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Win-Win scenarios

When SAR Techs train with future outdoor leaders, the learning goes both ways

By Tim Shuff

Two ill-prepared hikers are caught out overnight without enough food or clothing, running low on energy and facing hypothermia. When they are late coming home, friends call search and rescue (SAR). A C-130 Hercules aircraft comes in for a low pass, locates the party on the ground and drops a radio. The hikers are able to communicate their needs and get an air drop of much needed equipment and food enough to warm up and get back to safety.

This could be a real lifesaving wilderness survival situation, but last April it was a mock scenario that one lucky group of outdoor leadership students got to practice teaching them the importance of emergency preparedness, and also the availability of rescue resources for when those preparations aren’t enough.

The Recreation Management program at Acadia University, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, has developed a special training relationship with 413 Search and Rescue Squadron in nearby CFB Greenwood. According to Acadia professor Scott Hennigar, the collaboration is unique in North America.

Field camp

Samantha Reyno holding the flare. Photo Credit: Scott Hennigar

Every spring, students in professor Hennigar’s Outdoor Leadership and Expedition Management course attend an intensive 10 day field camp in the Black River Lake area near Gaspereau, Nova Scotia. For the past several years, four of 413 Squadron’s SAR technicians (Techs) have joined the camp for four days, filling a dual role as both teachers and trainees.

In addition to the C-130 Hercules air drop scenario, students on last April’s field camp got a surprise cell phone call from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Halifax. “The scenario was that there was bad weather in Greenwood and that the helicopter was having trouble getting out due to low ceilings,” said Sergeant Norman Penny of the 413 Squadron, who led the training exercise this year.

With coordinates from the JRCC, the students had to locate an injured hiker who had fallen off a cliff, administer first aid, and direct 413 Squadron’s helicopter to the scene. “The standby crew back in Greenwood was out flying, so I had arranged with them to fly near the area,” said Penny. Two SAR Techs lowered to the ground to complete the rescue with the help of the students.

A lasting partnership

Sgt. Norm Penny and student Scott Lewin working together during training. Photo Credit: Scott Hennigar

The training partnership between Acadia and the 413 Squadron started 10 years ago when professor Hennigar invited a SAR Tech to come and speak to his class. “I wanted the students to get a better sense of how much effort it takes to be rescued compared to the effort it takes to do risk management. I also wanted them to understand that if they do get into a catastrophic situation, there are resources available.”

The SAR Techs quickly saw the potential for the field camp to mesh with their own training. “The training is amazing,” says Penny. The SAR Techs learn from seeing what kind of skills the outdoor leaders have, and what type of equipment they carry. They can also pass on skills like emergency signaling, shelter building, highangle rescue and first aid that will make the young outdoor leaders more selfsufficient in the backcountry and more helpful to their rescuers in an emergency.

SAR Tech skills

Penny also values the chance to show off everything SAR Techs are trained to do. “A lot of people just think that we jump out of planes, but they know now that SAR Techs have mountain skills. A lot of people think we’re the Coast Guard,” he said. One student didn’t know SAR Techs existed. “He thought all we’re doing is fighting a war. I think we changed his outlook on the military.”

The committee will provide strategic advice on the conference’s approach, themes and content, as well as guidance related to the NSS developing a multiyear plan for the event. It will also concentrate on increasing cross-jurisdiction integration in support of the NSP to ensure the continuing progress of seamless SAR service delivery across Canada. The NSS intends to resume holding the event annually after 2010.

Over 100 students have been through professor Hennigar’s field camp in the past 10 years. At least one has gone on to use his SAR training in a real emergency. The student went on to work with the Alberta government. Hennigar said, “They were working on the eastern slopes of the Rockies with mountain pine beetle infestation crews and they’d put about 45 people in the field. A big storm came in and caught everyone off guard. Temperatures dropped down to minus 15 and it dropped about four feet of snow. In the meetings about how to take action, Jeff was the only one who understood what the Canadian Armed Forces could bring to bear. He was pretty much directly responsible for bringing the rescue squadrons into the event. Subsequently they got everyone out.”

Sergeant Penny is glad to get the message out that help is available, because too many people wait until it’s too late to call. Plus, with the skills these students learn, they’ll probably never have to. “I know there are safer trips out there now,” said Penny. “We don’t get a lot of calls from missing groups in this neck of the woods.”

Tim Shuff is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto. He is an outdoor recreation graduate, former wilderness guide and the editor of Adventure Kayak magazine.

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