Would you let your 17yo dd become a Search and Rescue Volunteer?

[Natalieclare]

My dd17 really wants to become a Search and Rescue Volunteer. I don't know a whole lot about the program, but what I do know makes me a tetch nervous.

 

Here's my con list:

 

$$$$ - The equipment we would have to buy is very expensive, like $500 or so.

 

Time- My daughter is doing classes at Community College, and while she is acing her classes, I worry the training would just take too much out of her. I think she would be gone for essentially 9 weekends. I worry she wouldn't be able to keep up her grades.

 

Danger- We are acquainted with some folks with youngsters in the program, and they recently got a call to come search for clues in a murder case. I mean, presumably the murderer is gone, but what if the murderer returns to the scene of the crime?

 

More Danger- How wise is it for a 17 yo girl to be running around in the wilderness? (I'm thinking more of the threat of people here, rather than the survival aspect of things.)

ETA: These dangers seem a little silly typed on this page, but it seems like every so often I hear of another trail jogger getting murdered. So, I'm picturing my dds on these trails and ....

 

 

Now here's the pro list:

 

My dd wants to do it. She likes the idea of the physical challenge, the adventure, the volunteering/service to community.

 

Actually, both my oldest dds want to do this. Search and Rescue does not allow siblings to be partners for their survival challenges (or whatever they are called.) And while I am generally not a fearful mama, I just don't have a great feeling about this. However, I can't tell if this is a rational feeling or not. :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:

 

Would you let your dds participate?

 

Is anyone here a search and rescue volunteer? Care to tell me about your experiences? What age do you suggest as being a good one to start volunteering for S&R?

 

Can anyone see dangers I'm not thinking of or dispell my fears for me? :D

Edited November 3, 2010 by Natalieclare

[Mama Geek]

If I thought the 17 year old was mature enough to handle it, yes.

 

My dh was involved with cave rescue before we met, and loved it. Yes there are dangers, but when we are called to serve we should.

[Jennifer3141]

If I thought my child was mature enough to handle it, yes.

[myfunnybunch]

I have a 17 y.o. dd. If she was interested and we could afford the cost, I'd absolutely say yes.

 

Cat

[gingersmom]

I would not let my child do it at 17 years old.

 

What if your child was searching and found a missing child/adult dead?

 

Who is in charge? Are they all volunteers? How are they supervised? Are all the volunteers screened?

[Kathleen in VA]

Is this with a certain group such as Civil Air Patrol?

[The Girls' Mom]

Yes, I would. At 17, she is close enough to an adult age, that something like that should be her choice really (if it were my dd). This is provided she was a mature 17 year old in most other ways.

[Photo Ninja]

I would let my dc do it as long as she could keep up her grades. This is a wonderful public service that can save lives. I thought the S&R group my dh was with required members to be 18 yo, but I could be wrong. They also had to have their EMT certification, so maybe getting that takes time so people just ended up being over 18.

 

My dh was with S&R for many years. He was never alone when searching. They were always in small groups (3 or more), and they had communication with each other and base. It was organized. No one was out in the wilderness alone. While there may be danger, it was limited to the same things any hiker could experience. Poison oak was often an issue, but that can be dealt with. While he did some urban searches, usually for a lost child or elderly person, and a few times for evidence, his was mostly wilderness. Usually it was a hiker who didn't return and was lost or a hiker who was injured and needed to be carried out. He searched a couple times for downed planes, which required using electronics equipment to track the emergency signal.

 

Some things to consider:

 

Can she do it while going to school? Can she opt out of a call if she needs to? Can she be out all night searching, then get to class and be alert enough to learn?

 

My dh was on call 24/7/365. He had his gear in his car so if he was called while at work, he could respond immediately. He could be gone for 24 hours. Can she do this with school? Do they allow her to refuse to respond if she needs to be in class? My dh could opt out if he needed to, so your dd may be able to do this, also. Dh was usually called out late in the evening because once a person is reported missing it is usually because he didn't return home by dark, then there is time waited in case the person is just late, etc. He was often called out after he went to bed, then was out searching all night, or until they found the missing person or were able to reach and rescue the injured person. Rescues took less time than searches because they knew where they were going.

 

Dh was called out on almost every beautiful 3 day weekend. Is your dd available?

 

Long weekends and beautiful days are when people get outside and hike, so that is often when dh was called out. It got to where we just planned for it.

 

Can she carry weight? Is she physically fit?

 

Often they had to hike while carrying a stretcher with an injured person. It was not easy, but they worked in teams and traded off. She needs to be able to do this (unless it is urban S&R, which can be different).

 

My dh never encountered a deceased person. While it is possible, that is not usually the outcome. He did encounter injured people, but that is part of the job, and is why they all had EMT certification so they were trained to handle the situation.

 

The training she will receive will be valuable for the rest of her life. She would be doing a great service that benefits the community and can save lives. She will be prepared for most emergencies that can arise in your area. One thing that was stressed with my dh was that each S&R member needs to have home emergency preparedness taken care of. They don't want an emergency to arise and have S&R members want to be home to take care of their own families. All the S&R team had to have their families prepared so that they could focus on the S&R, knowing their families will be okay.

