What happens on a mission?
There is no substitute for actual mission experience but in general it goes like this: After arriving and signing in at Incident Base, you will eventually be assigned to a search team that is given a task. It may be following a trail or a fence line, a route of GPS coordinates, or some other search activity that the Incident Commander has deemed necessary to gather more information about the subject’s location. Your job is to follow your team’s assignment until completed and/or recalled to Base. See the Search Team Guidelines for how to operate as a team. Depending on how the search is progressing, you may be given another search assignment when the first one is completed or you may be given an opportunity to rest if the assignment has been a long one. While on assignment your team will be asked to give periodic reports on location by radioing in your GPS coordinates, usually every 30 - 60 minutes. Any clues or evidence of the subject’s location would be radioed in immediately. Based on information coming back to the Incident Commander from team reports you may be redirected to search another area or return to Base. If your team finds the subject, depending on his or her condition, you will be directed to bring the subject back to base or remain with the subject until further help and/or transport arrives. If the subject is found injured a long way from Base you could be directed to remain at the scene overnight.