- People who work nine-to-five jobs are getting paged out of work at least 150 times a year,” he said. “That’s a tall ask.” Not surprisingly, the team can have problems getting members to join multiple missions
Y'know, this made me reflect on getting hauled out of the narrow's canyon by SAR in September. Most of them were kids - I'd assumed they were there working as professional rescuers, I never realized they were just volunteers who were called together at the last minute to save some dumbass kid who jumped off of a rock. I'm grateful for the work they did to save my tired, stupid ass. I wish they were compensated better for their time. They really rescued me.
True! They kept me chatting through the whole thing, presumably because I was really chatty and they wanted to know right away if I passed out again. Listened to the first-aid guy talk about his D&D campaign. He's playing a kobold rogue. Wish I'd gotten his name, he seemed like a kindred spirit :)
Man this is a complex issue and a surprisingly good article by Outside. I’ve got some friends who are SAR or Mountain Rescue and it’s a tough fucking gig that you do because you want to give back. Once I have more time for a longer reply that’ll come but one way to deal with this is increased state NPS/USFS funding to deal with the ever growing number of outdoor enthusiasts on public lands. “Throw money at the problem” is an easy thing to say...but considering as a government the US does jack shit for funding our parks even a modest increase would go a looooong way.
It strikes me as an utter waste that nobody has tried integrating the militias. Give your average prepper a prestigious task involving adventure, physical accomplishment and hierarchy and you are suddenly integrating them. Let 'em carry their rifles along because why not but give them a few radio channels, some mandatory training, mandatory meetings and subsidized gear in exchange for their participation in keeping their fellow citizens safe. Require them to participate with their friends and comrades, give them the slightest bit of oversight (because distrust of the government is clearly a big thing) and not only are you using their powers for good, but you're keeping everyone in contact with each other such that the crazy ones are not only likely to be noted, they're also likely to go less crazy. "The purpose of a well-armed militia being freely established..." I mean, if we extended the Boy Scouts out to retirement age I think we could solve a lot of problems.
Ya know, quite a few of those people are involved in the Washington Off Road Recovery network (WORN) and Oregon Offroad Recovery. Except instead of hiking out and performing first aid and evac procedures, these people drive uhhhh jeeps and lifted trucks and own lots and lots of winches. Basically if you get yourself stuck on a forest road in either state for whatever reason, make a call/post to them and they will try to bail you out in addition to whoever the local sheriff/forest service operator is.
I've pulled out my fair share of Texans. If I were handed the Department of Homeland Security I'd build me a framework that any civic-minded organization could plug into. Centralize the rescue response. Categorize the response needed. Coordinate the responders. Make "FEMA" a name people want to hear again, like "Red Cross." If people want to help, let them. If people want to run around in the woods playing commando, give them a mission to do. A tenuous leash beats tar out of no leash at all and if I can give a bunch of preppers a reason to not immediately distrust their local Sheriff's Department we all win.