Running a charity is a lot of work. Federal and state reports have to filed, the New Mexico State Police wants some papers too, volunteers have to be trained, training needs to be planned, scheduled and supervised. There is fund raising, equipment purchase, repair and maintenance and, of course, there are missions and community activities. Thanks to the amazing work of all of our volunteers, we not only did all that, we did it very well. We responded to a…
SAR team members have to carry a lot of gear. The New Mexico “Field Guide” requires us to carry food, clothing, water and a variety of tools like compass, ropes and more. Sometimes a product comes along that combines a number of things into one nice package and this “Emergency Radio” truly fits the bill. By Michaela Merz, ChCSAR 22: This unit costs less than $30. You can pick it up at Amazon (I have no affiliation with Amazon or…
When I was introduced to map and compass work, I learned about “true” and “magnetic” north. Say .. what? There are two “Norths” ? It was puzzling. As it turns out, there are actually three “Norths”, though only the first two have relevance for SAR team members: 1) Geographic North (True North) 2) Magnetic North 3) Geomagnetic North So .. what is what? Let’s forget about the “Geomagnetic North” (or look it up here, cool video) . For map &…
IN NEW MEXICO, THERE IS NO CHARGE TO THE PUBLIC FOR ANY SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORT BY STATE OR VOLUNTEER RESOURCES (Does not apply to commercial air or ground ambulance transportation). If you feel you or someone you know is in trouble in the wilderness, do not hesitate to call 911 or your local New Mexico State Police district office. Alerting the authorities in a timely way could mean the difference between life or death. No one plans on going…