Volume 1, Issue 1
September 12, 1996
"THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE"
Top of the Hill
Pinching Pennies
Public Relations
Bronze Boot Award
This Month's Feature
 Boots and Blisters
Who's Who and New
On the Right Track
Web News
Classified Ads
 Business as Usual
Gearing Up
Member Spotlight
NMESC Notes
Special Notes
Top of the Hill by Michael T. Dugger, President
Welcome to the first issue of the Cibola Search and Rescue newsletter! This newsletter is an experiment for CSAR. We have grown tremendously in the last couple of years, and distribute a lot of information to our members each month. Why not collect it all in one place, add some comments by officers on current policy issues, training events, finances, new members, etc., and have a newsletter? If this little experiment is successful, I intend to distribute the newsletter to our colleagues on other SAR teams, state SAR officials, and our supporters from the community in addition to our members. It could be a very effective tool for communication. Our reputation for search and rescue already speaks for itself. A newsletter would help our supporters outside of SAR understand how their investments are being used to help the community. Let me (or the editor) know what you think.

In addition to the information regularly prepared by the officers each month, the newsletter includes two new features designed to help us get to know one another better, and recognize outstanding contributions by members. My thanks to Chuck and Mary Girven and Mickey Jojola for turning this concept and our discussions into reality.

Recent events have provided reminders of what we already know, and have indicated subjects on which we need to focus. The philosophy of various members differ on this subject, but I prefer to go into the field ready for anything. We can never be sure how a mission will develop, and I think it is important to be able to take care of ourselves in the field for at least 24 hours. That's why you'll see me carry my entire pack even if I'm just running up the trail for a few miles to help out on a litter evacuation. Cibola members ended up "bailing out" a few searchers on a recent mission. On another subject, I would like to develop a standard procedure for packaging a subject into a litter. Granted it must be flexible enough to accommodate various injuries, but I think we can come up with a system that provides this flexibility and yet is familiar to us all, so that we can get the subject secured quickly and effectively. Some of us worked on a packaging scheme at the overnight training at Capilla Peak. Kudos to our training officer for picking such a beautiful location, and providing a great opportunity to test out our rain gear. We will practice litter packaging at future trainings.
Boots and Blisters by Larry Mervine, Training Officer
Capilla Peak Bivy, 8-24-96
There were 14 hearty souls who showed for our summer bivy. The road from Route 55 to the top of Capilla Peak revealed some terrific views. At 1700 some members practiced tying knots while others worked with litter packing. Around 1900 we hiked to our overnight spot. Time for chow.

After dark, Larry, Dave, Chuck and Bob hid from the dogs. To my surprise I was found by Mickey and Catherine's dogs. Everyone should take a turn at (playing lost subject) hiding from the search dogs. When it was time to find Chuck and Bob, the weather turned bad. I could hear Chuck over the radio saying the fog was moving in and it was hard to see. Mary, her dog, Chuck and Bob started back to the camping spot when the sky opened up. It rained for about an hour and a half.

Lessons Learned: We have not searched much in the rain, but after this bivy I will review what I carry in my pack. One very important point: if you carry rain gear, wear them. Rain gear does no good in your pack. A good time to put on your rain gear is before it starts to rain. Is the sleeping spot you have chosen slightly up or down hill so water will drain or is it in a low spot where water collects? We need to practice setting up temporary shelters.

For breakfast we stopped at the Ponderosa on Route 337. Did not see Little Joe. Ha!
Business as Usual by John Mindock, Secretary
Highlights from the minutes of the August meeting:

  1. We voted to pay for service for two new pagers for the tops of the phone trees.
  2. The bumper sticker from the Forest Service (to waive fees) was discussed. This will only waive fees for scheduled trainings and missions.
  3. We voted to pay $12.50 for participants in the AMRC high-angle training scheduled for Aug. 17-18.
  4. We recommended the Flying J truck stop as a meeting place for car caravans on missions to district 6.
  5. We were advised to be careful to provide medical teatment only up to the level of our training, and to provide none if not absolutely needed.
Pinching Pennies by Melissa Smith, Treasurer
REMINDER: Turn in all gas vouchers each month at the business meeting!
If you can't turn them in at the business meeting, they can be turned in UP TO ONE WEEK following the meeting, but after that, vouchers will not be accepted! If you have any questions, contact Melissa.
Who's Who and New by Bruce Berry, Membership
Two prospective members have completed their six month trial period: Marnie Boren and Larry Golden. They are due for active membership September, 1996. Two additional prospective members are due in October, 1996: David Kilby and Patricia Fuller.

The mentors for the above perspective members will be asked to speak at the regular business meeting on behalf of their mentee. So, mentors, come prepared.

