Search and Rescue

After many months of classes, my 26 year old son, Matt earned his Search and Rescue pager Tuesday night. That means when his pager goes off, if he is available, he will be going on Search and Rescue calls. I am so proud of him.

(For those of you that are new to my blog, Matt is a third grade teacher in Telluride, Colorado.)

Search and Rescue is a volunteer organization that works in conjunction with the county Sheriff's Department. They do exactly what the name says...they search and they rescue.

SAR emergency calls can cover everything from a skier with a broken leg, to a missing hiker, to a person falling off a cliff, to water rescues, to drownings, to a car over the side of the mountain. Sometimes they search, sometimes they rescue and sadly, sometimes they recover....and that is the hard part.

The team might use a snowmobile, an ATV, a truck, a boat, a helicopter....whatever they need to accomplish the task at hand.

SAR bi-weekly training sessions are open to anyone with an interest. A lot of what determines if and when you receive a pager is your level of commitment to the program. People that show up sporadically for training sessions probably won't be given a pager. People that attend session after session for a good part of a year...might.

The training also never ends. There are always new skills to learn and rescues to practice.

I know Matt will be a wonderful asset to the Search and Rescue Team...his level of commitment is unwavering in all that he takes on.

CHEE HOO Matti!