The Art of SAREX

[antdetroitwallyball]

Hi There:

Newer member here in the Civil Air Patrol, but a longtime "veteran" of similar volunteer-based SAR programs. Probably one of the best things of CAP is the SARex's. I see SARexs as being a bit of the glue that holds a lot of CAP members together. They serve as opportunities for not only training for potential real-world CAP responses, but also as an excuse to get both SMs and Cadets out into the woods and playing together. I find that SARexs can bring excitment to a a cadet program that seems to be lagging in energy.

Having said this, a SAREX without carefull planning is little more than a useless afternoon with a bunch of well-meaning but misguided people acomplishing very little in long term value. For a SAREX to be effective, a good deal of effort has to be put into it's design.

I want this thread to be a place where some experienced ES people can share their best practices in terms of designing a good SAREX. Think of some of the best SAREX's you've been too, and then share what parts of that exercise really caused you to have a "Wow, I really learned something" moment.

Also, fo what it's worth, FEMA put out an excellent Independent Study Course, IS-139 "The Design of Exercises." I took it awhile back and found it to have some good info.

[Eclipse]

Agreed - I've long said "SARExs are the encampments of ES." They are they place you are supposed to take the
training you got at the unit (or elsewhere) and show you can do them in a more realistic scenario
with a larger scope. 

Sadly, most fail in the early planning, either by combining the white cell with the searchers, not having realistic, evolving scenarios,
or attempting to "train everyone" which is not possible.

You have to decide if the day is "for ICS" or "for operators".  If it's the former, then you pace your trusted agents in areas to
insure that the field and air people get proper taskings and briefings, make sure they are pointed in the right direction,
and the field concentrates on textbook execution while the ICS works more in the dark on real execution.

In order for the ICS to be proper stressed, the field has to be running nearly textbook sorties with proper in/out briefings,
intel, and procedures.  Their day is based on "reps" and proper execution.

If its "for operators" then the opposite to the above is true.  The ICS knows where everything is, and concentrates on
creating clear and proper taskings and goals so that the operators are the ones stressed and the ICS can still keep the day on track.

What most wings do today is try to pull as many people as humanly possible into a hangar, regardless of skill or experience,
not discern between "trainers, learners, and white cell" and then basically just run in a circle all day with hair on fire.  At the end of the
day, someone, who should immediately be suspended from ES and terminated from CAP says "well, it was a good learning experience"
after wasting a day or weekend of all involved.

To spark interest, the experienced members have to show the FNGs "how its done" in a competent, confidant manner with little to
know drama, and that requires a lot of people and a lot of planning.   Further to that, "GES" members with wet ID cards do not belong at SARExs, other then to observe.
Their training should be happening at their home unit.

The #2 big issue is aircrews, especially pilots, who don't put their head in the game and think the sole purpose of a sortie
is to take off and land as quickly as possible, instead of moving with a purpose and acting as if lives depended on getting in gear
and actually working the problem instead of trying to "game where the LRADO's mom lives..."

Much of the failure of SARExs, and even real searches, happens on the PSC's desk because CAP does not stress the "science of SAR'
enough, and GOB staff just point and guess.  They leave intel on the table, never ask important questions, and generally just assume
their first guess is the answer.

[Spaceman3750]

Another think I constantly see neglected is the ICS hotwash. I do an AAR in the van back to base after every sortie with my GTs (something stressed heavily in NESA GTL school) but somehow the guys back at base end up trying to beat traffic instead of stopping and contributing to the lessons learned. This means we never learn anything and that each Charlie Foxtrot is a repeat of the last. Based on some of the large scale exercises I've been a part of, it's a wonder we find anyone, but at the end of the day everyone will be patting themselves on the back with one hand and pointing fingers with another, instead of working together to identify positive and negative elements of the weekend.

[Eclipse]

...we never learn anything and that each Charlie Foxtrot is a repeat of the last.

CAP's new motto: 'nunquam scire aliquid inter nos et Charlie est iterum ad ultimum Foxtrot

[Spaceman3750]

I'm sure I would get a laugh out of that if stupid Tapatalk would enable copy/paste.

[Spaceman3750]

To address the original point of the thread, I agree that careful planning is key. For any exercise beyond "let's get the new guys wet", we need to be looking beyond "throwing a tarp in someone's backyard". I've volunteered for white cell at the wing SAREX for the last 2 years because I enjoy creating engaging, evolving scenarios with targets in challenging locations that keep the guys on the ground as busy as the guys in the air. Last time around I actually did a lot of legwork to secure permission to place two distinct crash sites in two states (multi wing exercise). One of them had two pax walk off from the scene. Funny enough, they found the pax before the crash. There was also a second SAR scenario to deal with as well as DR.

Your GTs don't learn anything if they just play follow the airplane and flip a switch. Make your GTLs think on their feet and actually use the techniques we teach them in training.

Finally, everyone needs to light a fire and actually move with a purpose on these. Friday night needs to change from "everyone show up, put up some tables and grab some beers" to "we received our first taskings this afternoon, nobody leaves until our first sorties of the day are planned and maybe even briefed". Saturday morning needs to stop being "saunter in 5 minutes before in brief, chat for 45 minutes and then maybe start some sortie paperwork" to "sign in, go see your branch director, brief your crew and launch the first sortie by 8". I know, crazy, but the #1 complaint I hear about large exercises is that at noon, the people who traveled from all over the state to do cool things are still sitting at base while planning and ops argue over where to send them. Your first plan doesn't have to be perfect, but if the ELT hits are an hour to the east then start sending resources that direction and call the GTL when you have a specific plan - which should happen before they actually get there.

[Eclipse]

There are no "variables" in training - let CAP-USAF throw the curves.  When planning your exercises, MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.

Knock off the Armageddon scenarios and get some training done - well trained people will adapt and fall back to what they know
when hit by the unexpected later.

Driving in a van is not SAR, and of no value to your people.  Either set up scenarios in the area of the ICP,
or deploy people direct.  Don't have them come to the ICP just to turn around and lave for another 60+ minute ride.
Tha goes for airplanes, too. 

You do not ever need to see the crews - they can send their forms in, or the BDs can create parallel copies on their desks.

Every ground and aircrew should have at least one "ringer" if not more, to keep things on track.  Don't blow the whole day
because the first team out can't figure out the l=per or a compass - you give people a little time to get it done, and
if they can't lead and mentor them so they can enjoy the day.