Another note, the officers are doing a quarterly review of all membership based on the June, 1996 review. Another review will be completed looking at attendance since June. Some members were placed on a "no mission" status and will be reviewed for full active status.

If anyone knows someone who has not been attending CSAR functions, call them up and ask them to attend. If anyone has any membership concerns, contact the membership officers: Bruce Berry and Tom Rice.
Gearing Up by Melinda Crouch, Equipment
These are the equipment committee's current action items:

  1. Update team inventory list and establish a maintenance schedule.
  2. Meet with AMRC team members to determine additional equipment needs for litter.
  3. Purchase additional pins and accessories for litter, team supplies, and possibly body bags.
If you are interested in attending the next equipment committee meeting (probably Sept. 19th), contact Melinda (291-8593) for the date and time.
Public Relations by Chuck Girven, Public Relations
East Mountain Rendezvous, August 10-11, 1996
On Saturday we began setting up at 0800 and the event started at 1000. We had a GPS demo at 1030 with members showing onlookers how to use a GPS. At 1430 a litter demonstration was presented. A member of the team was packaged into the litter while the procedure was explained to the crowd.

On Sunday we started at the same time with a dog demo at 1030. This was a great crowd pleaser with over 25 people attending. Mary Berry and J.C. did a tracking demonstration while Mickey Jojola and Jake did a demo on air scent which was a big draw. At 1430 we again did a litter demonstration. There was quite a bit of interest in our exhibit and many questions were asked about search and rescue.

CFC Presentation, September 4, 1996
Mike Dugger made a presentation to about 150 "key worker" trainees for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) on September 4, 1996 at Kirtland Air Force Base. These trainees are responsible for getting people in their respective organizations to donate money for community service. Mike made a 10 minute presentation, and showed some video coverage of SAR activities on the mission to recover the three fallen climbers. This was a great opportunity for us to tell people who CSAR is and what we do. Several people approached Mike after his presentation to ask about joining the team!
On the Right Track by Mickey Jojola, K-9
Hello and welcome to the first of hopefully many reports to appear in this fine newsletter. Mary and myself hopefully will tagteam this article so you won't have to constantly hear me dribble through these pages. Anyway on to business.

During the past months the K-9 committee has drafted a Membership Guidelines for K-9 Handlers in Cibola SAR. This short (but sweet) document should be finished as soon as our evaluation guidelines are in place. Anyone interested in reviewing these guidelines should contact either Mary Berry or me for a copy.

In the past couple of months handlers on the team have had some pretty good trainings. Our first official training took place July 20-21. This was a joint training with the Bernalillo Mounted Sheriff Posse. The K-9 training went quite well for the dogs that attended. The Sheriff's Posse was very responsive to our training needs (i.e. distraction with their horses). Larry put on a very good map and compass training for their team. But, the highlight of the training weekend (this was an overnighter) was the Army National Guard helicopter which the BCSP was able to procure. All the dogs, horses, and ground team members present did very well with the exercises available.

Our August training was also very successful. This was a night training exercise which took place with a Cibola bivy at Capilla Peak on August 24-25. My hat is off to Larry for his excellent training opportunity.

Well I've run my mouth (or in this case computer) off enough. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming months. If anyone is interested in working with the K-9 committee, just give either Mary Berry or me a call. SEE YA!
Member Spotlight: Mike Dugger
After much urging by Chuck and Mickey, I agreed to be put in the member spotlight this month. So here goes ...

I was born in Pulaski, Tennessee several hundred moons ago. My family moved to Chicago when I was in grammar school. I met my wife-to-be Lisa while a junior in high school. We dated through high school and college at the University of Illinois. We were finally married in 1985, while I was a graduate student of Materials Science at Northwestern University. Those were the best of times, and the worst of times. We both formed some lasting friendships during those years. I think adversity forges strong bonds between those who share the experience. I received my doctorate in 1990 and moved to Albuquerque to work at Sandia Labs. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, but got into it in a big way after moving west, since the midwest is a wasteland devoid of National Parks or mountains. We currently live in the east mountains with our two "kids," our dogs Nebo and Sandy. I joined Cibola in 1994, and search and rescue has become a large part of who I am. I'm forging some lasting friendships as part of CSAR, too. We're not sharing adversity so much as sharing the experience of coming together with a common goal - to help someone we don't know, who is in need. I've found that it can have a profound effect on your outlook on life! We have had a busy year so far with some memorable (and tragic) missions, and we're just getting into hunting season. Weather forecasters are predicting above average precipitation this winter. Its time to start getting that winter gear ready. We may spend a lot more time in our snowshoes than in the past. I'll see you out there.
The Bronze Boot Award
The Bronze Boot Award is to show appreciation for exceptional work for a team member or members. It also would be applicable for people who make outstanding blunders or have incredible mishaps (all in good fun)!

