Search and Rescue Merit Badge

Overview

A search is an emergency situation requiring a team of trained searchers to locate a missing person. A rescue is an emergency situation where a person’s location is known – perhaps having just been found by searchers – and he or she must be removed from danger and returned to safety. By working on the Search and Rescue merit badge, you will learn and practice many skills that may someday save a life.

Requirements

NOTE: Prohibited Activities The Scouting America’s Guide to Safe Scouting states under “Prohibited Activities” that flying in aircraft as part of a search and rescue mission is a prohibited activity for youth members. For complete information, see Scouting America’s Guide to Safe Scouting.
(1) Hazards and First Aid. Do the following:
- (a) Show or explain first aid for, and prevention of, injuries and conditions that searchers and subjects could develop during an SAR situation, including:
- (1) Dehydration
  
  Resources: Dehydration (video)
- (2) Heatstroke
  
  Resources: Heat Exhaustion vs Heat Stroke (video), Heat Stroke (video)
- (3) Hypothermia
  
  Resources: Hypothermia (video)
- (4) Shock
  
  Resources: Recognizing and Treating Shock (video), Shock (video)
- (5) Blisters
  
  Resources: Blisters (video)
- (6) Eye injuries
  
  Resources: First Aid for Eyes (video)
- (7) Ankle and knee sprains
  
  Resources: Figure 8 Ankle Wrap (video), Orthopedic Injuries (website), Bone, Joint, and Muscle Injuries (video)
- (8) Bug bites of chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes, and biting gnats
  
  Resources: Tick Checks (video), Mosquito Bites (video)
- (9) Bee stings
  
  Resources: Bee Stings (video), Treatment of a Bee Sting (video)
- (10) Bites of spiders
  
  Resources: What You Need To Know About Spider Bites (video)
- (11) Sting of a scorpion
  
  Resources: Scorpion Stings (video)
- (12) Bite of a wild mammal
  
  Resources: Treatment of Animal Bites (video)
- (13) Bite of a venomous snake
  
  Resources: Snakebites (video), Rattlesnake Bites (video)
- (b) Explain how the Scout Basic Essentials address hazards outdoors and help lost Scouts stay safe before they are rescued.
  
  Resources: Scout Outdoor Essentials (website), Scout Essentials and Outdoor Hazards (PDF)
- (c) Discuss how the safety gear carried by SAR team members in their field packs address SAR hazards.
(2) Staying and Getting Found. Do the following:
- (a) Explain how a trip plan and the buddy system help Scouts with staying found and getting found.
  
  Resources: How To Plan an Adventure (video), Scout Trip Planning (website), Why You Should Make Trip Plans (website)
- (b) Explain how seasonal and daily weather changes affect Trip Plans.
  
  Resources: Search and Rescue Expert Stresses Importance of Preparedness (video)
- (c) Explain and show how a lost Scout could send signals that would alert a ground, airborne, or water SAR team to their location.
  
  Resources: 5 Ground To Air Signals That Save Lives (video), Various Ways To Signal for Search and Rescue (video), Signaling for Help in the Wilderness (website)
- (d) Demonstrate how to use a signaling mirror.
  
  Resources: How To Use a Signal Mirror (video), The Signal Mirror: A Low-Tech Lifesaver (website)
- (e) Explain how a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) works and the role of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC).
  
  Resources: How Does an EPIRB Work? (video), How Modern Rescue Beacons Work—The Anatomy of a Rescue | EPIRB and Personal Locator Beacons (video), Emergency Beacons (website)
(3) Maps. Using a map, a compass and a GPS device or app approved by your counselor, do the following:
- (a) Point out and explain the 5 D’s (Date, Description, Details, Direction or Declination, Distance) of the map.
  
  Resources: The 5 D’s in Navigation (video), The Five D’s in Map Navigation (website)
- (b) Choose a location on the map and record the altitude, latitude, longitude, and US National Grid coordinates. Describe how these coordinate systems differ.
  
  Resources: How To Read a US National Grid Map (website), Work With a Grid in ArcGIS Pro (video)
- (c) Orient the map and take a bearing to another map location. Estimate the distance between, and describe the terrain between, the two locations.
  
  Resources: How To Use a Map and Compass (website)
- (d) Show a hypothetical place last seen and point out an area on your map that could be used for containment using natural or human-made boundaries.
  
  Resources: Search Containment (video)
(4) Incident Command System (ICS). Do the following:
- (a) Explain how a local ICS is organized and how it compares with Scouting’s patrol method.
  
  Resources: Introduction to ICS (video), Incident Command Structure (website)
- (b) Explain how local community agencies work to train for and manage search and rescue situations.
  
