Does CAP do SAR?

[wuzafuzz]

From Dictionary.com

res.cue   res-kyoo]  verb, -cued, -cu⋅ing, noun

–verb (used with object)
1. to free or deliver from confinement, violence, danger, or evil.
2. Law. to liberate or take by forcible or illegal means from lawful custody.

–noun
3. the act of rescuing.

Line #1 covers a lot of ground.  It's not all about high speed, low drag, dramatic "rescues" that look great on TV.

[JohnKachenmeister]

It WAS a beautiful, sunny Sunday here in Florida.  It is now Monday.  I spent my "Beautiful, sunny Sunday" on a mission.  Dispatching planes and ground teams as IC so that they can refrain from rescuing anyone they might find?

[Flying Pig]

I think CAP definitely has the capability. Whether or not we always do it is up for question.  But as far as SAR?  When Im risking my life flying a canyon in the middle of the afternoon in the Sierras on oxygen, looking for someone Ive never met.......Id say were safe to call it SAR.

[maverik]

you use O2?

[SarDragon]

That's been mentioned frequently. When getting from A to B involves flying over 12,000' MSL terrain, oxygen is a requirement.

[Flying Pig]

Where I am, we have canyons where the bottoms are over 10000 MSL.  Not to mention how high you get when you climb out to head back around for another pass.

[BrandonKea]

Where I am, we have canyons where the bottoms are over 10000 MSL.  Not to mention how high you get when you climb out to head back around for another pass.

Sounds more fun than flying around Nebraska. Lots of flatness..

[flyerthom]

The overall question is merely an exercise in semantics.

That being said SAR is not a single activity nor is it a unique single agency operation.

Consider the most common pathway of a search:

Alert, LE, FD, or EMS response, Establish unified incident command, IC determines need for SAR, Alert Search response, target location, IC determines need for technical rescue, Technical rescue response, victims extracted, care surrendered to EMS, EMS uses START Triage and determines type of transport ground or air. Victims transported to either trauma center, closest facility or if black tagged left in place or temporary morgue (LE dependent).

CAP as part of the search, is as key an element as technical rescue, EMS, FD, LE and ground based SAR units. We are part of the emergency response team No one single agency can handle - or afford - all aspects of a search and rescue response. Locating and guiding in a technical rescue or EMS team is part of the rescue just as that technical team staging in preparation is part of the search response.

The bottom line is it is not important what we are called. It is only important that we are called. The rest makes for nothing more than a semantics debate on CAPTALK.

[RiverAux]

The overall question is merely an exercise in semantics.

Mostly true, but still moderately important.  The fact that about a quarter of respondents don't think that CAP does SAR says a lot about the organization's ability to educate its members about what we do. 
However, I think that deep down some percentage of these naysayers are voting no just because they're mad that CAP won't let them give people blood or do field amputations. 

[whatevah]

However, I think that deep down some percentage of these naysayers are voting no just because they're mad that CAP won't let them give people blood or do field amputations.

uhh... you're joking, right?

[Eclipse]

However, I think that deep down some percentage of these naysayers are voting no just because they're mad that CAP won't let them give people blood or do field amputations.

uhh... you're joking, right?

Sadly, no - in fact I'd be willing to bet there is a countable percentage in CAP who don't even know we do ES.  They may know the term from the literature, but what we do?  No.

And there's a lot of people on this board who would rather make a political statement for the masses than answer a direct question.  I don't know who they believe is reading this stuff, but the posturing and negative comments certainly don't help anyone.

Hint:  If you're "telling" us a question, why bother?