of your
Christmas wish list items are in the catalogs from Search Gear,
Galls, SAR Camp, etc.
You think blaze
orange is a great color.
You own LOTS of
stuff that is BLAZE ORANGE.
You always have
these items in the back of your car: 24 hour SAR pack, Wilderness
Medical Kit, rope throw bag, a few coils of static line, and
enough climbing hardware to decrease you gas mileage to 10 gallons
per mile.
You've ever duct
taped together rain gear (& more!)
You have yet to
encounter a problem that duct tape and a Leatherman tool can't
fix.
You've ever had
a heated debate between Gibbs vs. Pressiks, Leatherman tool vs.
Gerber, or 1/3 strength Gatorade vs. ½ strength Gatorade.
You can vow that
the saying "A shower a day keeps the flies away" is true from
experience.
You lost all
your table manners when you joined your SAR team.
You consider a
turkey sandwich & Gatorade fine dining after 3 days in the field.
You can splint
just about anything with sticks, zip ties and duct tape.
Your favorite
free time activity is going through your SAR gear.
Reflective tape
is a sought after fashion accessory.
You have a CPR
mask, flashlight, knife & rescue 8 bottle opener on your key ring.
You have more
than 5 rescue decals or 3 radio antennas on you personal vehicle.
You know all of
your local SAR radio frequencies by heart.
You think SAR
conferences are a great vacation.
You can't go to
a SAR conference with out spending $100 at the gear vendors (if
you get away that cheap!).
Your friends
have teased you by leaving you strapped in a stokes litter.
You take a 30lb
pack to go for a day hike with friends.
The criteria for
your personal vehicle were having 4 wheel drive and ample gear
space.
You're an Advil
junkie.
You have a
rescue cut in more than 1 pair of boots.
You don't own
anything that is cotton.
You wonder if it
would be possible to make a living from SAR.
Your ham radio
call sign ends in SAR.
Your favorite
comment on the weather is rain or snow or 40 below.
You dog has 10
times as much gear than your entire neighbors combined do for
their dogs.
You look for dog
gear that matches your gear.
You change YOUR
gear to match your dogs gear if you liked the dogs gear better.
You dog hears
your pager go off and starts heading towards the door.
Your dog hears
your phone ring and starts heading towards the door.
You put your SAR
boots on and your dog starts heading towards the door.
You accidentally
touch your SAR vest and your dog starts heading towards the door.
You touch or
move your dogs gear and your dog starts heading towards the door.
You fill up a
Nalgene water bottle and your dog starts heading towards the door.
You don't mind
sharing your water bottle with your dog.
You wear orange
and your dog starts heading for the door.
You spend half
of your time at REI looking for dog gear.
You flip to the
dog gear section of any catalog before you look at the "human"
sections.
You dog glows
brighter in the dark than you do.
Your dog
patiently sits through "dress up" with your 4 year old because
your dog thinks that it is new K9 gear, and then starts heading
towards the door.
A vinyl poncho
is something you feed to the underbrush.
The criteria for
your personal vehicle are a 4WD pickup with camper shell, and the
pickup is set up as a mobile bedroom with all the gear stored
under the bed.
You have
exhausted every possible site and scrap of information off the
Internet that has any Search and Rescue training articles and
information on it.
You
intentionally set off your pager during the slow season to sooth
the "search withdrawals."
The first thing
you do when you lose your keys is calculate the POA, POD & Pos.
The gear vendor
considers you "family" and offers you a salesman job.
You use your dog
and your GPS to find your child in the supermarket.
Your friends
call you to look for their lost beer at a party.
You listen to
police stations on your radio all day waiting to here for a lost
or missing person (10-90 here).
When your beeper
goes off in the morning at work and your boss knows you'll be gone
the rest of the day.
You can't go on
a vacation without getting involved in some type of rescue event.
Friends say that
if we ever have a disaster can they come over to your house or
stay in your vehicle.
When your
pictures in your wallet are arranged so that your dog’s are before
your kid’s. Or your dog’s picture is beside your kid’s on your
desk.
If you have IV
solution in you truck cooler along your with bottled water.
You can't have
your family ride with you because of all the SAR gear in your
truck.
You have started
requesting something other than turkey for thanksgiving, and think
Colonel Sanders is Santa Claus since almost every search you've
ever been on with food donations has consisted of fried chicken.
When you
mother-in-law gets lost coming to your new house and you actually
go and look for her.
This list
actually makes sense to you!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to NASAR
and Les Hulse for this list.
Thanks to all who
contributed to this issue of the newsletter.
Please continue to
share for the enlightenment of all.
