Volume 8, Issue 2
| Top of the Hill | by Aaron Hall , President |
Something interesting happened this month. The two Cibola members that responded to the Silver City mission coordinated with two AMRC members who were also responding and they convoyed down together. This happened because Kay Sinclare told me (I was Pager 1) that two AMRC members were responding and that they were looking for people to drive down with. I called AMRC's pager handler (Kay gave me his contact info) and got our people in touch with their people. Since this mission was so far away (over 100 miles) it made a lot of sense for all of the rescuers responding from Albuquerque to drive down together. By all accounts it worked out well.
On another subject: The New Mexico Emergency Services Council (NMESC) is really gearing up this year. In the past NMESC has been responsible for planning ESCAPE and that has been their primary activity. This year they are planning a number of high quality statewide SAR trainings including ESCAPE. They have already conducted an Advanced Winter Skills training and they are planning a Medical Assistance by Radio training sometime in February or March. In addition, Mike Lowe (a member of NMESC) recently explained to me that they are begining a project to develop a set of statewide standards for SAR teams. He contacted Cibola because he knew that we had put together a lot of good documentation explaining how our team functions and he wants to use that documentation to help develop New Mexico SAR standards. Im going to send him a copy of our Memeber Guide and our Evaluation Procedures. I think that we should support NMESC in their effort to develop statewide standards for SAR teams. The standards could help teams across the state. They could also directly affect us so its in our interest to get involved. More importantly though, this is an opportunity for Cibola to provide some leadership in, and support for, the New Mexico SAR community. Who knows, maybe all the work that we have put into our standards will become the basis for a New Mexico SAR standard.
Keep up the good work everyone. See you out there.
| Boots and Blisters | by Steven Buckley, Training Officer |
This month' training is one I look forward to every year, our Winter Skills/Bivy. It will be help on the 15th and 16th and will start at 1400 hours (2 p.m.) at the Ellis trail head near the Crest. I will be your humble instructor. This is an hour earlier than the training schedule so please take note. We will start the Winter Skills training with a hike into our traditional Bivy area. I will give everyone a short primer on cold weather injuries and self-treatment of said injuries. This will be followed by a practical demonstration of techniques for snow travel including avalanche danger, travel on snowy and icy slopes (crampon techniques, self arrest), and snowshoe practice (bring them if you have them). We will compete this training by constructing expedient winter shelters. This might be quite the challenge given the snow conditions in the Sandias. Bring a tarp or some other barrier if you plan to stay the night. The Bivy will consist of spending the night. If we get lucky, we will get a call out for a Sandia mission during the Bivy (hey, it happened last year) and can get two trainings and a mission credit in less than 24 hours.
Let's discuss our medical program. Let me start by saying that this is just the beginning of a training initiative that I have been thinking of and my comments have not been coordinated with our medical element. I look forward to working with Mike and the others on our medical team to work out the details and identify the goals of this effort. I feel that the one area of Cibola's capability that needs strengthening is our medical program. Let me first state that I think that our capability is appropriately calibrated to Cibola's mission and strongly led by Mike and others (thanks for the hard work there). We have also made some strong additions such as adding an EMT (David Capek). My concern centers on the drain of WFRs, through normal team attrition, since I first jointed the team in 2000. I would like to work with Mike to re-emphasis our WFR program as a Cibola priority. I see two elements to this goal. The first is to train a new crop of WFRs and EMTs. My goal is to have enough WFRs and EMTs on the team to ensure that fielded Cibola teams have a medical component on it. To this end, I would like to work with our medical element to explore expanding our team's medical capability. This might involve setting up a new WFR training opportunity to obtain initial qualification for new WFRs as well as adding EMTs. The other part of this initiative is to integrate WFR and EMT training into our standard training program. Looking at the kinds of things that our teams experience on missions and with a desire to train like we operate, I would like to add a medical component to our training program. For example, litter trainings offer a unique opportunity to train our WFRs as well as practice the interaction between non-medical and medical team members. Specifically, we usually just explain how we would deal with some injury to our practice subject on these trainings. Why not simulate an injury (broken leg, hurt back, etc.) and execute the training with this added element of realism to focus the activity? Some of our members participated in a disaster drill last year and learned how to realistically simulate wounds. I am told that Tom Russo knows how to simulate a compound fracture using chicken bones and other materials. I for one would like to see that! Why not add this interesting addition to our training program? Personally, I felt that the medical element I added to last year's Mock Search was inadequate. I did my best, but I am not a medical person. I obviously need some help in this area and ask the medical elements of the team to step in and take that over. I feel strongly about our need to strengthen our medical component and will support using Cibola funds to that end. Let's get together and figure out what is required to expertly support and enhance our medical capability. Finally, Joyce suggested that AMRC's new WFRs and our WFR training program offers a great way to solve a problem for both teams (the logistics of providing continuing education training opportunities) as well bring the Albuquerque teams together constructively. Seems like a great idea to me.
