Four Minn. Wing Squadrons Join Forces for Search Training
Combined Minnesota Wing search and rescue training opportunity: "On Saturday May 20th, members from four local Civil Air Patrol squadrons, along with a local high school training program, joined forces to search for a simulated missing hiker.
Ernie McMannequin had gone missing in the early hours of the morning and was carrying a personal locator beacon. Ground teams used their direction finding equipment to track the signal from his beacon and close in on his location. The problem? Ernie has fallen down a steep hillside which posed a hazard for our ground teams to reach him: so they called in reinforcements.
Opportunities in Emergency Care is a program that teaches emergency medical technician, firefighting, and technical rescue skills to students at Spring Lake Park High School. This team of high schoolers used their training to create a rope rescue system capable of lowering them to Ernie's level, where they could package him up and haul him back up to the top of the hill to medical care provided by EMT students.
Our ground teams assisted the rescue team with the heavy hauling work, and helped them carry Ernie out of the woods to an awaiting ambulance. The coordination between these two organizations is crucial in preparing both sides for the real-world emergencies that both may face.
Thank you to Spring Lake Park OEC, William O'Brien State Park, and Forest Lake Airport for welcoming us into their spaces and helping this training event go so smoothly."
