After 11 months of intensive training, the newest generation of Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Techs) is ready to take their place in an operational unit as ten new members have received their SAR Tech Wings and distinctive orange berets today. Two will be posted to 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron.

Master Corporals George Beatteay and Justin Cervantes graduated from SAR Tech Course #44 today and will be joining the ranks of 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron.

“For me having the chance to become a Search and Rescue Technician was fitting with my lifestyle,” said MCpl Beatteay. “I got to take all of my hobbies and do them for a living. But ultimately I feel I will enjoy this trade because it’s all about the opportunity to help others.”

The road to become a SAR Tech was not a short or easy one. It started by a pre-selection process done in Edmonton and at Jarvis Lake, Alberta. Every year, approximately 30 candidates try to become the next generation of SAR Tech, but only a dozen will be chosen to attend the course.

The course given by the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue at 19 Wing in Comox, BC aims at preparing candidates to perform life-saving missions in the harshest conditions anywhere in Canada. The bulk of the training is dedicated to receive their Primary Care Paramedic certification. They learn then how to deliver medical care and to extract patients in a variety of scenarios. They received training in arctic survival and rescue, winter operation, avalanche rescue, mountain rescue, parachuting, scuba diving, and rock climbing.

“With the intensity of the pre-selection process, the ten or twelve that do make it to Comox already have developed a bond because they have been together at their worst,” said Sergeant Lance Teichrib, senior course instructor. “This group of type A personalities can then have a sense that they are part of a tightly knit team. It was clear from the beginning that they had a connection and that they took care of each other. I have enjoyed teaching to this group because they learned early on that to play hard, you had to work hard. But they nonetheless took the time to enjoy their time here and smell the roses. This will definitely be year they will remember.”

Working with other Canadian SAR partners, the CF play a vital role in a world-class SAR system that answers the call of those in need. Today, the CF annually respond to approximately 8 000 incidents, tasking military aircraft or ships in about 1 100 cases. Historically, these actions have saved on average over 1 200 lives and provided assistance to over 20 000 persons each year.

Canada’s challenging responsibility for aeronautical and maritime SAR extends over 15 million square kilometres of land and sea—an area one-and-a-half times that of Canada’s landmass or of continental Europe. The aeronautical SAR area extends from the U.S. border to the North Pole, and from approximately 600 nautical miles (1 111 km) west of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Ocean to 900 nautical miles (1 667 km) east of Newfoundland in the Atlantic. The maritime SAR mandate includes the oceanic waters within this area, in addition to the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. Ground and other marine SAR are generally provincial or territorial responsibilities.