NASAR Information    

National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR)

SARTECH III

Introduction to Search And Rescue is a Certificate Course which will prepare you for the 85 question SARTECH III written exam.

SARTECH II

Fundamentals of Search And Rescue (FUNSAR) is a Certificate Course that will prepare you to take the 160 question written test, and ready you to take the field test associated with SARTECH II. Land Navigation, Route Search, Area Search, Step By Step Man Tracking, 24 hour pack, improvised harness, and a knot station are the field testing stations.

SARTECH I Crew Leader 3

The Advanced Search And Rescue Certificate Course will prepare you for the SARTECH I - Crew Leader 3 written test and field testing. This level of SARTECH leans heavily on leadership skills, field knowledge and safety concerns of a team leader, as well as advanced search and rope techniques.

The National Association for Search And Rescue continues to expand it's educational department with additional qualified instructors to teach the certificate courses, and test site coordinators and evaluators ensure that only those who are highly skilled and thoroughly trained are certified.

We are glad to find an organization with ready made "standards" for the line of work our team has mainly been involved in. This gave us a goal to reach, and a national standard that our members could be recognized for, any where in the country, and now any where globally.

A great deal of fore thought, hard work, and input from hundreds of highly skilled and talented SAR individuals with years of experience and practical application, went into these set standards.

Tri-State SAR applauds NASAR, it's educational staff, and the many others who worked so hard to create the Standards for Search And Rescue.

For more information click on the  NASAR website www.nasar.org

More Good Information & Ideas

The Asprin Tables should be individually packaged to help keep them dry, and incase of them being smashed, there will be one dosage per package-even in powder form.

The antacid tablets are always a good idea even if you normally do not have problems. Cooking and eating "on the run" during a search can bring the worst out of the best of us.

Antiseptic pads and ointments - tubes should be in a hard protective container like a 35mm film can. (if it breaks open, keeps the mess out of your pack & you can still use it).

6 various size band aids-personally I pack about 12-18 just to be sure, they don't weigh much and take little room.

Long burning candle - put it in a container to keep it from breaking and/or melting all over everything.

Cotton swabs - put into a water tight container - "cotton kills" and you don't want dirt and mold on something used to clean a cut on to stick in your ear.

10 feet of duct tape-measure out about 10-15 feet of duct tape, then re-wind in onto a wooden pencil (a spare). It takes a lot less room than that big card board roll it comes on.

Plastic leaf bags-smash them down and get all the air out, then put them all into a quart size zip lock bag.

Matches in a waterproof container. Visit your local army store and get one of the metal containers that has done it's job for years in the army. Just be sure to check the cap for the rubber water seal. Put half of your matches in upside down and the rest right side up. You'll get more in there, and if one accidentally ignites, you won't loose all of them.

The moleskin is for treatment of blisters mainly on your feet. The key here is NOT to get blisters. Hopefully your wearing two pair of good thick socks with your boots-footwear, and have had the boots fitted so you won't need the moleskin. Cut only enough of the material to cover the effected area. The mole skin is used to help prevent the blister from breaking, which could induce infection. That's how the term "second skin" began, it acts as a second layer of skin.

Change for 2 phone calls. It use to read 2 quarters, then the phone companies went to $.35. A calling card works nice or dial the operator to reverse charges or to charge the call to your home phone. There are several options to dialing that exist NOW, that did not exist when the text was written. If all else fails- 911.

1- Single edge razor blade. There are small, light weight, and usually come in a pack of 5. Pack the 5. If your in a real life survival situation, these will come in real handy and I would want more than just 1.

1- Roller gauze. This too is light weight, but a bulky item. Our recommendation is for no wider than 2" and approximately 3 feet long. This will allow packing of 3-4 of these, and allow you to bandage more than one injury.

2- large safety pins. Another small, light weight item that and even 6 might better serve your emergency needs.

1- tweezers. This is a "have to have" in briar, tic, wasp, bee, etc. country. Swiss army knifes usually include one as a slide in option on one end or the other-get a regular set of tweezers and use the Swiss set as a backup.

1- Space type blanket/sleeping bag. We encourage packing 2. These are also good to use when you locate the victim. It is way easier to get one under them, then put one on top of them to keep them warm and treat for shock. One blanket is often too hard to maneuver to completely cover the victim.

1- Towelette. Again a handy item, lighter than a bar of soap, and not half the mess, for a quick clean up. Might want a pack of 6.

1- Whistle. Use a plastic whistle like the Fox 40, non-metallic without the little ball inside. Metal can freeze to your lips in real cold weather, gets beat up and bent easily, the ball can freeze up which make the whistle less audible. The plastic versions are more durable and most are louder.

