Volume 4, Issue 9
| Top of the Hill | by Larry Mervine |
An issue may be brought by any member before the team at a monthly business meeting, or it may be brought to the attention of an officer of the team at any time. The latter is preferred, since the issue may have been addressed at an earlier meeting. In addition, discussing the issue with an officer before a general meeting will permit some research to be done and will allow discussion at an officer's meeting, if necessary. The issue may then be summarized for the team at a business meeting, discussion may be delayed, an ad hoc committee may be formed to gather additional information or the issue may be voted on. While the opinions of all active and prospective members of the team are welcome, when deciding an issue, only an active members shall have a vote.
Here's a little history on the Member Guide and Training Policy and Standards . The Member Guide was revised in 1998 when the team grew to 45 members and we wanted a clearer explanation of how Cibola Search and Rescue operated. Also, in 1997 we developed the Training Policy and Standards. A committee of team members with a lot of mission experience came together to identify the basic skills team members needed to be effective on searches. We feel the Training Standard has achieved this purpose.
See you out there.
| Boots and Blisters | by Tom Russo |
Contrary to what I stated at our last meeting, the information that the frequency coordinator gave me was incorrect. Turns out that PCIA, the company that the FCC information told us to submit our 155.265 application to, was NOT the company responsible for doing public safety coordination. This sets back our license application to square one. When we receive our returned coordination fee I will resubmit the application to the correct place. In the mean time, please disregard the information I provided to you previously on the use of 155.265 and a temporary callsign. We apologize for the inconvenience. Had the FCC provided correct information on their website this would not have happened.
Speaking of station identification, congratulations to Joyce, KD5IAI and Terry, (callsign pending) on their new Technician-class ham tickets. We look forward to hearing you on the air. This brings our number of licensed hams to 15. Now please allow me to succumb to philoprogenitiveness long enough to brag a little --- congratulations also to Katarina Russo, age 8, on passing the written exam for the Novice license. Was there anyone left on the team who was thinking they wouldn't bother to study for the exam because they thought it might be too hard? To obtain a Technician-class license you need to pass both the Novice and Technician tests. Several members have gotten their Technician license in two steps, first studying for and passing the Novice test ("element 2") and then finishing up the next month by taking the Technician test ("element 3a"). Most, though, take both exam elements in one session, as element 3a isn't all that much more involved than element 2. Come on, hop in, the water's great.
Our next training will be on land navigation on Saturday, 11 September, a replay of the training Mike and I led at Cedro Peak in January. This is essentially an introduction to navigation with map and compass, but with an intermediate level field exercise to go with it. The class is designed to give new and old members alike something to take away with them, and everyone a lot of practice. To recap, we have a two-hour classroom presentation on topo maps, coordinate systems, magnetic declination, route selection, navigation strategy and resection. We then run right outside the classroom and practice terrain identification and how to use the compass to find bearings to landmarks. All of that is then put together to practice resection. Finally, we proceed to another location where we have a navigation course set out. Members are grouped into teams and shown a map on which several marks have been made. Teams then use their navigational skills to find the places in the real world that correspond to the marks on the map, and ring back a token from the marker we place in the field. To participate, you'll need a good compass, your SAR pack (especially the food and water from it!) and a map of the area.
The classroom location will be announced, and the training area will be at
the Bear Canyon trailhead (east end of Spain). The Sandia Crest USGS 7.5
minute Quad map is the best one to use, but you could get by with the USFS map
of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. The past two times we ran this training
the navigation course took at least three hours and often as much as five
hours to run, and was physically (and navigationally) challenging. We think
it is a fun training, and well worth spending the better part of a day on
since it is good practice for the type of problems you might face as a SAR
volunteer on a field assignment.
| Hike of the Month | La Luz to La Cueva Overlook | 0900, Sep 25, 1999 |
| Trailhead: La Luz | ||
| R.T. Distance: 5-7 miles | Elevation Min/Max: 1200 ft gain | |
| Hiking Time about 4.5 hours | Hazards: | |
| Topo Maps: Sandia Crest Quad | ||
| Hike Leader: James Newberry | ||
I've never seen the view from the La Cueva Overlook during the day, so I want
to do this hike before it gets too late in the season. We'll meet at the
trailhead at 0900. I'd like to get back to the cars by 1330. Children and
dogs (SAR and otherwise) are welcome.
| Business as Usual | by David Dixon |
President:
Larry introduced some new faces: Michael McDonald, Michael Read, Vince Garcia,
Steven Schray, Refugio Rochin, Matthew Burke.
Membership
James Newberry and Paul Donovan are now active members. Jeff Phillips has
had his orientation and is now a prospective member.
Treasurer
Mike reported on the current balance and circulated a copy of the expense
report.
VP/Training
Tom reported that Joyce R., Susan C. and Paul D passed their ham exams in the
past month. Tom also updated the team on the status of our FCC application
to use 155.265.
Wilderness 1st Aid set for Oct. 30-31. The price was set at $100 per student, and a team subsidy was decided on for members.
3 people passed Land Nav. evaluation during last weekend's Summer Bivy. 13 Cibola members attended and passed last months ICS 200 class.
Equipment
It was proposed and decided to stop giving carabiners out to prospective
members, and to continue to give out lengths of webbing. We will continue to
give out carabiners to new active members until the current supply runs out.
