State SAR Coordinators
Conference 2011
Rick Button
Chief, Coordination Division
Office of Search and Rescue
Coast Guard Headquarters
Secretary, National SAR Committee
References
• National SAR Committee (www.uscg.mil/nsarc)
National SAR Plan of the United States
www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/Natl_SAR_Plan(2007).pdf
National SAR Supplement (NSS)
www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/Natl_SAR_Supp.pdf
Catastrophic Incident SAR Addendum
www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/nsarc/CISAddendum2.0_Nov09.pdf
• NRF Resource Center (www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/)
National Response Framework
www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf
Emergency Support Function (ESF) #9
www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-esf-09.pdf
• Coast Guard SAR Addendum
www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/16000-16999/CIM_16130_2E.pdf
U.S. Nat’l SAR Committee
NSARC Chair: USCG
DOD, DOC, DOT, DOI, DHS, FCC, NASA
(NOAA)
(FAA)
(NPS)
(FEMA/USCG)
Also: CAP, NTSB, NASAR, and State SAR Reps participate
www.uscg.mil/nsarc
National Search and Rescue Plan
1919-Page Plan:
• Formal agreement among the National SAR
Committee member Departments and Agencies
• Out of date… Needs to be revised!
• Assigns Federal SAR Coordinator (SC)
responsibilities – major change
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/Natl_SAR_Plan(2007).pdf
NSP: Federal SAR Coordinators (SC)
National SAR Plan:
Federal SAR Coordinators
(SCs)
U.S. Northern
Command:
U.S. Pacific
Command:
Continental U.S.
Alaska
(AFRCC)
(AKRCC)
- Revised -
U.S. Coast Guard:
All U.S. maritime SAR
regions, HI and U.S.
navigable waters and
waters under U.S.
jurisdiction
State SAR Coordinators
National SAR Plan:
Federal SAR Coordinators
(SCs)
State SAR Coordinators
U.S. Northern
Command:
U.S. Pacific
Command:
Continental U.S.
Alaska
(AFRCC)
(AKRCC)
- Revised -
U.S. Coast Guard:
All U.S. maritime SAR
regions, HI and U.S.
navigable waters and
waters under U.S.
jurisdiction
State SAR Coordinators
National SAR Plan:
Federal SAR Coordinators
(SCs)
State SAR Coordinators
Local and volunteer
SAR professionals
U.S. Northern
Command:
U.S. Pacific
Command:
Continental U.S.
Alaska
(AFRCC)
(AKRCC)
- Revised -
U.S. Coast Guard:
All U.S. maritime SAR
regions, HI and U.S.
navigable waters and
waters under U.S.
jurisdiction
National Search and Rescue Supplement
• Guidance to Federal Agencies on
implementing the National SAR Plan
• Specific additional national guidance
builds upon the IAMSAR Manual
• Way out of date… Desperately needs
to be revised – hopefully this year!
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/Natl_SAR_Supp.pdf
Emergency Support Function (ESF) #9
National Response Framework (NRF)
http://www.fema.gov/nrf
Capabilities and Resources
NRF’s basic premise: All-hazards, tiered response
Federal Response
State Response
Regional/Mutual Response Systems
Local Response, Municipal and County
Minimal
Catastrophic
Increasing magnitude and severity
ESF #9 (Revised Feb 2011)
Three primary response
operational environments
• Structural Collapse
(Urban) SAR (US&R)
Primary Agency: DHS/FEMA
• Maritime/Coastal/
Waterborne SAR
Primary Agency: DHS/USCG
• Land SAR
Primary Agency: DOI/NPS &
DoD/NORTHCOM
ESF #9
• Assigns Fed Primary Agency responsibilities for a specific
incident when a State requests ESF #9 SAR resources
• Primary Agency is not the same as the Federal SC
described in the NSP (ESF #9 is incident specific)
Catastrophic Incident SAR (CISAR)
Catastrophic Incident SAR
“…any natural or
manmade incident,
including terrorism,
which results in
extraordinary levels
of mass causalities,
damage, or
disruption severely
affecting the
population,
infrastructure,
environment,
economy, national
morale, and/or
government
functions.”
National Response
Framework, page 42
Catastrophic Incident SAR
• Civil SAR carried out as all or
part of the response to an
emergency or disaster
declared by the President
under the NRF & ESF #9
• What qualifies SAR
operations as CISAR is when
the response is associated
with a Presidential
declaration
NSARC: CISAR Addendum (2.0)
CISAR Addendum (2.0): Purpose
• Provides a description of Fed Govt’s civil SAR response in
catastrophic incidents
• Guidance for Fed Authorities involved in a CISAR response
• Provides guidance for SAR responders during the first 24-72
hours of a disaster
• Can be downloaded at the NSARC website
• Version 3.0 is under development – hopefully this year!