Compass - Orienteering type. Try to find one that has the rifle sight on the top of the closable cover, that also has a mirror in the lid. (that takes care of the mirror requirement on the pack list) one less thing to carry, pack, and check.

FLASHLIGHTS!  -  use a good 2 battery "D" size or "C" size flashlight for your primary and backup flashlight. Even if your primary is an expensive aluminum model and the back up is a hard plastic one, as long as both use the same size batteries, YOU have spare parts! The bulbs in both should work in both as long as they both use the same number of batteries.

BULBS - go to the hardware store and get the krypton bulbs, they use about the same amount of juice-but are much brighter than standard flashlight bulbs. Keep your spare bulbs in a 35 mm film can to keep them from getting broken.

Why 2 cell flashlights?  They are just as bright as those 3-4-5-6 cell monsters. Your carrying a set of batteries in each flashlight, plus back up batteries for each flash light, what's lighter, 8 batteries total or 12,16,20,24 batteries total? Who wants to carry 2 spare cases of batteries in their packs?

Clear goggles - we have experimented with amber colored goggles that seem to give a better contrast in low light situations, allowing searchers to pick out objects that would normally require flashlights at or around dusk.

Multi-purpose knife-it's hard to beat a leatherman's tool or similar item that has such a variety of tools incorporated into one belt carried device. A virtual tool kit on your belt.

We have combined our walking stick (broom/mop/shovel handle) and measuring device. The local piece goods shop (sewing supply place) has plyable measuring tapes 48" long with sticky backing for dress pattern making. Apply the tape to the stick beginning with the low number at the point, and now you have one less thing to dig out to measure the shoe prints, stride etc.
The tape is not water proof, so we visited the local electronics warehouse and bought a roll of 1" clear plastic heat shrink tubing to cover the tape with. Before sealing it, we made a tag with Team name, Member name, address, city, state, zip, and phone number, then sealed everything in the shrink tube.

You can use a hair dryer to shrink the tubing, or if you have an electric stove, pull it out so you can work the stick across the burner (about 1-2" above it) and move the stick back & forth while turning it until all of the tubing is tight around the stick. ID, measuring device & stick ready for use after cooling.

Metal cup - if you use the old style military canteens, you can use the metal cup that is made for that type of canteen, and it will fit into the cloth belt carrying pouch. This is needed for heating water & some cooking needs. Plastic or other materials may not be suitable.

Note Pad & Pencil - Try to get some of the water proof paper and all weather pencil to use with it. They are a great combination for drawing the map of the area you just covered-in any weather, rain, snow, sleet or shine.

Durable rain gear - again visit your local army store. The military style poncho's work well as far as covering 80% of your body in foul weather, can be used as a make shift tent, used to catch drinkable water (rain-hood drips into cup), and used as a hammock.

SAR Identification - Should have a photo of the SAR worker on it, Team information, mailing address incase it is lost, it can be mailed back to you, and any medical information that is of concern, i.e. diabetic/allergies etc.

The 8x10 shelter material can be one of the "blue" tarps with built in eyelets, that works well, dries easily, can be "tacked" down easily, sheds water and repels wind. They are fairly inexpensive, reusable, durable, and can assist in making a "make shift" litter a bit more comfortable for the one riding on the "logs".

Multi-purpose scissors are a Wal-Mart item, similar to what medics use to cut seat belts, clothing, shoes, etc. away from an injured area. (much the same reasons why you need them).

1- pair of extra socks, we suggest 3-4 SETS especially if your feet tend to sweat. SETS because you need 2 pairs to prevent blisters and need to have 3-4 changes. Some K-9 handler's that follow Trailing/Tracking dogs on lead may need a couple reserve besides.

Water containers. Even if you use a camelback style hydration system, you still may want to stuff an old style canteen and canteen cup in your gear. The canteen cup can be used to catch water, the canteen can be used to mix the water and purification tablets before refilling the camelback. The cup is also good for boiling the water in, and the extra canteen can be used for an extra reserve supply.

The Woven Steel Wire - the closest thing we have been able to find is wire used to hang 60-100 lbs worth of picture frames. It's strong! It is support to be used for snares and to strengthen make shift litters and used for survival. We haven't tried it yet but you may be able to saw a tree down with this stuff. It's kind of clumsy to use as a snare because the woven design tends to keep the snare from moving smoothly, which scares off most small game. Haven't tried a deer or bear yet-probably won't! Lord knows it would probably hold!