Join Us

If approved to attend our SAR Academy training, there will be both classroom and field sessions. Classes will be on Monday nights 7-9:30 for 8 weeks, and field work will be on three Saturdays TBD.  Attendance is mandatory for all training sessions. Positions for this academy are limited and require approval of Application. Please go to our Contact Us page and send us an email to obtain more information.  

If you love the outdoors, are mentally and physically prepared for being outside, day and night, in all types of weather and terrain, do not mind getting notified at 2 am to get up and drive several hours to search incidents all over the state, are available to leave work and family while responding to search call-outs, are willing to pay out of your own pocket for basic survival and search gear, provide for your travel to and from training and searches, and want to provide professional SAR services to your community, then Search & Rescue may be for you! Learn more by checking out an excellent article How to Join a Search & Rescue Team.

Many individuals are interested in becoming K9 SAR Handlers. Prospective K9 handlers need to reach Searcher status prior to starting a dog in training. Attaining Searcher status takes about one year to accomplish. As new members are working toward fulfilling these requirements, it is highly recommended that they attend as many K9 trainings as possible. The K9 handlers train during the month in addition to attending the monthly scheduled team training. We require prospective K9 handlers to learn basic SAR skills, demonstrate their dedication to the team, and learn about K9 SAR through observation of the team’s operational K9 units. New members may then consider getting a dog that has all the characteristics needed for search work. Training a K9 for SAR typically takes 2 years and a time commitment of 8-10 hours of training per week. Visit K-9 Services to learn more.