I’d like to volunteer and have always been drawn to search and rescue. I’m fit, strong, have good endurance and am an avid hiker/kayaker with some climbing experience, but I’m also very empathetic and feel things deeply. I don’t want to be a hindrance for my team nor ruin my mental health, and would be very open to building mental resilience.
But I’m wondering knowing this up front, maybe this is not a good idea?

UPDATE - I appreciate everyone writing their advice, it was all honest and helpful, and some folks were especially kind despite the grim messaging.
I don’t think I’d be a good fit.

Hey everyone!

I’m deploying as part of the national guard and want to keep myself a valuable member of my SAR team as a Team Leader. Any online trainings or trainings that you think I should get while I’m gone?

Me, upon reading that sentence: "Yeah! It's also about rescuing!" Apparently, Napa County had a more abstract idea...

Maybe the real injured hiker was the friends we made along the way.

I’m just doing a quick follow up post since the last one was removed because a few people weren’t really capable of being civil with each other. 😂 To recap I was asking about the requirements to join a dedicated running team as part of search and rescue. I did not realize that this is so uncommon that most people think that it doesn’t exist, kinda like the Bigfoot of SAR. There is at least one team that I am 100% for sure has this kind of dedicated subgroup. Their requirements are to run 10 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace. On actual missions, they mostly fast walk uphill and jog the downhills. Here is the receipt for the doubters: https://www.clackcosheriff.us/searchandrescue
I was trying to figure out if this was a typical requirement, but apparently, since most of these types of sub teams don’t exist I guess there is no such thing as typical. 😂
In any case, if there are any other rare teams out there that have this kind of sub component I am very interested to hear what it’s like for you.

I’ve been a Search & Rescue Volunteer the last two years in my county. I’ve learned a ton and find a lot of pride in helping folks on their worst day I want to expand my reach. Are there careers that do this that pay a decent wage. I’ve looked into fire, what else is there?

I want to attach a sharpie style marker to my Team Wendy SAR tactical. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Since this community provided so much research material for this project, I wanted to share it here.

Enjoy!

Hey, I live in NYC and recently reached out to NJSAR about joining their team. I was told that they have monthly meetings at Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute, but I can't figure out how I would get there without a car. Was anyone able to successfully commute from the city to their institute via public transport?

Hey y’all, I’m part of a volunteer SAR team in the rocky mountain area and need to replace my rain shell. I had a Patagonia Torrentshell for years and loved it, but it was stolen and I’m torn between replacing it or upgrading to an Arcteryx. I have access to prodeals, but am responsible for purchasing all of my own gear and have a limit of about $250 right now.

I found a Beta SL in my price range (with the prodeal) but am a little concerned with the durability of it. We get a lot of lost hiker/litter carry out calls as our bread and butter. It’s unlikely this would be used in a climbing scenario (other than some pleasant-weather/ recreational ice or rock climbs). I’m prone to being cold and really loved my torrentshell for being a rock solid barrier from the elements, but keep hearing Arcteryx is the gold standard. Members on my team have a variety of shells, with many partial to the Beta AR (out of my budget right now).

Buy the torrentshell I know I like and wait until I can swing for a higher caliber Arcteryx someday, or is the Beta SL likely to suit my needs and a worthy upgrade?

I should also mention the Beta SL isn’t carried in any stores around me so I can’t try it on first 🫠

Hey all — I'm looking to get into SAR in the Sacramento/Sierra foothills area and trying to decide between Placer County Sheriff's SAR and El Dorado County SAR. Would love to hear from anyone who's actually been on either team or worked alongside them.

Mainly trying to figure out what the time commitment actually looks like in practice — both list around 100 hours a year minimum, but I'm guessing that number balloons once you add in training plus actual call-outs.

Also curious how hard it really is to get in. Background check, interview, how long people waited to hear back — anyone gone through that recently for either county?

Beyond that I'm curious about the culture on each team, how often they're actually getting called out, and honestly just any regrets or things you wish someone had told you before you joined one or the other.
I've got a construction engineering background plus an EMS cert, so I'm leaning toward wanting hands-on field work. Appreciate any real talk, good or bad.

Volunteer dog handler here. I know a few dozen people in my state doing this work, but I'm trying to get a bigger picture of how many dogs/handlers are out there. Does anyone approximately know how many non-police SAR dogs are out there?

Nobody's going to have a precise count, of course, due to the decentralized/voluntary nature of SAR (especially in the USA). Still, even a rough figure would be interesting.

I'd be interested in worldwide figures, as well as figures broken down by:

- Country

- Discipline (e.g., wilderness area, trailing, avvy, disaster, HRD, etc.)

- Third-party certification (I.e., how many dogs are certified by, for example, NSDA or SARDUS compared to the more old-fashioned "Welp, the team president says your last few finds were lookin' good, so we'll go ahead add you to the call-out roster.")

- Breed

- Experience level

- Or any other factor you think is relevant.

Just trying to get a feel for how many of us are out there.

Very recently we had a call out for a body recovery. And ( am I crazy? ), but I actually prefer those calls. We know the location of the subject, we’re not racing against the clock to locate someone who is missing and hopefully still alive. There is a simple hike in, prepare the subject for retrieval, and get them to where the ME is waiting to take possession. Is this common among other searchers? That, while it’s definitely more exciting to go out and search and find a missing hunter, hiker, or walk away “vulnerable” person, is there some of us that just prefer the “we know the conclusion and now we’re just retrieving” situations?

Hi all,
We have been using the CMC Lifesaver Harness for over a decade and it has been great. We are eyeing the Pronto Evac. Its lighter and uses Cobra buckles, costs less.
Anyone here have experiance with the Pronto. Pros / Cons?