PR
Fireside Chat on Outdoor Preparedness given on July 24th by David D., Larry
M. and Don G. and next morning Hike at Elena Gallegos. UNM Day is on the
27th.
ESCAPE
Next years Escape will be at Philmont Scout Ranch. NMESC would like to see
more instructors from outside the New Mexico SAR community give trainings.
Mike D. said that 5 Cibola members passed the recent Pace exam.
NEW BUSINESS
Gene Mortimer reported on gear donations we received.
Susan reminded everyone that prospective members can go into field only with an active field ready member.
Susan C. proposed, explained and read changes to the Member Guide including
additions to Treasurer, Secretary and Membership Officer duties and specific
changes to wording of Membership Section concerning standards and procedures
for removal of member from the team. The proposal passed after some
discussion.
| Who's Who and New | by Susan Corban |
| Public Relations | by David Dixon |
In September we have Sandia Labs Family Day on Saturday the 25th where we'll set up our table and do some P.R./Recruitment work. Cibola probably owes its existence to the many past and present Sandia Lab members so like UNM Day this should also be a valuable event for us. See me if you'd like to share in the exciting world of Cibola Public Relations.
There were six new faces at our August meeting, a positive sign for our continuing efforts at recruitment. Hopefully more newbies are reading this right now at the September meeting. We welcome everyone and encourage those interested to stay with us.
| Member Spotlights |
A native of Albuquerque, Eric Jaramillo is right at home in this little
corner of the southwest. After graduating from Valley High School in 1988
(to let you know how old he really is), Eric joined the United States Navy
and spent approximately nine years serving our country. Eric specialized in
chemistry and radiological controls for the operation and maintenance of
nuclear reactors. Sounds pretty interesting, but the most interesting part
of the job was where it was performed, a submarine. Eric participated in
many emergency response teams while in the Navy, and continues this today
for Sandia National Laboratories. A health nut, Eric has been successful in
many physical events. He won the New Mexico state wrestling
championship, as well as qualifying as a Naval Scuba Diver. Currently, Eric is
employed as a Radiological Controls Technician at Sandia National
Laboratories, and participates in Sandia's Hazardous Materials Response
team. Joining Cibola Search and Rescue is not only a way for Eric to give
something back to the community, but is also a natural progression of the
type of "emergency response" work Eric has performed for the Navy,
and now Sandia National Laboratories.
| Web News | by Tom Russo |
| Cibola medical policy | by Tom Russo and Susan Corban |
It has long been Cibola's policy that since we have no "doctor's protocols" under which to operate, we perform only those duties that do not require such protocols and qualifications. Cibola medical policy is in our Member Guide and is stated at each litter training. The Cibola Member Guide, which every member, old and new, should have, states:
Policy on rendering Medical Aid
The basic duties of Cibola SAR members are limited to the tasks associated with the location and evacuation of lost or injured persons. Cibola SAR team members do not provide medical aid. Individual team members who are certified by a State of New Mexico regulating authority (such as the EMS Board) may provide medical care consistent with the standard of care authorized by their certification. At such time, the individual would be acting under the authority of the certifying organization. When such an individual renders medical aid, he or she is operating under his or her own certification and is not acting as a member of Cibola SAR.
When we train and "certify" on litter handling we take great pains to make sure that members understand that what they are doing is training to follow the instructions of properly trained and certified medical providers. In fact, the handout that went along with each litter training in 1998 and 1999 has stated:
On medical decisions
Assessment of a subject is always performed by a qualified, trained medical provider (e.g. EMT). Ask the medical provider for guidance on special precautions that must be taken on account of any injuries the subject might have. When you have decided on how you will move the subject, explain your plan to the medical provider and make sure it is approved.In short, defer all medical decisions to a qualified person, and follow any instructions they might give.
In case I'm being too abstruse, let me be clearer: the purpose of our training and certification process is, and has always been, most emphatically NOT to train you to make medical decisions, but to be competent to carry out the instructions of whatever properly trained and State certified medical provider incident management has placed on scene. That is to say, if an EMT in charge of the subject has assessed the subject's injuries and determined it is safe to move the subject, that EMT should be able to feel confident that each member of Cibola SAR understands what to do when told to get the subject loaded and secured into the litter, and that the subject will have a safe ride home when the litter is tended by Cibola SAR members; we'd like to imagine that they can also have confidence that the subject will have as comfortable a ride as possible, too. But at no time should any member of Cibola SAR who has not received a higher level of certification than any other EMT, nurse, or medical doctor on the scene attempt to provide medical care in contradiction with the instructions of that higher authority.
Our litter training and certification standard concentrates on the mechanics of litter handling, efficient transport, and making sure a subject actually stays in the litter once we put him or her there. Note that our litter training standard even stipulates that each member know how to tie a subject into the litter "[s]tarting with a subject laying in an appropriately padded litter on the ground." We would only get an injured subject into a litter after having been instructed by a qualified person, and we do not train on these methods short of describing methods that we have frequently been asked to use by EMTs and paramedics.
As always, if you have a question about Cibola training and certification
policy that is not crystal clear from our Member Guide, contact any team
officer for a definitive answer. If you are still not satisfied, simply
bring it up at a meeting for discussion by the membership as a whole. Nobody
has been bitten for asking a question at a meeting in years.
| Classified Ads | (20 words maximum, no services) |
| Disclaimer and Copyright notice | the Editors |