ALSAR on Dartmoor
A number of ALSAR Units sent members down to Dartmoor Rescue Group’s annual training weekend. It is a tribute to the professional working relationship that ALSAR and MR E&W have that ALSAR was invited to send participants to this event [again!]
Members from Hantsar, ISIS SAR, SEBEV, SSART, Sussar, and Wilsar all attended and from initial reports all had a wonderful time; enjoying both the training opportunity and the all-important socialising and networking [sounds better than piss-up!]
Between you and I we can post links to the news pages of the various ALSAR and MR teams websites as and when they are updated.
November 30, 2009
· 
Robert Bradley · 
13 Comments
Tags: ALSAR, Dartmoor Rescue Group, Hantsar, ISIS SAR, Mountain Rescue, MR E&W, Search Training, SEBEV, SSART, Sussar, Wilsar · Posted in: Search News, Search Training
13 Responses
Thanks for mentioning this. I hope that all that attended the weekend from the ALSAR teams enjoyed themselves and will try to encourage other ALSAR team members to attend next year which will be bigger and better (I have promised myself a few days off before planning it!!!). It was great to see old friends and make new ones.
SEBEV news item on this can be found at http://www.sebev.co.uk/latest-news/59-sebev-members-attend-dartmoor-training-weekend
Jamie,
David and I had a fantastic time and we’ll be working on bringing a bigger group from ISAR next year. Thanks for the awsome weekend, we’re all looking forward to the next one.
From what I’ve heard from the other ALSAR teams who attended, everyone had a really good time.
Not sure where the rumours of SusSAR’s attendance came from, but we didn’t receive our invitation, so weren’t there.
Johnnie, it’s ok I didn’t think you were there either. Plus according to SEBEV’s report the 5 members from HANTSAR were not theire either.
Uh oh,
I shall amend it immediately and have the author shot.
I would offer to shoot the author of the original post but I’m not sure suicide is the right answer in this case. In future I will try to be more accurate!
The author has committed suicide….
Are the last two comments appropriate given what we do?
Simon,
I appreciate and understand your thinking with regard to the “humour” linked to suicide.
When I started writing this blog/website I had to make some very difficult choices with regard to exactly what I would write about and what I wouldn’t; and also what I would allow in comments and what I wouldn’t.
I decided that I would not comment upon any individual incident in any way or form. So whilst in the news section I would report what ALSAR Units put on their websites I would not give individual comment on that incident. [This is obviously a hard think for me; just look at all the news items that I could comment about with police searches missing what should have been obvious mispers.]
Even so, this then becomes difficult when I want to discuss things like the inappropriate commenting on media websites by ALSAR and LSDogs members. But in the whole I aim to avoid individual cases; I think the families of these mispers deserve this.
Can you imagine what the poor family of Dr David Kelly go through, with his name and the circumstances of his death being dredged up every so often?
However, I am reluctant to censor comments for any other reason [especially those that disagree with me - They may have a point]. In particular with regard to humour.
My personal belief is that society tends to be over-sensitive to such humour.
Suicide is a difficult and serious subject. Everyone in ALSAR understands that; unlike the media I will NEVER report on here a suicide method. I know that just the mere mention of a suicide method in the media can actually INCREASE the suicide rate [not just using that method but overall!]
Re-reading the above comments, everyone can see that they are made in good humour; and I’m sure that the professionalism of the readership will mean that they will not take them further than this and step over the line.
Anyone reading the the comments who doubts the professionalism of search volunteers has undoubtedly never worked with them. Anyone who has worked with them will know how professional, dedicated and sensitive to the mispers’ families they are!
They should also understand that humour is a human defence mechanism that is used to keep professional emergency responders sane around the world and as such I am very reluctant to edit or change that.
So called ‘graveyard’ humour is essential to what we do. Whilst we must be extremely sensitive with a misper’s family, and extrordinarily careful with comments made to the media, the mental and physical well being of our people has to be considered. If you ban this sort of humour within your unit, you are stifling the communication that lets your management team keep track of how everyone is doing. If I say occaisionally ‘I wish I was dead, then I wouldn’t have to run this SAR team anymore’ my guys know I am joking. If I say it every week, alarm bells start ringing. If I am not allowed to say it at all, the first my unit may know of my ill being is when they are deployed to look for me.
As such, the last two comments are very appropriate.
Anyway, I’m glad that all the ALSAR teams that attended enjoyed themselves. Jonnie: I will be having words with my Admin Officer!! Although DRG has worked well with some of the ALSAR teams on exercises in the past it would be nice to get some invites back to ALSAR exercises.
We’ll invite you to our next big ex, Jamie, even though we weren’t invited to yours!
Only clean shaven DRG members allowed though, or at least only those whose beards aren’t so big that it looks like they have their heads on upside down!
Leave a Reply