Call for Speakers for the June 5-7, 2014 National Search and Rescue Conference presented by the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) and the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey

 Download info here.

The January 2014 issue of "SAR News," published by southern Arizona's Search and Rescue Council, Inc., (SARCI) is now online

Download it here.

The Jan 2014 issue of "Forensic Magazine" is online

The January 2014 issue of Forensic Magazine is online.

Two potentially good articles for SAR operators:

• How to diagram a crime scene on page 16
• How to prevent crime scene contamination on page 30

Read the full January issue here.

New "Combat Tracker" group page on Facebook

If you're a man-tracker, or want to learn more about man-tracking, check out the new Combat Tracker group page on Facebook.

It's administered by John Hurth, the president of the Carencro, Louisiana-based TÝR Group, which offers instruction in tracking, small unit tactics, survival, bushcraft, and more, to military units, law enforcement departments, civilian agencies, search-and-rescue teams, and outdoor enthusiasts.

Hurth, a retired U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who was awarded the Bronze Star, is also the author of the Combat Tracking Guide.

Pulley systems

Pulleys can be viewed simply as levers. The relative positions of the load, anchor (or fulcrum), and effort determine which of the three classes of lever illustrated at the right is in use.

Source: Adapted from Pulleys as Levers, by Richard Delaney,  Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved. Excerpted with expressed written permission. To learn more about rope access work, climbing, and rope rescue, visit Richard's Rope Test Lab group page on Facebook.

Richard Delaney has worked professionally with ropes since 1992. Initially, this was as a multi-pitch, rock-climbing guide, but this soon morphed into specialized rescue instruction and rope access work. He is currently an accredited Vertical Rescue Instructor/Assessor, a Level 3 Rope Access Technician, a Technical Director of the Australian Rope Access Association, and the administrator of the Rope Test Lab group on Facebook. Understanding and teaching the Physics of Rigging is a core passion of Richard's, one based on his experience, and his prior professional life as a qualified engineer.

Rope rescue excerpts from Tom Brigg's "Vertical Academy" coming soon to the Spec Ops Blog

The Spec Ops Blog just inked a partnership with Tom Brigg's to bring you regular rope-rescue excerpts from the full-color, richly-illustrated edition of his just-published—Vertical Academy—a NFPA-compliant rope rescue manual.

Tom Briggs is a fire service veteran of over 33 years and author of Vertical Academy, a vocational rope rescue textbook.

Before retiring as a Captain in 2008, he was assigned to the Special Operations Division at Metro Fire Sacramento, California as the Rescue Services Manager. He was also a Rescue Team Leader for FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Taskforce 7.

An instructor for the State of California and Rescue 3 International, Tom coordinated and taught many training courses specializing in the rope, trench, confined space, and water rescue disciplines to scores of agencies alongside many well-known rescue training luminaries. The National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR) recognized Tom’s training contributions in 1996 with the Higgins Langley Award.

Look for informative excerpts shortly after the start of the new year. Learn more about Tom Brigg's new book here.

In the meantime, here's a peek inside Vertical Academy...