jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
I'm going to be taking the sar tech 2 class next month and I was wondering what would be covered in the course?
sar tech 2
- Thread starter jeepmedic46
- Start date
SunTzuNephew
Explorer
The NASAR certification exam, or a class? Two different animals. I was/am? a NASAR SAR TECH Evaluator (being a physician got in the way) and taught lots of people in a non-NASAR course to prepare people for the exam.
The book Fundamentals of Search and Rescue, offered by NASAR, is pretty good and will prep you for the test. The test is 100 questions, multiple guess. Nothing is taught in the class that isn't covered on the test, it's all important.
The area that people always have trouble with on the practical exams is the land nav - especially the distance estimating portion of it. I suggest that you get a long (100') measuring tape and measure out some long (200-300') distances on different types of terrain, and practice your pacing skills (wearing the clothes/shoes/pack you'll be using for the exam) until you consistently get it right (within 5%, the standard is 10%). Also practice taking compass bearings.
The rest of the skills are pretty easy: There is a required pack inspection - you MUST have everything that is on the list. As an evaluator I don't care if you ever carry that stuff again, and in fact I disagree with a couple of items, but for the exam you MUST have each and every item or its a fail. The tracking eval is pretty simple - 10 prints in a print box, show how to mark them and use a tracking stick to find the missing one. Area/Line search is tedious (both to set up, watch, and do), you need to find playing cards hidden in the brush. Look up, down, backwards, sideways.
Get a piece of clothesline (some reasonable diameter, not parachute cord) about 10' long and practice the knots, which are all variants of the figure-8.
Where will you be taking it?
The book Fundamentals of Search and Rescue, offered by NASAR, is pretty good and will prep you for the test. The test is 100 questions, multiple guess. Nothing is taught in the class that isn't covered on the test, it's all important.
The area that people always have trouble with on the practical exams is the land nav - especially the distance estimating portion of it. I suggest that you get a long (100') measuring tape and measure out some long (200-300') distances on different types of terrain, and practice your pacing skills (wearing the clothes/shoes/pack you'll be using for the exam) until you consistently get it right (within 5%, the standard is 10%). Also practice taking compass bearings.
The rest of the skills are pretty easy: There is a required pack inspection - you MUST have everything that is on the list. As an evaluator I don't care if you ever carry that stuff again, and in fact I disagree with a couple of items, but for the exam you MUST have each and every item or its a fail. The tracking eval is pretty simple - 10 prints in a print box, show how to mark them and use a tracking stick to find the missing one. Area/Line search is tedious (both to set up, watch, and do), you need to find playing cards hidden in the brush. Look up, down, backwards, sideways.
Get a piece of clothesline (some reasonable diameter, not parachute cord) about 10' long and practice the knots, which are all variants of the figure-8.
Where will you be taking it?
jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
Mass state police is giving the sourse for the Berkshire Mountain Search and Rescue. I believe that it is a certifying course.
hillbillyjake
Explorer
not to hi jack, but does any one know if they give a course like this an y where near central WV? thanks
jake
jake
SunTzuNephew
Explorer
You can go to the NASAR website (www.nasar.org) and find instructors and evaluators nearby.
Contact them, and set it up! Each is different, but as a baseline I offered to do the evaluation (there is no requirement for a particular class before testing, but NASAR offers them for those who want them) for basically costs...which worked out to about $40 or so a head (duplicating costs, mileage and hotel/food costs for me and the dogs), depending on where it was. I'd travel around the southwest doing evals.
For the class, I offered a 'BSAR (Basic Search and Rescue) class that covered the material needed for the test (but didn't teach the test). It was a 40 hour or so combination classroom/didactic and practical class, and I could teach it over 2 weekends, with testing on the third. Same deal on the class, the handouts were about 450 powerpoint slides, and I had all the other training aids.
Now, some evaluators and instructors want to make money on the deal, so they charge more, YMMV.
Contact them, and set it up! Each is different, but as a baseline I offered to do the evaluation (there is no requirement for a particular class before testing, but NASAR offers them for those who want them) for basically costs...which worked out to about $40 or so a head (duplicating costs, mileage and hotel/food costs for me and the dogs), depending on where it was. I'd travel around the southwest doing evals.
For the class, I offered a 'BSAR (Basic Search and Rescue) class that covered the material needed for the test (but didn't teach the test). It was a 40 hour or so combination classroom/didactic and practical class, and I could teach it over 2 weekends, with testing on the third. Same deal on the class, the handouts were about 450 powerpoint slides, and I had all the other training aids.
Now, some evaluators and instructors want to make money on the deal, so they charge more, YMMV.