  Resources: Search & Rescue Training (video), CERT Search & Rescue Training (video), What It Takes To Be on a Search and Rescue Team (video)
(5) SAR Teams. Do the following:
- (a) Explain the official duties of a search and rescue team.
  
  Resources: What You Should Know As A Search & Rescue Team Member (video)
- (b) Explain the differences between wilderness, urban, and water SARs.
  
  Resources: Types of Search and Rescue (website)
- (c) Identify four types of search and rescue teams and explain situations where they are used.
  
  Resources: Types of SAR Teams (website)
(6) Search and Rescue Procedures. Do the following:
- (a) Explain the difference between search and rescue.
  
  Resources: Search or Rescue (video), Search Methods (PDF)
- (b) Explain the difference between PLS (place last seen) and LKP (last known point)
  
  Resources: PLS and LKP (website)
- (c) Explain the importance of effective communication in SAR operations.
  
  Resources: Urban Search and Rescue Communications Specialist Training (video)
- (d) Explain how predictions of “lost person behavior” determine SAR search plans for a young child, a teenager, and an adult.
  
  Resources: Lost Person Behavior Scenario (video), Help Us Find You (video)
- (e) Explain the following terms:
  
  Resources: Search and Rescue Glossary (website)
  - (1) Evaluating search urgency
    
    Resources: Urban Search Urgency Evaluation Form (PDF)
  - (2) Establishing confinement
    
    Resources: Establishing Confinement (video)
  - (3) Scent item
  - (4) Area air scent dog
    
    Resources: Training For A Search And Rescue (video), Scent and Rescue Dogs (website)
  - (5) Briefing and debriefing
    
    Resources: Thorns and Roses (website), Start, Stop, Continue (video)
  - (6) Clue awareness
    
    Resources: Clue Awareness (video), Tracking in SAR (website), Clue Awareness and Detection (PPT)
  - (7) Evidence preservation
    
    Resources: Evidence Search (video)
  - (8) Tracking a subject
    
    Resources: Footprint Tracking (video), Dog Scent Tracking Demo (video), Tracking With Drones (video), Human Tracking, Whistle Science @ 8:30 (video), Tracking Dog Scent-Preservation (video)
  - (9) Locating a subject using attraction
    
    Resources: Ground Search Techniques (website)
  - (10) Hasty search
    
    Resources: Hasty Searching (video), Search Types (video)
  - (11) Trail sweep search
    
    Resources: Conducting a Sound Sweep (website)
  - (12) Grid search
    
    Resources: Zone Search (video)
(7) Plan and Complete a Search. Do the following with a team of Scouts, friends, or family to execute a practice SAR exercise:
- (a) Choose a hypothetical SAR scenario, either one presented in the Search and Rescue merit badge pamphlet or one approved by your counselor.
  
  Resources: Training Scenarios (website), Lost Scout Scenario (PDF)
- (b) Develop an Incident Action Plan (IAP) for a hasty search using the scenario information.
  
  Resources: Developing an IAP (PDF)
- (c) Before the search begins, conduct a PAUSE briefing to review hazards, safety concerns, personal and shared Scout Basic Essentials, and other gear.
  
  Resources: Pause. Look. Act. (video), Risk Assessment (video), PAUSE Safety Moment (PDF)
- (d) Execute the search.
- (e) After the search, hold a team debriefing to discuss the search, problems, successful and unsuccessful tactics, and ideas for improvement.
  
  Resources: Philmont Thorns and Roses (website)
(8) Careers. Do ONE of the following:
- (a) Explore careers related to Search and Rescue merit badge or emergency management. Research one career to learn about the training and education needed, costs, job prospects, salary, job duties, and career advancement. With permission of your parent or guardian, your research methods may include an internet or library search, an interview with a professional in the field, or a visit to a location where people in this career work. Discuss with your counselor both your findings and what about this profession might make it an interesting career.
  
  Resources: What it Means to be a Search and Rescue Responder (video), What It Actually Takes To Be a Rescue Swimmer in the Coast Guard (video), U.S. Air Force: Combat Search and Rescue (video), Emergency Management Directors (video)
- (b) Explore how you could use knowledge and skills from this merit badge to serve as a volunteer on a disaster relief team, a wilderness rescue team, or a ski patrol. Research any training needed, expenses, and organizations that promote or support it. Discuss with your counselor what short-term and long-term goals you might have if you pursue this.
  
  Resources: How To Prepare To Join a Search and Rescue Team | SAR Training for Finding Missing Persons (video), Volunteer Search and Rescue Teams (video), Search and Rescue Volunteers (video)

Resources

Note: This is an unofficial archive of Scouts BSA Merit Badges that was automatically extracted from the Scouting America website and may contain errors.