Morro Slab is “a very good educational teaching tool because it is quite small and it’s easy to go up and down because it’s quick,” said Darryl Cattell, warrant officer at the Canadian forces School of Search and Rescue Training in Comox, B.C. Cattell has been with SAR for 18 years and this is his sixth year instructing.
The crew also trains in Hidden Valley, which is “quite different. It’s a significant hike to get up there and it’s multi-pitch, about five or six rope lengths to get up.”
Military training has happened in this region since the late 1940s.
SAR Techs are selected from a pool of 30 candidates each year, and typically 12 are chosen, he said.
“This year is quite unique because it is such a small course,” said Cattell. “There’s only six guys on course.”
In order to be considered for the 11-month SAR Tech training program, an individual must match certain criteria.
“A lot of it is physical endurance, survivability in different climatic conditions, their cognitive ability, and they have to show some significant potential in academics,” said Cattell.
The academic aspect is important because SAR Techs spend the first four months of training in a primary care paramedic program at the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue.
“Normally a civilian can go through paramedic training for up to a year, so it’s quite intense.”
Aside from paramedic training, most SAR Tech training—approximately 65 per cent— happens away from Comox, said Cattell.
After passing medical training, the group proceeds to winter survival training and rescue situations. This includes arctic survival and avalanche safety training. They also head out on skis into the backcountry to get a feel for travelling on that terrain.
“It’s important because a lot of our missions in B.C. take you into the higher country,” said Cattell.
SAR Tech training also includes parachuting, diving, ground operations and survival procedures in all types of conditions.
Now that the SAR Techs’ mountain training is complete, they have moved on to Hinton for the final stages of the course.
“It’s more of a confirmation phase of everything that they’ve been taught and they will run through different scenarios,” said Cattell.
The six SAR Techs who were in Jasper this month will graduate on June 13, and afterwards will be posted to units across Canada.
