Command Center Controller(SAR) Flashcards
What are the SAR Program Goals?
Minimize loss of life, injury, and property loss and damage in the maritime environment.
What are the Seven Primary SAR Program Standards?
- SAR readiness; Requirements for units are assigned by District; B-0/30-min response time
- SAR mission response; no greater than 2 hour response time.
- National Distress and Response System Coverage; 90% continuous coverage, 20 nautical miles from shore.
- SAR Training; Completion of SAR School
- SAR Command and Control Responsiveness; Incidents must be processed within 5 min of notification
- Employment of approved search planning methodologies; use of SAROPS and manual solution work sheets.
- Amver system; identification of SAR facilities particularly useful for offshore search and rescue efforts.
- SAR Unit Training and Professionalism; unit personnel shall be well trained in unit equipment. Specialized training for EMTs, First Responders, and Rescue Swimmers.
What is the National SAR plan?
- Designates Coast Guard as the aeronautical and maritime SAR Coordinator for U.S. Waters and describes those area of SAR response. It is found in Appendix A of the United States National Search and Rescue Supplement to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual.
What is the Navigational Assistance Policy?
- CG shall not provide courses to steer
- Units may pass printed information and certain standard navigational information such as the
- characteristics of light, bearing to charted objects, range bearings, traffic separation scheme, water depth, charted hazards, buoy positions.
- if the mariner is lost, ask information such as nearby landmarks, aids to navigation, commercial traffic, water depth/color, point of departure/destination.
- Mariners should be advised to don PFDs when entering hazardous conditions.
Who may conduct interviews?
Anyone with knowledge of a particular case.
What information can be released to the media?
- ## Names of individuals rescued, minors require parental consent.
What are the criteria for the assumption and designation of SMC?
- Nature and complexity of the case
- Participating SAR facilities
- Complexity of probable scenarios
- Number of search objects
- Number of possible person’s to be assisted
- Level of media interest
- Adequacy of the unit’s command, control, and communication capability in terms of equipment, personnel, training and experience.
- Geographic proximity to incident.
When should SMC be passed to another entity?
- Cases moves outside of the present SMC’s AOR
- Complexity of the case requires elevation of the level of SMC.
What are the required Check sheets in the CG Addendum?
- Initial SAR Checksheet
- Supplemental SAR Checksheet
- Overdue Checksheet
- MEDICO/MEDIVAC Checksheet
- Grounding Checksheet
- Flare Sighting Checksheet
- Aircraft Emergencies
- Abandoned or Adrift
- Beset by weather
- Capsized
- Collision
- Disabled
- Disoriented
- Uncorrelated MAYDAY, probable HOAX, automated S.O.S.
- PIW
- SARSAT
- Taking on Water of Fire
- Briefing Checklist
- SAR Case Suspension Checklist
- Mass Rescue Operations Supplemental Check Sheets
What are the levels of authority for ACTSUS?
- SAR Coordinator hold ultimate authority for case suspension.
- May be delegated to Sector Commander, Deputy Sector Commander, Chief Department of Response
- Must remain one level above SMC.
What information is needed when contemplating case suspension?
Safety • If we decide to continue what is the risk to our SRUs? Search Planning Tools • Was SAROPS used to determine search area and track spacing? If not, why not? • If SAROPS was used, what was the POS for the planned/completed searches? • If SAROPS was NOT used, what was the level of confidence we were searching the correct area? • Will continuing to search significantly improve the POS? Case Review • Are we aggressively using UMIBs? • Proper Assumptions? • Did we look in the correct places for the correct object? • How certain were you of the initial position? • How good was the search effort? • Was a first light search conducted? • Do/did we have enough assets on scene to adequately cover the area? • What assets were used? • Did we re-evaluate leads & clues? • Did we review datum calculations? • Were all the search areas searched? • Were the search variables high enough? (track spacing, sweep width, navigation errors, environmentals, etc.) • Did we have reasonable planning scenarios? • What other agencies were involved? Did you consider? • Did they survive the incident? • Could they survive after the incident? • How much time has elapsed? • On scene conditions? • What will the weather be over the next 12 hours • The condition of potential survivors? (Pre-existing medical conditions or injuries) • Their will to live? • Survival equipment available? • What do the survivability tables/program say? (PSDA model) Next of Kin Notification • Has the NOK been kept informed? • Has the Sector Commander (or other appropriate level) been involved? • Has the family been given advanced warning? Media Interest • Is there high or potentially adverse media interest? • Is PAO/District (dpa) help
What is the process for keeping NOK informed?
- ACTSUS is directly responsible to ensure NOK is notified in a timely fashion.
- It may be beneficial for NOK contact to remain at lowest level possible, even when case shifts from one entity to the other.
What is the process for keeping NOK informed?
- Initial contact should include summary of the search efforts, future plans, and a reliable CG contact.
- Daily contact at a minimum is maintained to provide updates to the search efforts.
- Allow family to view command center with designated point of contact accompanying them.
- Avoid creating a false sense of hope and use common general terms.
When can a case be terminated?
When the search object is located, assistance to the object is completed, and no other SAR issues arise.
- All persons must be accounted for.
- MEDEVAC personnel must either be transferred to other medical authorites or no longer require SAR assistance
What is the Coast Guard’s policy on Float Plans?
CG does no have the responsibility, nor the facilities to follow the voyages of vessels to their destinations and does not accept float plans.
What if Mariners insist of filing a plan?
- May give to Coast Guard and information will be placed on an overdue checksheet.
- Must read the blurb from the addendum that the CG is not responsible for following the vessel.
What are the option for the Float Plans.
Give to a family member or other cognizant source.
What are the actions required when receiving a float plan?
- Keep for a minimum of one month.
- If vessel is reported overdue, CG units should check float plan files as part of PRECOM checks.
