Marion County Search and Rescue, Inc.

Crew 18 Basic Search and Rescue Curriculum

Written objectives for our training program were originally developed at the request of Salem School District 24J. Based on those objectives, the Salem District began giving high school elective credit to Crew 18 members who complete the training program.

The course exceeds the Oregon State Sheriff's Association minimum search and rescue training requirements.

General Objectives

1. To build self-confidence by placing students in situations that require them to use their ingenuity and common sense to apply knowledge gained in classroom training to solve problems.
2. To expose students to career possibilities in emergency medicine, emergency services, natural resources, and law enforcement.
3. To offer teenagers an opportunity for community service.

Specific Objectives by Subject Area

Administration and Orientation (4 hours class, 5 hours field)
1. Knowledge of unit rules and regulations.
2. Knowledge of required personal equipment and how to select it.
3. Knowledge of unit equipment: name, function, location, proper and safe operation.

Wilderness First Aid (30 hours class, 15 hours field)
(NOTE: This part of the curriculum uses ECSI/AAOS Wilderness First Aid course materials, which emphasize outdoor injuries and extended patient care).
1. Ability to do a complete patient survey and use the results of the survey to develop a plan of care.
2. Understanding of the concept of mechanism of injury and its use in assessment.
3. Ability to maintain an airway, including maintaining an airway in the presence of known or suspected spinal injury.
4. Ability to assess and control bleeding.
5. Ability to assess and treat bone and joint injuries.
6. Basic understanding of the physiology of shock; ability to anticipate and recognize shock and initiate appropriate treatment.
7. Knowledge of the basic physiology of temperature regulation in humans; knowledge of the causes, prevention, recognition and field treatment of hypothermia, hyperthermia and frostbite.
8. Ability to recognize and initiate treatment for: heart attack, stroke, epilepsy and diabetes.
9. Ability to recognize and initiate treatment for: spinal injuries, closed head injuries, and closed abdominal injuries.
10. Ability to recognize and initiate treatment for poisoning by contact, inhalation, injection or ingestion.
11. Ability to maintain spinal immobilization during assessment, treatment, packaging and evacuation.
12. Ability to use various litters and devices for wilderness evacuation.
13. Ability to give emergency medical care under field conditions, including cramped spaces, darkness and bad weather; ability to maintain patient contact and confidence; ability to make decisions under pressure and adverse conditions; ability to improvise and make do with limited equipment.

Land Navigation (5 hours class, 6 hours field)
1. Knowledge of the grid surveying system in western Oregon and how to use it to describe your position on the ground.
2. Ability to use a compass to take or follow a compass bearing to an accuracy of 2 degrees.
3. Understanding of the difference between true and magnetic north, and why that knowledge is important; understanding of the concept of "declination".
4. Ability to define the term "deviation" as it applies to magnetic compasses; understanding of how deviation affects a compass in the field.
5. Understanding of contour lines; ability to use contour lines to judge the topography of an area from a map.
6. Familiarity with the basic operation of GPS receivers.
7. Understanding of the following terms and concepts: point man; back bearing; map legend; map scale.

Leadership (1 hour class, 3 hours field)
1. Knowledge of the 3 priorities of a team leader, as defined in this unit (safety, morale, completion of assignment), and why they are listed in that order.
2. Ability to lead a team of trainees in a simulated search, including: organizing and briefing the team; operating the team radio and maintaining radio contact with search base; maintaining control and contact with team members; using correct voice commands to control the team; coping with problems and unforeseen situations that arise; recognizing and correcting any unsafe conditions that are encountered.

Search and Rescue (11 hours class, 35 hours field)
1. Ability to assess a missing person situation and choose the appropriate type of search.
2. Ability to fill any team member position on any of the 3 basic types of search.
3. Ability to operate an FM radio transceiver, including field troubleshooting of problems; knowledge of unit radio codes and procedures.
4. Knowledge of how to find or improvise an emergency helicopter landing zone; familiarity with safety requirements for working around helicopters.
5. Ability to use basic mountaineering hardware and ropes; ability to function as a team member, under the direction of a more experienced leader, in setting up and executing a technical evacuation.
6. Ability to recognize when a situation constitutes a crime scene; ability to set up and protect a crime scene perimeter; knowledge of how to recognize and handle potential criminal evidence.
7. Familiarity with the basic concepts of tracking; ability to recognize clues left by a missing person.
8. General familiarity with emergency locator beacons.
9. Awareness of Post-Critical Incident Stress and its symptoms; knowledge of what to do if symptoms are recognized in ones self or others.

Survival (2 hours class, 72 hours field)
1. Knowledge of basic survival psychology and how an individuals' attitude can affect their ability to survive.
2. Knowledge of physiology as it relates to survival; knowledge of how to prevent environmental injuries.
3. Ability to survive for 24 hours in common western Oregon weather conditions (ie, wet and cool), including: carrying minimum required survival equipment; ability to construct a waterproof, windproof shelter using native materials and materials from the survival kit; ability to locate a shelter properly with relation to wind, water and terrain; ability to start and maintain a fire.

Winter Operations (2 hours class, 15 hours field)
(NOTE: Because of the extra personal equipment required, this module is optional; those who complete it are certified to participate in winter search missions).

1. Ability to function effectively for 24 hours in common western Oregon Cascades winter conditions (ie, moderate cold, moist snow), including: carrying required extra equipment for winter conditions; ability to construct an emergency snow shelter; knowledge of snow search techniques; ability to use snowshoes for transportation over relatively level, snow-covered terrain.

Testing and Evaluation (3 hours written tests, 20 hours field)
1. Ability to pass a written test covering the objectives listed under Wilderness First Aid with a score of 70% or higher.
2. Ability to complete a field first aid exercise as a member of a team without making any errors that would endanger the patient.
3. Ability to pass a written test covering the objectives listed under Search and Rescue, Survival, Land Navigation and Leadership with a score of 70% or better.
4. Demonstration of individual survival skills, including ability to select a site, construct a shelter, spend 1 night alone in the shelter, and pass an evaluation of personal equipment, shelterbuilding and firebuilding with a score of 70% or better.
5. Ability to successfully solve a mock search problem as a team.

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March, 2006