This is the first part to a series that I’ve wanted to write for a while – on how to plan a useful search exercise.
Over the next couple of weeks I hope to cover how to select an appropriate search area, preparing the area, deciding on a appropriate search scenario, briefing and debriefing the exercise and so on.
Today though, I want to explain why I think there is a need for such a handbook and then how to start planning a vulnerable missing person search exercise.
Why do I think there is a need for a vulnerable missing person search exercise planners handbook?
ALSAR Units put on search exercises every couple of months, if not more often – surely they must be doing something right. And, of course, they are … BUT they could get so much more out of their search exercises with a little more thought, and a little more planning.
What errors then are being made? Simple things such as not having an objective for the training, not training in the right area or using the right scenario and so on – all of which I hope to cover over the next few weeks.
The first, and most important part of running a search exercise is to have an objective for the exercise. What exactly are you hoping to achieve with the exercise?
It might be that you are using the exercise to re-assess existing ST and TLs, or even as a practice for your SCs. However, it might be that you are evaluating new search techniques or tactics, or evaluating a pre-plan. You might be following up tracking awareness training with an exercise with track or sign, and so on.
Whatever your objectives for the training these need to be formulated, preferably written down and shared with everyone involved with the exercise. Whether you have achieved these objectives will form part of the after-exercise de-briefing.
As always, objectives need to be specific, measurable, achievable etc.
So, for instance, an exercise might be to give the instructors the opportunity to re-assess x no. of search technicians. In order to achieve this the instructors would need to be able to observe them being briefed, searching a variety of areas, de-briefing and so on.
Another exercise’s objectives might be to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly written pre-plan. Feedback from participants in this exercise would then help revise the search pre-plan based upon their experiences, hazards they encountered, map revisions that need to be made and so on.
Only when you have thought about and have clear objectives for a search exercise will it actually be a useful activity – otherwise you are just walking around in a field/wood playing…
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