The Spec Ops Blog

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

SAR OPS: How to handle a dying or deceased victim

Source: Adapted from LandSAR Field Guide 2010, by Steve Schreiber and Stu Allan. Copyright © 2010 by New Zealand Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR). Christchurch, New Zealand. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Expressed Written Permission.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

ROPE RESCUE: How to rig a tripod or gyn

Source: Adapted from Skills for Emergency Services Personnel—General and Disaster Rescue, 5th Edition (AEMS Manual 35), by Emergency Management Australia. Copyright © 2006 by The Commonwealth of Australia. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Permission.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

ROPE RESCUE: How to rig an 'A' Frame or Sheerlegs

Source: Adapted from Skills for Emergency Services Personnel—General and Disaster Rescue, 5th Edition (AEMS Manual 35), by Emergency Management Australia. Copyright © 2006 by The Commonwealth of Australia. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Permission.

Friday, August 1, 2014

HELICOPTER OPERATIONS: LZ & rescuer safety protocols

Source: This article was adapted from The Essential Technical Rescue Field Operations Guide, 4th Edition, by Tom Pendley of Desert Rescue Research in Glendale, Arizona. Copyright © 2011.All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Expressed Written Permission. To purchase a copy of this handy, 196-page, spiral-bound, pocket-sized field guide, point your Internet browser to www.DesertRescue.com or call 1.877.434.4781.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

SAR OPERATIONS: How to organize and conduct a stretcher evacuation

Source: Adapted from LandSAR Field Guide 2010, by Steve Schreiber and Stu Allan. Copyright © 2010 by New Zealand Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR). Christchurch, New Zealand. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Expressed Written Permission.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

USAR: How to rig a jib pole

Source: Adapted from Skills for Emergency Services Personnel—General and Disaster Rescue, 5th Edition (AEMS Manual 35), by Emergency Management Australia. Copyright © 2006 by The Commonwealth of Australia. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with Permission.

About the "Spec Ops Blog"

The Spec Ops Blog is an international search-and-rescue blog written for SAR operators. With readers in over 110 countries, users should read the "Important Notice & Disclaimer" below.

The Spec Ops Blog is edited by Michael Neiger, lead investigator with Michigan Backcountry Search and Rescue (MibSAR), a Long Range Special Operations Group (LRSOG) based in Marquette, Michigan, USA, that works select missing-person and felony cold cases in the bush of Northern Michigan (USA) and Northern Ontario (Canada).

Important Notice & Disclaimer

With search-and-rescue, law enforcement, fire service, medical, military, and wilderness-adventure readers in over 110 countries around the world, the Spec Ops Blog is written for an international audience, one representing widely-varying legal jurisdictions, diverse professional standards, and unique local protocols.
....The material presented is provided solely for information, illustration, and discussion purposes—it is not legal, medical, or other professional advice—and may not produce any particular result or be suitable for any particular situation, person, organization, jurisdiction, or other entity.
....The activities associated with the material presented are by their very nature inherently dangerous and the material cannot take the place of good personal judgment, sound decision-making, professional training, proper equipage, peak physical fitness, and expert guidance by trained, experienced, certified, licensed, practicing professionals.
....Spec Ops Blog readers should always follow local protocols and adhere to their profession’s best practices.
—Michael Neiger, editor of the Spec Ops Blog