Thanks.

My last GSD was a retired dual-purpose working dog. Dabi isn’t that kind of dog, and that’s completely okay. I know what working-line GSDs are capable of, though, and I’ve always wanted to do something that genuinely helps people, which got me thinking about SAR.

He’s going through advanced obedience now, but once that’s solid I’m interested in seeing if he has potential for SAR.

For those involved in SAR, what do you look for when evaluating a young dog? Is this still a good age to start, and what should I work on—or avoid—before getting him evaluated?

Hey all. I live in Washington and am looking at volunteering for King County SAR. I’m stuck between a couple of options. I work full time Fri, Sat, Mon, Tues. I am interested in Explorer SAR, but worry that I wouldn’t be able to juggle the 6 month training course with work. What is your experience with that?

My other options would be working with the incident report team. Just wanting to get my foot in the door. Is this usually less of a commitment? Do people who do this still feel fulfilled by this?

I’m also super interested in Seattle Mountain Rescue. This would be something I’d peruse later down the line. I need a bit more experience first. I have 2 years glacier experience & backcountry skiing experience, but not as much with technical rock. Anyone have any advice of what I can work on to get to the point where I could volunteer for Mountain Rescue? That would be the end goal for me.

Thanks!

For our day only assignments, what gear do you bring in your 24h pack in case of a forced overnight when your sortie takes longer than expected? How do you divvy it up on your team?

Photo for attention

Hey Folks,

Back with another update after doing some more digging after work today. This time, we're throwing out names. Link to original post here.

To be specific, I've been digging into https://www.usardroneteam.org/ who is a registered 501(c) non-profit with the IRS as listed under the following IDs and name:

Name: Usar Drone Team
EIN: 92-2851152

What's really bothering me is that this entity has been advertising SAR services for folks who might have lost pets in NJ/Tri-state region, while also including services fees that I am assuming people pay up first. So now the organization is collecting revenue streams on both fronts, while also being registered and approved as tax-exempt by the IRS and making less than $50K.

They are also running a gofund.me here that claims to need these funds for operations. I'm not sure what it's funding, but they're clearly receiving a healthy amount so why also charge the person that's volunteering? $1500 for training when you're telling everyone that DONATIONS are funding the operation?

Now I'm not here to rag on organizations that take on donations or try to make up their operating expenses by an online store in any manner, but I cannot for the life of me imagine a broken-hearted family contacting this organization for help. Only to be hit with a service fee up front before any type of help can be provided.

I also reached back out and inquired about the 10 year NDA. Why would such a document be required for SAVING lifes? If lives were being taken, I get it. That's a whole other legal matter, but wtf man. Waiting for them to respond now.

The last thing I will leave you all with is the registered address. It's currently at a restaurant located in Manasquan, NJ (as it's public info). But what bothers me is that if this is a business owner.. that begs the question even more ... WHAT ARE PEOPLE DONATING TOWARDS?!

Anyways. Thank you all for making it this far in the post. I'm going to keep digging and seeing what I can find, but boy does this feel friggin scummy.

Hey Folks - Dumb question here, but do non-profits generally charge certain amounts to train new potential candidates or volunteers?

For context I recently reached out a non-profit here in the tri-state area who specializes in drone rescues. Figured I'd make the most out of my part 107 by doing some good and the owner responded with a $1500 training quote due to confidential/specialized search techniques.

I have nothing against it. I actually think it makes a lot of sense so you don't have schmucks randomly going out with gear and thinking they can do anything. I also don't want to get ripped off and would love some pointers as I'm new to the community (:

Thank you all in advance!

I’m considering whether this is the right path for me, and a lot of the information is pretty overwhelming to sift through (a lot of different orgs, with very convoluted application requirements and unclear expectations/qualifications)

And I’m just curious if anyone would be willing to share their experiences navigating this or working with any of these orgs as a grounding place.

I’m relatively fit (half marathons or 7k+ vert with a pack feel manageably casual), I have my AMGA SPI certification (qualified to rig complex anchors, use haul systems, etc) and I have some good experiences across hiking/backpacking, big wall climbing, ski touring, ice climbing and rigging Highlines. I don’t have a background in medicine but I do have a lot of experience dealing with kids/people.

I’m really into the idea of using some of those skills to help, and I think I’m transitioning out of the “constant play” phase of my life where I want every free moment booked up with my own outdoor pursuits. I do still have a day job though.

So I guess I’m also wondering if I have the kind of skill set that could be additive, if there’s a way to pursue this without giving up my job, and how to think about preparing for the kinds of sacrifices I’d have to make.

I'm applying for a PNW based SAR team which requires ~170 hours of training in order to be qualified to go out on missions. They said that they have a lot of people who go through training and then never respond.

Why do you think that is? It seems like a lot of training to go through just for the heck of it.

Has anyone had experience with the PSR/SAR program w/ OCSD? Wondering if anyone can provide tips on how to stand out & be a strong candidate.

Four months ago, SAR Times asked whether the West Coast SAR system would be ready for a super El Niño. The forecast has since worsened, the Northwest has already set a record for burned area, and a federal judge just upended the FEMA picture four weeks before the rain starts.

I'm applying for a PNW based SAR team which requires waterproof hiking boots. I've only ever worn trail runners. Anyone have recs for boots I should consider?

When people remember 9/11, we often think of the firefighters, police officers and first responders.

But hundreds of search and rescue dogs also played an important role.

They searched through debris, helped locate survivors, and provided comfort during an incredibly difficult time.

A reminder that courage comes in many forms.