Great fun for S&R

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 483, 27 April 1993, Page 3

Great fun for S&R

A team of Waiouru search and rescue volunteers had the time of their lives during a training exercise held in rough terrain north of the township on the weekend. Ten military and civilian volunteers, and instructors from the Army Adventurous Training Centre, put months of classroom theory into practice in an intensive two day exercise that saw volunteers abseiling from the Moawhango Dam, attempting night navigation, and being winched from a RNZAF Iriquos helicopter. One instructor received some lighthearted flak for "leading from the rear", subsequently missing an opportunity to join volunteers in the icy waters of the Waipakahi River for pack floating techniques. A husband and wife team, and father and son combination were just four of the volunteers who took part in the exercise. A memorable moment for volunteer Melissa Morris was preparing to drop over the lip of the Moawhango Dam to abseil the distance to the bottom. "It was a pretty scary moment and about the biggest worry was manoeuvring over the

top" she said. 'The rest was easy." Exercise Controller, SSgt Bruce Mazengarb, said the volunteers responded well to the various situations they were placed in. Of particular note was the exercise in night navigation where teams of two attempted to navigate a particular route in a given time period. All teams performed exceptionally well, he said, with all returning within their alloted time. On Sunday, after instruction on helicopter safety, boarouig and marshalling techniques, the group was divided into two teams to take part in a mock search and rescue operation for two 'casualties' in the Karioi Forest. Teams were winched into the forest via helicopter to initally search; once found the 'victim' received first aid and was then transported by stretcher approximately 500 metres for evacuation by helicopter. SSgt Mazengarb, deemed the exercise a huge success, with plenty of positive feedback from those involved. Another two people have indicated interest in joining the Search and Rescue team due to interest generated from the exercise

The team meets at least twice a month for theory training, interspersed with regular field exercises where volunteers put their training to the test. It is also an op-

portunity for instructors to ascertain individual strengths and weaknesses. The emphasis of the weekend's exercise was on developing skills and teamwork.