You may not recognize how tired these five individuals are, but they all successfully completed their NASAR SARTech II certification (provided by the National Association for Search and Rescue [NASAR]) on November 16, 2014.  David Miller, Denise Kakas, Erin Arkison, Kristin Smaltz, and Meriah Voight all braved the cold November weather near Bryan, TX to attempt certification, and all members of Alpha Search and Recovery successfully passed.

For those interested, SAR Tech II certification requires passing a written examination on search and rescue theory and six practical stations.  The six practical stations are land navigation, man tracking, 24-hour pack check, rope skills, route search technique, and area search technique.  SARTech II assesses an individual’s capability for “people” skills (i.e. without canine intervention, or other assisting technology).  The certification assessment takes two days of activities, and is quite stressful for those attempting their certifications.  For additional, information on what a SARTech II certification provides please visit the NASAR website, and as always work on the skills necessary with other trained individuals, such as your local SAR organization.

Alpha Search and Recovery want to extend our congratulations to these dedicated volunteers for putting in the hours to learn the skill and committing their personal resources to complete the certification successfully.  Should you be interested in attempting the NASAR SARTech II certification, please refer to the NASAR website for certification schedules.  Interested parties may be keen to find out that Alpha Search and Recovery is looking into the potential to host a NASAR SARTech II certification in Fall, 2015 (dates, places, and feasibility remain to be finalized).