This week's team profile is not actually about a SAR team; but rather a SAR organisation that encompasses volunteer instructors from several lowland search teams.

UKLSI was originally developed by the old SEBEV course instructors who recognised the benefits of training with other units (and the dangers of training in teams without outside input!) However, as these instructors moved on the mantle of UKLSI was taken on by instructors from Wilsar and Sussar, who continue to develop UKLSI today.

UKLSI now runs a number of SAR related courses; all intended to improve upon the ability of searchers to do their job and find missing people. Here is the current course list;

Lowland Search Technician – the entry level lowland search course based on the ALSAR syllabus that all ALSAR and LSDogs members must pass to become operational.

Lowland Search Team Leader – arguably the most important role in lowland search, this course teaches how to lead a lowland search team, efficiently(!), during operational missing person searches.

Search Controller – a course taught to both search volunteers and PolSAs giving practical guidance in managing the missing person search in the first operational period.

Tracking – taught by Ian 'Max' Maxwell from Shadowhawk, teaches valuable tracking skills for lowland SAR.

Navigation – so vital for SAR, yet often so poorly understood. This course takes participants at whatever level they are and improves and assesses their skills.

Missing Person Behaviour – UKLSI now has two instructors qualified to run a missing person behaviour course, based upon the work of Bob Koester and the collection of data in the International Search and Rescue Incident Database (ISRID).

Mental Health First Aid – recognising that the majority of mispers found in lowland search have some mental health issues, UKLSI has recently started putting on Mental Health First Aid courses to assist searchers dealing with such casualties.

SAR Instructor Training – UKLSI prides itself on the development of SAR instructors, who need to be both proficient and understand search and rescue as well as how to impart that knowledge during training. Therefore they put on annual instructor training to train new and develop existing instructors.

As I write this article, sat as I am in the middle of a UKLSI course weekend, I am surrounded by participants from a wide variety of teams coming to do either Navigation, Tracking or Mental Health First Aid courses. There are delegates here from Wilsar and Sussar as you would expect, as well as delegates from ... Isis-SAR, Cheshire SAR, Staffs SART, Cambridgeshire SAR, SEBEV SAR, Hantsar, Midshires SAR, BSAR, Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs and Lowland Search Dogs Kent.

And despite some accusations in some quarters about the insular nature of UKLSI most UKLSI courses do have this level of unit mix these days. UKLSI often has participants from other agencies too, including police officers and PolSAs and Coastguard officers too.

And when you ask any of the lead instructors why they do all this work, for no pay, with UKLSI the answer is generally the same – UKLSI provides the best training for my team, which means we give the best response we can for the misper.