SAR stands for Search and Rescue. Its purpose is to locate people in distress, rescue them, provide initial care and bring them to a place of safety. Aircraft, helicopters, watercraft, ground teams and other rescue resources may work together. Both civilian and military forces can perform SAR.
Alerting and establishing the distress situation
A SAR response may be triggered by a distress call, a beacon alert or a report of a missing or overdue aircraft. In an aircraft search, flight-plan information and the current air picture can help establish what has happened and narrow the search. A coordination centre brings the available information together and coordinates suitable rescue resources.
Satellite-based distress alerts may reach the responsible rescue coordination centres through Cospas-Sarsat. Satellites, ground stations and the forwarding of alert data connect the transmitted signal with the rescue response.
Search and rescue are different tasks
Search first aims to locate the people. A search area may be divided into sub-areas assigned to different forces. Search planning and mission coordination use the available information to determine how to employ the aircraft, vessels and search teams available.
Rescue involves retrieving people from distress, meeting their initial care needs and transporting them to a place of safety. The asset that detects a person or reports their position need not be the one that eventually picks them up.
Coordination centre, mission coordinator and on-scene coordination
| Abbr. | Function |
|---|---|
| RCC | Rescue Coordination Centre: the centre from which a SAR incident is controlled and coordinated. |
| SMC / SARMC | Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator: the qualified person assigned to coordinate the response to an actual or apparent distress situation. SARMC is an alternative designation used in some Australian jurisdictions. |
| OSC | On-scene Coordinator: the person coordinating search and rescue operations within a specified area on scene. |
IAMSAR stands for International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue and denotes the joint aviation and maritime SAR manual. It covers the organisation of SAR systems, coordination of individual missions and the tasks of mobile rescue resources operating on scene. Specific responsibilities are organised nationally.
Civilian and military cooperation
Germany
The Bundeswehr's military search and rescue service also forms part of Germany's national SAR service. Its tasks include searching for overdue or crashed aircraft and rescuing their occupants. Military rescue assets and civilian emergency services work together following an aircraft crash. Support in maritime distress cases is also part of this role.
Canada
In Canada, the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Coast Guard work together in Joint Rescue Coordination Centres (JRCCs) to plan, coordinate and control aeronautical and maritime rescue operations. The air force maintains SAR aircrews and aircraft, among other resources; the Coast Guard provides maritime SAR services on federally controlled waterways.
Provinces and territories have primary responsibility for searches for missing persons on land and inland waters, delegating operational responsibility to police services. Parks Canada leads ground SAR in federal parks. The armed forces may assist the responsible authorities when requested.
Difference from Combat Search and Rescue
Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) denotes military recovery in the context of combat and hostile threats. In the NATO framework, CSAR combines SERE-trained and appropriately equipped isolated personnel with specifically organised and equipped capabilities nationally designated for Personnel Recovery. An aircraft accident or maritime distress already provides a reason for SAR; hostile interference is not a general defining feature of search and rescue.