Last week the Travis County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team made a significant contribution of equipment and supplies to TEXSAR! It took two pick-ups to load it all. There are enough supplies that we may likely be able to share some items with some of our partner teams! TEXSAR is grateful for both the donation and the growing relationship with the Dive team members. We are working on a date to exercise with them soon!! ...
On June 12 two of our TEXSAR members graduated as Master Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Instructors. This will allow TEXSAR to provide training to new CERT Instructors throughout Texas for both Adult and Teen CERT programs. Mackenzie Kelly and Greg Pyles were two of only nine CERT Instructors from across the State selected to take this training. They were the only graduates from the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) Region. The training was provided by CAPCOG, North Central Texas...
This weekend, TEXSAR members Shawn Hohnstreiter and John Michael Gibbs completed the final processes in gaining apprentice instructor status for vertical rope rescue and flood and swiftwater rescue. The new instructors join TEXSAR member and instructor Mark Baumann as the training cadre for TEXSAR’s vertical rescue team and flood and swiftwater rescue team. Regarding the achievement, Instructor Hohnstreiter said, “This represents the growth of our search and rescue team and our commitment to the community. We can be sure our technical...
At the request of the Central Texas Community Emergency Response Team Coordinator TEXSAR’s CERT trainers met with the Village of Point Venture Emergency Management team and interested citizens on Wednesday evening, May 30. Point Venture is launching their first Community Emergency Response Team training and the meeting was to provide information about the program and how TEXSAR would deliver the training and support the program. City officials will begin scheduling the classes and we will provide the training and CERT program management support. Great City leadership, hospitality and...
On Saturday morning, May 19th, TEXSAR team members headed to New Braunfels to participate in a training “play day” with Wesley Meyers of Rescue Training International (RTI). The morning started at a heavily canopied canyon preserve where TEXSAR members, along with members from TMAR and first responders from across Texas, were provided with an overview of Land Search and Rescue Concepts and Lost Person Behavior Patterns. Participants then practiced and refined their line search and echo location skills. Next was...
Beginning at 4:20 am Wednesday May 16, 2012 our team began preparing to assist the Killeen Police Department (KPD) with a search for a missing 8 yr old boy. The team and our friends responded quickly. Team member Matt Boettner lives in Killeen and was at the KPD Headquarters before 8 am discussing the case with the lead detective. Our Operations and Planning units began running lost person behavior and likely find area identification based on the information we had. The Logistics unit began planning for required equipment and...