This month we'd like to spotlight Training Officer, Larry Mervine for creating a waterbed at the Capilla Peak Bivy on August 24-25.
Web News by Mary Girven, Webmaster
We are in the process of developing a Cibola Search and Rescue World Wide Web site. Not everything we've envisioned is there yet, but the format and functionality is pretty well defined. The home page contains links to the major areas such as a welcome screen (which contains an offer to sign the guestbook and other information about navigating the web site, what's new, etc.), an introduction containing information for prospective new team members, a resources page with general information about the services we provide to the community, a members page (which includes a listing of officers, a form to submit a membership application, this newsletter, and a link to the Members Only page which is password controlled), a calendar of events, a photo gallery.

We're currently looking for a permanent internet service provider. Contact Mary Girven at 844-1570 if you have any ideas. We have certain requirements that need to be discussed.

If you'd like to preview what we have so far, the URL where the site is being developed is http://bali.ms.sandia.gov/csar. Members can contact Mary to get the team password.
NMESC Notes by Mickey Jojola
Look forward to the upcoming helicopter training on September 14th at Kirtland Air Force Base. It should be exciting and fun for everyone. If you haven't gotten your registration in yet, do so ASAP. Upcoming training events should include wilderness first-aid courses to be given throughout the year. We'll keep you updated throughout the year. If anyone has any training suggestions, please contact John or Mickey.
This Month's Feature Article: Hypothermia

I. Introduction
Humans are homeothermic. Maintaining life requires body core temperature in a very narrow range: 96° to 101°F.

II. Heat Loss

  1. Conduction (direct heat transfer). Wet clothing cold immersion, contact with cold surfaces.
  2. Convection (wind). Wind chill, wind-proof garments, hat.
  3. Radiation (infrared). Flow from warm to cold.
  4. Evaporation (sweating).
    1. Wind, humidity, temperature.
    2. Increased if wet body or clothing.
    3. 2/3 loss from skin, 1/3 loss from lung (increased with increased respiratory rate).
    4. Reduced by dry clothes, vapor barrior, nose mouth moisture drop.
  5. Risk of heat loss is increased by drugs and alcohol, impared consiousness, exhaustion (decreased metabolism and cardiac output), hunger, and anemia.

III. Heat Production Factors

  1. Heat production is increased by burning fuel. Body's attempt to compensate for heat loss:
    1. Basal metabolic rate 100 calories/hour.
    2. Increased muscle tone 200 calories/hour.
    3. Shivering 500 calories/hour.
    4. Hiking uphill with 40 lb pack 1000 calories/hour.
  2. Limits of heat production.
    1. Level of fitness.
    2. Availability of:
      1. Fuel-food.
      2. O2--fitness, altitude, altitude illness.
      3. Water--dehydration.
      4. All of these are needed for heat production.
    3. Glycogen depletion -- used for increased muscle tone and shivering, aerobic exercise.
    4. Fatigue.
    5. Hypoxia.
    6. Dehydration.

IV. Physiologic Responses to Decreased Body Core Temperature

  1. Peripheral vasoconstriction.
  2. Increased metabolism and fuel use.
  3. Shivering.
  4. Decreased cerebral metabolism.
    1. Decreased by 3.5% per 1°F drop in core temperature.
    2. EEG is flat at 70°F.
    3. Higher thinking (logic, reason, problem solving) declines with core temp below 95°F.
  5. Dehydration.
    1. Increased urination.
    2. Increased water use by cells.
    3. Fluid shifts out of blood vessels to tissue.
  6. Cardiovascular.
    1. Increased heart rate. Heart rate decreases below 92°F.
    2. Arrhythmias below 90°F.
    3. Decreased cardiac output. 50% cardiac output at 77°F.
    4. Peripheral vasoconstriction.
  7. Respiratory.
    1. Smaller lung capacity due to muscle rigidity.
    2. Decreased oxygen consumption.

The Hypothermia article will be continued in the next issue.
Classified Ads (20 words maximum, no services)
FOR SALE: Jansport Backpack internal frame, front loading with 2 side pockets. Asking $25. Contact Chuck Girven (899-8573)
Special Notes
Congratulations to Dave Ricker and Melinda Crouch on their upcoming wedding on October 5, 1996.
Also, Happy Birthday to Melissa Smith (9/12) and John Mindock (9/16).
Editors
The persons responsible for putting together this newsletter are:
Mickey Jojola, 286-0737
Chuck and Mary Girven, 899-8573
Disclaimer:
This information was gathered from many sources and presents facts as we believe them to be true. This is not meant to be an official document, but a means to disseminate team information.