VCSAR Team 1 runs an Academy each year for prospective members. If you enjoy the outdoors, learning new skills, and working as part of a team, you may be an excellent candidate for SAR. You must be at least 21 years old and in good standing with the community. Search and Rescue is hugely demanding and requires highly trained and…
Justo ante nec sit vestibulum in, ante erat cursus dapibus pellentesque sed, in justo, risus fringilla porttitor duis aenean cras sed. Amet quis, corrupti mauris pede maecenas, luctus integer viverra praesent, amet ut. Tortor sagittis eu, urna et diam scelerisque nunc, mauris nisl mauris. Sem luctus sed nulla ad facilisi non. Volutpat molestie tempor, lacinia magna amet vitae. Maecenas mattis…
Each team member can spend hundreds of hours per year on team activities, including meetings, training, events, and calls for service. Meetings are one weeknight per month and training is one weekend day per month for all team members. For probationary members, and optional for most of the team, there will be one additional weeknight and one extra weekend day of training per month for the first six months. To be prepared for call-outs, the team must also attend to administrative tasks and check and clean equipment monthly and after training, events, and call-outs. Those deeply committed to the team can give many hours per month of their free time.
All team members are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, and are paged to respond by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Air Unit/Substation.
During holidays and summer, when there are a lot of people in the backcountry, we can get swamped. We are always on-call for incidents like vehicle-over-the-side accidents and missing individuals. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office may call us to aid in evidence searches or body recoveries, so we consistently receive calls throughout the year.
The duration of calls for service can vary tremendously depending on the type of request, location, weather, etc. Rescue situations where the subject’s location is known can last between a couple of hours to over a day, depending on the area, terrain, and conditions. In search situations, the call can last anywhere from an hour to several days.
The academies offer full scholarships (tuition, housing, textbooks) in return for a five-year service commitment after graduation.
The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a great officer path option for those interested in experiencing military training and…
Officer Candidate School (OCS) (known as Officer Training School in the Air Force) is the officer program for recruits who possess…
Civilians who have special skills in demand by the Military can also become officers through a process called direct commission.
If a potential recruit wishes to become an officer, the time from deciding to join to being commissioned and entering the Military will vary. Factors include his or her level of education and the type of experience they’d like to have during their training.
Commissioned officers generally enter the Military with a four-year college degree or greater, or receive officer training following tours of enlisted service. Officers are generally employed in management roles or highly specialized fields that require professional…