The last part of this month's spiel is to see if anyone is interested in actively supporting this year's ESCAPE. My thoughts are that a short Mock Search with a strong medical component (save those chicken bones!) would be a great way to contribute to ESCAPE and highlight Cibola's capability. My thoughts were that we could hold a short Mock Search on the morning of the last day. This would offer an opportunity for the various New Mexico teams to work together. The mission would not be challenging (over in two hours tops) and would involve a simple search for a lost hiker followed by a litter evacuation of an injured subject. Anyone interested in this idea? Also, is anyone interested in teaching a class at ESCAPE? Please call me and let me know.
| Business as Usual:Meeting Minutes | by Joyce Rumschlag, Secretary |
President's Report
Aaron Hall started the meeting at 1910 with the introduction of officers and
general membership. New faces included Michael Hines, David Baker, and Chris
Haas. Welcome!
Aaron reintroduced as old business the idea of giving credit to evaluators for doing evaluations that had been introduced in the November meeting. Some members argued that by giving evaluation credit to evaluators we would encourage more people to serve as evaluators, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the training officer. Other members argued that only taking an evaluation should count for evaluation credit, and that the team already voted in November to relieve the pressure on the training officer by shifting the responsibility for evaluations to the President. It was moved that discussion of this contentious issue be tabled. The motion to table passed with a vote 9 for and 3 against.
We voted in September 2002 to join NASAR and officers will contact Art Fischer to check progress on the application.
David Dixon is looking for vests for CSAR use.
Vice-President/Training
In Steve Buckley's absence, Aaron Hall reported that we were going to do some aggressive training.
Treasurer
Lili Ziesmann reported that a budget committee meeting will be held on
January 28. She would like your input on fund raising and is considering
preparing a presentation to the United Way.
Membership
David Chapek stressed that we will be doing heavy recruitment in the coming
year. His goal is to have 35 active members. He also wants to work on
retention of members and feels that we all need to know where we are at as
far as trainings and evaluation are concerned. So check the web site.
Michael Hines is the newest prespective member. Congratulations!
Equipment
Tony Gaier has two new radios that have been programed and issued out. He
would like to get some collapsible ski poles to go with the snow shoes.
He would like to order some AA lithium batteries since they are much lighter
in weight. Tony also requested that members using the gear for trainings or
missions let him know what needs to be replaced or repaired.
Medical
Mike Dugger would like to renew the EMS video program for another year. The
cost has increased to $125 dollars. Membership voted yes 16 to no 0.
P.R. Committee
David Dixon reported that he would like to resume having a P.R. Committee
meeting every month. He feels that P.R. is a very important thing for
CSAR. Come to the meeting and bring your ideas.
New Business
A freelance writer from the Albuquerque Journal would like to interview folks
from CSAR with several questions. He would like to know, among other things,
what happens after the mission is over. We all ageed that this would be a
great P.R. opportunity. We would also put him in touch with other teams so
that he could get a state wide point of view.
| Who's Who and New | by David Chapek, Membership Officer |
A PACE exam is scheduled for the 22nd of this month in Santa Fe. This is a great chance for the perspective members on the team to get this requirement taken care of. Opportunities to take the PACE this close to home don't come up very often! See me for more information.
| Gearing Up | by Tony Gaier, Equipment Committee chair |
| Public Relations | by David Dixon |
Recruitment and Promotion: I would like to increase our membership this year by 50%. Promoting ourselves around town, putting out posters and pamphlets, speaking to interested groups, attending appropriate functions, and otherwise trying to reach future members is how we'll accomplish this. In addition, we'll be looking at redoing the team poster and pamphlet.
