Interested in Joining the Ohio Special Response Team? Here are Some of Your Options.
The Ohio Special Response Team (OSRT) provides a wide range of services to the “Authorities Having Jurisdiction”. In Ohio, these authorities include the state government and the Emergency Management Agency (at both state and federal levels). At a more local level, these authorities include County Sheriff’s, police, and fire units throughout the state.
Of even more importance, OSRT can, and does, provide assistance to the families of missing persons and communities effected by disasters. Many people assume that we do not respond to families in need. That’s untrue, but there IS a process we have to go through to do so. The easy answer is that families of missing persons need only request our services through the police authority that is conducting the investigation. That authority (usually a detective) has the ability to call upon OSRT for additional support.
Now, back to your options in joining OSRT:
When you are selected to join OSRT you will have multiple options of service and you can train in as many of these options as you wish. While our most prominent service is in search and rescue operations, we have additional tracks available to fit your interests and capabilities. These include:
Administrative Support Team – The OSRT support team provides the vital – and we believe, critical – services that keep our teams operating at peak effectiveness. Support personnel frequently operate in our command-and-control centers, managing search documentation, monitoring and documenting radio communications, maintaining search clue logs, and performing the myriad range of behind the scenes value-adds that make what we do possible.
Search and Rescue Specialist (SAR) – OSRT’s SAR personnel train in a very wide range of competencies. These competencies vary from basic SAR to advanced, and they include FEMA, National Association for Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Association, Lost Person Behavioral Analysis, Homeland Security, National Criminal Justice Training Center and more. You decide how far you want to go with training.
K-9 Handler – Our K-9 handlers possess and train their own K-9s, guided by the other members of the K-9 team as well as a range of professional development systems. These include the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) and the International Police Work Dog Association (IPWDA). Skill sets for OSRT K-9s can include one or more of the following: Trailing, Air Scent, Water Scent, Live Find, Human Remains Detection, Crime Scene Detection, Disaster Live Find, Electronics Detection, Explosives/Gun Powder, and others.
Drone Operations – OSRT is always on the lookout for talented FAA certified drone pilots, but we’re also looking for drone support personnel. While the pilots are directly responsible for flying the drones, support personnel can also fly under a pilot’s supervision. They also serve as observers and co-pilots. OSRT personnel also train in image interpretation.
Interested in getting off the couch and out in the field? Care to take those long walks in the woods with an actual purpose in mind? Would you like to do something that can make an enormous difference to individuals and families throughout the state? The Ohio Special Response Team has multiple units around Ohio and we’re building more.
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