CISAR Addendum (3.0)
• Revising several Sections: Children, Persons with Special
Needs, Coast Guard, ESF #9, Planning, etc.
• Adding several Sections (proposed): Tribes, Territories,
Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Flooding,
International SAR
Land SAR Addendum
Land SAR and the Olive
“Normal” SAR
Operations (24/7)
MROs
Land SAR Addendum: Why?
• Standardize land SAR terminology
• Develop basis for land search principles and theory
• Validate use of NIMS/ICS in land SAR operations
• Explains
differences
(and compatibility)
between NIMS/ICS
and international
SAR system
Land SAR Addendum: Why?
• Identifies resources
available for the
conduct of land SAR
operations
• Provides practical
considerations when
undertaking large (or
small) search and/or
rescue operations
• Provides an explanation
of geo-referencing
procedures for SAR
responders
Land SAR Addendum
Should be completed this summer and will be free to
download from the NSARC website (www.uscg.mil/nsarc)
Other Stuff
121.5 MHz ELTs on GA Aircraft
Coast Guard , Air Force, and
FCC have been working to
change General Aviation ELT
carriage requirement (currently
states GA a/c can have either a
121.5 MHz or 406 MHz ELT)
Working towards developing a phased plan to prohibit the
manufacture/sale of 121.5 MHz ELTs, then X years later
their use…
Other Stuff
Satellite Emergency Notification Devices (SEND)
RTCM’s Special Committee
SC128 completed the SEND
standard; RTCM will forward
to the FCC
Other Stuff
Geo-referencing
Three Issues in Catastrophic Incidents:
1. How do SAR Responders navigate when landmarks,
such as street signs, are destroyed?
2. How do SAR Responders communicate position in a
common language?
3. Resource deconfliction: multiple SAR responders/
resources working in a common operating area
It’s not just CISAR… It’s happening every day.
Black Swan Theory
One final consideration…
Black Swan Theory
Black Swan Theory
• Popularized by author and
derivatives trader Nassim
Taleb in his 2007 book, The
Black Swan
• The issue: Deriving general
rules from observed facts…
and those facts only – leads to
limited planning for the outlier
events!
Black Swan Theory
These rare events are what Talib calls “Black Swans”
Black Swan Theory: The Story
In 17th century Europe, what was the chance of ever seeing a
black swan, since they were thought to not exist?
“How many white swans does one need to observe
before inferring that all swans are white and there
are no black swans? Hundreds? Thousands?”
Black Swan Theory
• No matter how many white swans are observed, if just
one black swan was discovered, then the rule, “There
are no black swans,” would be completely disproved
• It was thought impossible to
calculate…
• Until 1697, when Cygnus atratus
was discovered in Australia!
Black Swan Theory: The Point
• Mankind places too
much weight on the
odds that past
events will always
repeat
• It’s the important
events that are rare
and unpredictable…
Black Swan Theory and SAR
• Volunteers and local, regional, tribal, and Fed SAR
authorities need to plan for/coordinate resources
for normal SAR operations…
• But also need to prepare for the outliers, the Black
Swan events, that infrequently can and do occur…
What outlier events are possible in your State?
Black Swan Theory
Need to learn from
other Black Swan
events that have
occurred
Questions?
NSARC: www.uscg.mil/nsarc
NSARC’s “Olive” SAR Model
Olive Model: “Normal SAR”
“Normal” SAR
Operations
(24/7)
Olive Model: “Normal SAR”
“Normal” SAR:
SAR that NSARC
Departments
and Agencies
conduct day in
and day out.
Any SAR case,
not an MRO or
Catastrophic
Incident, can be
considered a
“Normal” SAR
operation.
Olive Model: Mass Rescue Operatons
“Normal” SAR
Operations (24/7)
Mass Rescue
Operations
(MROs)
MROs
“ A mass rescue operation (MRO) is one that involves a need for
immediate assistance to large numbers of persons in distress such that
capabilities normally available to SAR authorities are inadequate.”
IAMSAR Manual, Volume 1
• MROs are Infrequent
• Not considered
“Normal” SAR, but also
does not meet the
criteria for a
Catastrophic Incident
• Usually transportation
related
Olive Model: MROs
MROs are low probability, high risk events.
Olive Model: Catastrophic Incident SAR
“Normal” SAR
Operations (24/7)
Catastrophic
Incident
SAR
MROs
The Olive
“Normal” SAR
Operations
(24/7)
MROs
Key Points:
No line between
“Normal” SAR
and MROs: unique
to each agency,
circumstance, and
type of SAR (land,
aeronautical,
maritime, urban,
etc.)
Line around CISAR
represents the
requirement for a
Presidential
Declaration that
implements CISAR
operations
United States SAR Regions
COLOR KEY: U.S. MARITIME REGION (USCG)
U.S. INLAND REGION (USAF)
CANADIAN SRR
RSC
AFRCC
Tyndall AFB