Community Service: Missions are exciting, trainings are informative, speaking to kids is fun. Along with the adults we'll do more of that this year, and throw in some trail work and other functions that continue to give back to the community in other ways. They need our expertise and we can use the visibility.
Advancement: Recruiting and service certainly advance us but I refer more specifically to advancing ourselves in ways that keep us going, finding money sources, getting grants, donations or discounts and other ways that help our cause and keep our treasurer and gear chair busy.
If you are interested in helping with any of these things or have ideas of your own, come to a P.R. Committee meeting the last Wednesday of (most) months, 6:30 p.m. at the Frontier Restaurant across from UNM. (Look for monthly announcements in the newsletter and on the hotline). There were 5 of us at last month's meeting. It was a great start for the year - very productive with many ideas passed around. This month's is on the 26th, same time and location. Come and share.
| Medical News | by Mike Dugger, Continuing Education Coordinator |
Our last WFR refresher course was in September of 2001. I am looking into opportunities for us to have another refresher course this fall or early next year. I will be exploring the possibility of having a combined course for new WFRs, a portion of which would also serve as a refresher for existing WFRs. WFR training allows us to offer most of the medical care that is likely to be needed on missions. The initial time investment is about 80 hours. Once that is accomplished, the time required to maintain WFR certification is pretty reasonable for those of us with day jobs not in medicine. I encourage anyone that has been mulling this over to seriously consider getting his or her WFR certification. The information is also great to have for your own personal non-SAR adventures in the outdoors, and really builds confidence in your ability to take care of yourself and others.
Medical providers, please take note of the following conferences coming up later in the year. These usually provide many opportunities to take Basic Life Support (BLS) continuing education (CE) courses, and have allowed one-day registration in the past. The EMS Region 3 conference will take place April 21-27 in Ruidoso, NM. The annual statewide EMS conference is scheduled for July 28 to August 2 in Albuquerque. When schedules are available for these events I will summarize the BLS CE opportunities that are most relevant to our mission needs.
| Web News | by Tom Russo |
Speaking of having no time, after editing the better part of 6 years of
newsletters, I am seeking a volunteer to take over (as opposed to "help out
with") the newsletter editing tasks. I would like to hand over the reins and
be out of the newsletter editing business by the end of the year, which gives
me plenty of time to help the new editor get up to speed with the laborious
process of turning newsletter submisssions into a newsletter. Please contact
me directly if you are willing to take this on.
The team website can be accessed at http://www.cibolasar.org/
| Survival Kits | by Steven Buckley |
The first category is shelter and it serves as the cornerstone of any survival kit. The greatest threat to a lost person is not wild animals, disease, injury, or lack of food and water. The greatest threat to a lost person is getting too cold. Exposure kills the majority of lost people. Most of our rescue pack contents provide shelter. Some of these contents are obviously "shelter". For example, it is obvious that the required "shelter materials (e.g., "bivy" sack or light tent or tarp)" constitutes "shelter". What about all of the clothing (including the hats, gloves, and boots)? They are also "shelter". As a mater of fact, your clothing constitutes your first layer of "shelter". I remember when I took Air Force aviator's survival training in southern New Mexico, the one thing that got you yelled at the fastest was to put a knee down on the ground. The instructors taught us that boots were designed to contact the wet ground...not a flight suit knee. How about fire-making materials? The ability to make a fire and keep it going is crucial to surviving severe weather when clothing is inadequate or the cold is intense.
The second category is signaling equipment. Our rescue packs have several signaling components. We carry a whistle and signal mirror as direct signaling aids. What about our headlamp? It is useful as a signal as well as being a crucial tool. It is one of many "dual use" items that are applicable to several survival kit categories. Not so obvious "signal devices" are the paper and pencil. Of course, they are only effective at very short ranges (2-3 feet at most) but possess the ability to transmit lots of information. What about trail tape? Trail tape is obviously a "signaling device" also limited to a pretty short range (10-300 feet). Last but not at all least, our fire making materials offer signaling capability as well as "shelter".