[Parrothead]

I would not let my child do it at 17 years old.

 

What if your child was searching and found a missing child/adult dead?

 

Who is in charge? Are they all volunteers? How are they supervised? Are all the volunteers screened?

Dead people won't hurt anyone. Generally if one finds a body one tosses one's cookies (hopefully not on a crime scene) then gets on with the job at hand.

 

 

I'd look into getting her in a first responder class, at a minimum, if she is serious about this. I'd also see if the searchers are allowed to be armed if certified in some way. Then get dd certified. Barring that I'd opt her out of any man hunts unless she has lots and lots of training. Most law enforcement won't use civilians on a man hunt anyway.

 

Does she ultimately want to go into public service (LE, fire-rescue, EMS) or just do S&R part time? Either way she will gain a lot of experience.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would let both of them do it.

[catalinakel]

Absolutely, if I trusted those in charge of the training and operation, and my child was capable and level-headed. And I would do it also. Such a great service to the community.

[In The Great White North]

Danger- We are acquainted with some folks with youngsters in the program, and they recently got a call to come search for clues in a murder case. I mean, presumably the murderer is gone, but what if the murderer returns to the scene of the crime?

 

 

Search and Rescue I have no problems with. Ds did it with Civil Air Patrol and dd has now joined. This does NOT sound like my idea of search and rescue.

[silliness7]

I would totally let my dc do this. The leadership, life skills, service to the community would just be invaluable and worth the risk which I would think would be small. I would expect the training to be top notch and that safety of rescuers would be VERY HIGH on their list of priorities.

[akmommy]

Yes, I would. At 17, she is close enough to an adult age, that something like that should be her choice really (if it were my dd). This is provided she was a mature 17 year old in most other ways.

 

:iagree:

[Renee in NC]

At 17? Most definitely.

[Carrie12345]

Absolutely. Which isn't to say it wouldn't be difficult for me, but I would support it and be extremely proud.

 

My hs boyfriend was a junior firefighter and his brother (one of my best friends) was a volunteer with the ambulance squad when we were teenagers. It was hard to watch them run off every time the sirens went off, but we all knew they were providing an important service. Both continue to volunteer today.

[NanceXToo]

Yes. Probably not younger than age 17- but at age 17? Yes. I think it would be an amazing experience and would teach her so much. And if that's what she wants to do- well, she's old enough by now to know! She seems to be quite mature and she seems to be taking her life in wonderful directions- so you've done a good job :) Now you have to let go a bit more!

[TravelingChris]

I would definitely let her do it. It is a great experience and very valuable to the community.

[Quiver0f10]

Yes, I'd allow it.

[Gwenhwyfar]

sure ~ i think 17 is old enough to make that choice for herself. :)

[katilac]

I'd certainly allow it. In my world, a 17-year-old should be making almost all of their own decisions.

 

Now, would I pay for it? Not necessarily. Not all of it, at any rate. Having to pay for a portion of classes/equipment/etc quickly winnows out real interests from "dang, S&R sounds cool, and look at the shiny equipment!"

 

But I would certainly allow and encourage it.

[Daisy]

I'd certainly allow it. In my world, a 17-year-old should be making almost all of their own decisions.

 

Now, would I pay for it? Not necessarily. Not all of it, at any rate. Having to pay for a portion of classes/equipment/etc quickly winnows out real interests from "dang, S&R sounds cool, and look at the shiny equipment!"

 

But I would certainly allow and encourage it.

 

:iagree:

[hillfarm]

My first question is whether she is sure she would be an asset and not a liability to other rescuers. I have done some local disaster response work and it is maddening to have to slow or cease operations to deal with a volunteer who isn't able to keep up, can't carry their own weight, can't master their own nerves, etc. Precious time is lost, tempers flare, and management is NOT kind to the person dropping the ball.

 

Secondly, although she may not come in personal contact with the more gruesome aspects of the work, she will be briefed on some very unpleasant details. Is she the kind of person who can process that kind of information and maintain normal mental health and an upbeat attitude? I would make it a priority to keep close tabs on her mental and emotional states. I have known grown men who had to quit because they just weren't able to get the details out of their heads and function normally in their families.

 

And third, is your dd able to maintain a positive and productive outlook in the face of interminable "hurry up and wait" scenarios? In spite of countless and compounded administrative snafus? In emergency situations, particularly when there are multiple counties or levels of law enforcement involved, it seems like there are millions of leaders and almost no followers, and it takes them FOREVER to agree on what needs to be done. I have also experienced having every other official telling us to do something different, so that we had real trouble figuring out exactly what we were supposed to be doing.

 

In general, if she is physically capable of meeting the requirements, has good mental health, and a willing spirit, then I would certainly let her try it. I agree with others though, that she needs to understand that her participation is dependent upon her ability to keep up with her other responsibilities and obligations. And I also agree that the more training she can get, the better. CERT, EMT, other disaster response, etc. will all be great things to know.

[Heatherwith4]

I would allow it. I'd be a little nervous about it, but I'd allow it. I think it's pretty awesome of her to want to do something like this. :)