Inland SAR Planning Course

[arajca]

Is anyone else going to the Inland SAR Palnning Course in Denver 14-18 May?

[Rangersigo]

Just was told that it was full.  My application was in for 4 months, received a welcome e-mail, made my flight, received a sorry you cannot come e-mail, cancelled my flight, lost $100 bucks.  Was told there were only 6 CAP slots and all those were for active ICs.

[arajca]

Well, I'm not an active IC. Heck, according to CAP, I'm not qualified to be an IC. I did double check to make sure I am in the course, based on your experience - thank you for the heads up - and I am.

I was hoping to see someone else from here at the course, but oh well. Life goes on.

[Rangersigo]

Bizzare - I was told I was bumped because all of the course attendees were ICs.  Pretty typical of what I have experienced so far....

[arajca]

Unless they figured my 10 years as a fire fighter, 15 as a HM tech and EMT, and ICS instructor credentials (ICS-400) qualifies me as an IC. Plus having served as an IC on a couple of small fire related incidents.

[Rangersigo]

I have got all of the same, all the IC Courses and some significant experience as well.  Think I am just the off guy out.

[arajca]

Finished the course. Great program, if you can get into it. Defintely designed for the Planning section. A common problem was everyone (me included) kept jumping back to the Operations perspective.

A slightly unique problem occured when the practical exercise rolled out - the geographic area was more familiar to the students than the instructors.  Which helped contribute to the jmping back to the Operations perspective. We were playing in our own backyard.

[sardak]

Must still be using the crash in SW Colorado.

Mike

[floridacyclist]

Like they keep saying in the ICS and TTT courses...gotta stay up out of the weeds

[Tubacap]

How does one find out if they have been accepted to the Inland SAR Planning Course.  Awhile back I called down to the NHQ/DOS, and found out that I was on the initial list, but they said that confirmation would come by 30 days prior to the course.  We are just inside the 30 day realm now, and I have not heard anything.

Is it by phone, email, or snail mail?

Thanks!

[IceNine]

I got an email, and a snail mail packet, but I believe mine was much more than 30 days.

I was asked to confirm my acceptance before that 30 day time frame however. 

My speculation, you were not accepted but maybe put on reserve in anticipation of openings.

Some things that they look at for acceptance.  Current Ops Qual's, grade, number of CAP Participants V.s other agencies.

[NCR HSO]

What can I expect for next month's course (heading up to Devil's Lake, ND [does that mean that some serious "stuff" has happened, there?]) I'm afraid that I'm going to be stuck in the OPS mentality, too (like for the SMC). I've been told that there are going to be a ton of ND State Troopers, officers from Tyndall and soldiers from the SW and NE US, there. Only heard of a couple CAP members who're going to be there.

[IceNine]

CAP is always regulated as to how many people are able to attend these courses.  Usually around 5 or so are picked for each course, unless there are empty slots after the deadline for the Public service folks.

As for, what to expect.  You are dead on Get yourself out of the mentality of caring what is going on outside of the intel you are currently receiving.  They will stress that you are to ignore the here and now, and work in the future operational period(s)

[SJFedor]

INWG is hosting a SMC course sometime in Sept. PM if you need contact info for the POC.

Also, I just got a copy of my wing's FY09 calendar, looks like we might be having an SMC in Nashville sometime next spring.

[Tubacap]

I got back last week from this course.  It was great.  I learned a lot about not making search such a guessing game and more of a science.  Plus the huge variation in people at the course made it very interesting!  Many different perspectives on how SAR should be conducted.

[MikeD]

I got back last week from this course.  It was great.  I learned a lot about not making search such a guessing game and more of a science.  Plus the huge variation in people at the course made it very interesting!  Many different perspectives on how SAR should be conducted.

There was this crazy search method I read about in a book called Blind Man's Bluff, used to find a couple of downed subs.  The lead guy had the "experts" sit in a room and basically place bets on where they think the sub went down, based on all the available evidence, "hunches" and such..  I think they used this for the USS Threasher and it took them totally away from where the conventional wisdom said the sub went down, and they found it.  Did they talk about anything like that?  This has worked on a couple of really hard sub searches.  It's a totally crazy-sounding theory, but it apparently works. 

[Tubacap]

Very much.  The idea is that everyone's opinion is worth the same, and so there is a quantification of opinion based on everyone's intuition.  From there, you can figure out the probability of detection.  Mesh the two numbers, and you get a Probability of Success. 

You work the math and numbers until you either find the target, or exhaust your ability to search.

[Larry Mangum]

It you  thought the SMC course was interesting, you really need to go to InlandSar. There you will really get into the science and math behind search theory.

[Tubacap]

This was the Inland SAR Planning Course, not SMC.  I actually have not been to SMC, for those of you who have been to both, what was the difference in the two?

[Larry Mangum]

Comparing SMC to Inland is like going to a  hour long seminar and attending an indepth course.