The third category is composed of "medical stuff". The medical component of our rescue packs includes anything that supports the rescuer's body. The first aid kit is the obvious medical component of our packs. It is composed of things to fix the body such as bandages and medicine. What about food and water? I can make a case that food and water are crucial components of the medical portion of our rescue packs. Food and water support the body as it goes about the business of a SAR mission.
The final category is tools. Our packs contain many tools that help us accomplish SAR missions. The knife is an obvious tool that is fundamental to any survival situation. We also are required to carry a compass and watch. What about the rescue pack itself? It is a tool used to carry everything else comfortably and efficiently. Tools are probably the closest things to "dual use" elements of our rescue packs. For example, the knife is a tool crucial to making improvised shelter. The pack can insulate us from the cold ground. The fire making tools can signal and provide shelter.
Of course if all of our subjects carried versions of our rescue packs, our work would be a lot easier. The reality is that our rescue packs, while superb survival kits, are too bulky and unwieldy for the majority of our subjects to be likely to have in their possession. Let's see if we can apply the principal categories of survival kit components in a more efficient way to ensure that the subject always has the kit with him. Let's look at "shelter" stuff first. The obvious primary component aimed at providing shelter is a wind/water shedding sheet. Something that can allow a person to get out of the wind and rain goes a long way to ensuring their survival until rescuers arrive. The most basic wind/water proof sheeting is plastic sheeting. Several large trash bags are the cheapest way to achieve the required surface area to protect an adult human in a small package. Disposable painting "drop cloths" also work well providing better shelter at a slight increase in cost and bulk. The next most crucial "shelter" component involves fire-making materials. This element should be composed of several large "strike anywhere" wooden matches in a waterproof container and a disposable lighter. The matches are capable of starting a fire in very cold conditions, and a disposable butane lighter (carried inside of the clothes to keep it warm and working) is a very efficient package that contains the potential for hundreds of fires. An accelerant such as a candle or petroleum jelly-soaked cotton balls can guarantee a fire even in wet and windy conditions. A third useful "shelter" component is composed of several feet of strong line. This line is used to tie down the sheeting material. The signaling component of this kit is composed of a whistle and the fire making materials. A fire is an excellent signal device. Several of you participated in a search for an older lost trail maintenance volunteer near Cuba where we took a bearing on a fire seen at a distance and literally walked up to the subject. The medical component of this kit consists of several bandages and a small tin of aspirin. Several square feet of heavy aluminum foil can serve as a material to melt snow and boil water. A knife and a small compass complete the tool kit. Ideally this kit would be carried in a dual-use container such as a small metal tin. REI sells a kit for around $17 that has all of this stuff and a few other small things in a metal tin about 3" deep, 4" wide and 5" tall. It is an ideal way to carry the minimum survival kit without having to "build your own". Of course if you want to build your own...here are directions.
Get a gallon sized ziplock plastic bag. Place three or four large black trash bags folded to 3" by 6" in the bottom of the bag. Place several "sandwich" sized bags next to the trash bags. Place the match-box, lighter, and small candle in the bag along with the folded foil, knife (a small Swiss Army knife is ideal), coiled line (parachute cord is best), and compass in the bag. Pack it so it forms a flat, compact packet about 3" wide, 6" long, and 1" thick. Wrap duct tape all over this package. Ensure that you wrap several layers of the duct tape on top of duct tape. The top layers of duct tape can be unwound in the field and reused to tape trash bags together or cover a blister. This kit is small enough to carry in a pocket anytime you go in the field and won't interfere while skiing or climbing. It offers all of the benefits of our rescue pack in a concise configuration. A bivouac using this kit would never be as comfortable and safe as one using your rescue pack contents but would be much preferable to the gear carried by most of our subjects.
| Classified Ads | (20 words maximum, no services) |
To start it off, former member Art Jarvis would like to sell his SAR radio. It is a 12 channel commercial band ShinWa brand handheld already preprogrammed for several SAR frequencies, and he has a car adapter, car antenna, speaker-mic and other accessories. $300, negotiable. Contact Art Jarvis at 856-6976.
| Special Notes |
| Disclaimer and Copyright notice | the Editors |