How a Mission is Started
Adapted by Al Webster and Marc Levesque from a document created by Beck Atkinson, Area Commander, NMSP (retired)
Adapted by Al Webster and Marc Levesque from a document created by Beck Atkinson, Area Commander, NMSP (retired)
Report of a Missing Person
When a person determines that a family member or friend is missing or overdue from an outing and has reason to believe that that person needs help, they contact the nearest law enforcement agency usually by simply calling 9-1-1 and reporting the incident to the dispatcher. The person calling 9-1-1 becomes the Reporting Party (RP). In some cases, a person who is lost or injured may call from the field, and in that case, the RP is also the subject of the search.
Assessment by a Mission Initiator
In most cases, the RP calls 9-1-1 and is transferred to a New Mexico State Police Dispatch Center. A State Police officer, trained in assessing potential SAR situations, is then assigned. He/she becomes known as the Mission Initiator (MI) and interviews the RP to determine if there is enough information to warrant a SAR mission. The MI then contacts Dispatch which calls the on-call Field Coordinator (FC) who determines if this is a SAR mission based on the initial investigation of the MI and the FC’s further investigation, if necessary.
Initiating a Mission
If a mission is determined, the FC will request a mission number from State Police Dispatch, and the wheels are put in motion. The best part of the SAR Plan is that it does not take an act of Congress to get a mission going. This entire process sounds like it takes a long time, but it works very quickly.
Enter the Incident Commander
After a mission number is assigned, the FC becomes the Incident Commander (IC) and oversees the incident from that point on.
Call-Out for Search Teams
To get the mission started, the IC calls the on-call Ordering Manager (ORDM) and may call individuals to make up the Incident Management Team (IMT) that is composed of Plans, Operations, and Logistics Section Chiefs and sometimes, a Safety Officer. The ORDM notifies SAR teams to respond with the appropriate personnel who deploy to the field to search for the missing subject.
Setting up an Incident Command Post
The IC travels to the scene, contacts the MI, and is briefed. If not previously done, the IC then interviews the RP and sets up the Incident Command Post (ICP). As SAR responders start arriving on the scene at the ICP, the IMT starts assigning jobs and tasks. Communications and logistics planning take a high priority. A Safety Officer, if designated, will monitor safety issues. A Liaison Officer, if designated, will keep family and friends informed as well as to handle the media. A person is assigned to the Staging Area, and a Check-In Sheet (Form 211) is posted there to record all resources who participate in the mission.
Incident Management Team
An Incident Management Team needs to be in place. The Plans Section Chief formulates an operational plan and develops task assignments based on the needs of the mission. The Operations Section Chief has the responsibility for managing teams in the field. The Logistics Section Chief makes sure that resources are on their way and sets up the communications net.
The Benefit of the Incident Command System
The Incident Command System was developed in the 1970s by the Federal Government in response to a need for an on-the-scene disaster management system, particularly when multiple agencies are involved. Various governors of New Mexico have mandated that all emergencies (Haz-Mat spills, prison riots, and search and rescue missions) shall be handled under ICS. ICS is a managerial tool. If the incident generally goes longer than one operational period, the people arriving to relieve the previous shift will most likely be from out of the area, and many may have not worked with one another before. One of the reasons ICS is successful is that it is designed just for this type of occurrence. You can take a room full of people trained in ICS and put them to work on an incident. If all of them put into practice what they have learned, then they should run the incident just like a well-oiled machine.
When a person determines that a family member or friend is missing or overdue from an outing and has reason to believe that that person needs help, they contact the nearest law enforcement agency usually by simply calling 9-1-1 and reporting the incident to the dispatcher. The person calling 9-1-1 becomes the Reporting Party (RP). In some cases, a person who is lost or injured may call from the field, and in that case, the RP is also the subject of the search.
Assessment by a Mission Initiator
In most cases, the RP calls 9-1-1 and is transferred to a New Mexico State Police Dispatch Center. A State Police officer, trained in assessing potential SAR situations, is then assigned. He/she becomes known as the Mission Initiator (MI) and interviews the RP to determine if there is enough information to warrant a SAR mission. The MI then contacts Dispatch which calls the on-call Field Coordinator (FC) who determines if this is a SAR mission based on the initial investigation of the MI and the FC’s further investigation, if necessary.
Initiating a Mission
If a mission is determined, the FC will request a mission number from State Police Dispatch, and the wheels are put in motion. The best part of the SAR Plan is that it does not take an act of Congress to get a mission going. This entire process sounds like it takes a long time, but it works very quickly.
Enter the Incident Commander
After a mission number is assigned, the FC becomes the Incident Commander (IC) and oversees the incident from that point on.
Call-Out for Search Teams
To get the mission started, the IC calls the on-call Ordering Manager (ORDM) and may call individuals to make up the Incident Management Team (IMT) that is composed of Plans, Operations, and Logistics Section Chiefs and sometimes, a Safety Officer. The ORDM notifies SAR teams to respond with the appropriate personnel who deploy to the field to search for the missing subject.
Setting up an Incident Command Post
The IC travels to the scene, contacts the MI, and is briefed. If not previously done, the IC then interviews the RP and sets up the Incident Command Post (ICP). As SAR responders start arriving on the scene at the ICP, the IMT starts assigning jobs and tasks. Communications and logistics planning take a high priority. A Safety Officer, if designated, will monitor safety issues. A Liaison Officer, if designated, will keep family and friends informed as well as to handle the media. A person is assigned to the Staging Area, and a Check-In Sheet (Form 211) is posted there to record all resources who participate in the mission.
Incident Management Team
An Incident Management Team needs to be in place. The Plans Section Chief formulates an operational plan and develops task assignments based on the needs of the mission. The Operations Section Chief has the responsibility for managing teams in the field. The Logistics Section Chief makes sure that resources are on their way and sets up the communications net.
The Benefit of the Incident Command System
The Incident Command System was developed in the 1970s by the Federal Government in response to a need for an on-the-scene disaster management system, particularly when multiple agencies are involved. Various governors of New Mexico have mandated that all emergencies (Haz-Mat spills, prison riots, and search and rescue missions) shall be handled under ICS. ICS is a managerial tool. If the incident generally goes longer than one operational period, the people arriving to relieve the previous shift will most likely be from out of the area, and many may have not worked with one another before. One of the reasons ICS is successful is that it is designed just for this type of occurrence. You can take a room full of people trained in ICS and put them to work on an incident. If all of them put into practice what they have learned, then they should run the incident just like a well-oiled machine.
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