It could happen to you. One day you are entrusted with a major mission area that you have never previously studied or executed: search and rescue. Suddenly, you are expected to be the subject matter expert and lead it. Your previous assignments and education provide you the analytical ability to learn the mission’s protocols. Your leadership experiences provide you the skills to guide the team. Your continued promotions with increasing challenges provide you the confidence to engage something new. But this is entirely different and very complex. Lives are, quite literally, at stake.
As a senior officer in a maritime service, your professional portfolio would be incomplete without a sound knowledge of search and rescue. Whether you serve in the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or the U.S. Merchant Marine, your understanding of the fundamentals of maritime search and rescue (SAR) is vital for the sustained global success and proficiency of the mission.
‘New to the Mission’
Search and rescue is a core mission for the entire U.S. Coast Guard, but only a small cadre is formally trained to coordinate and lead it. The most prominent role is the SAR mission coordinator (SMC), who is responsible for all aspects of planning, coordinating, and managing the response to a maritime-distress case, providing effective oversight and supervision, and ultimately ensuring the mission is properly conducted.1
In a maritime-distress case, the complex sequence of events includes obtaining the best available information, employing computer modeling to identify the most likely areas to search, and launching assets to those areas for extensive searching to rescue lives. These tasks are conducted by qualified watchstanders in command centers and by highly trained boat, cutter, and aircraft operators.
The SMC must lead this team, yet he or she may be new to the mission. In fact, with the dramatic reorganization of the Coast Guard in 2004, it is more likely senior officers assuming the role of SMC will experience their first real exposure to SAR.2 This pairing of significant responsibilities with limited personal training and experience can be an intimidating entrée into the new role.
We provide here an executive-level overview for the SMC role. Far from all encompassing, this should be viewed as a “break the seal” opportunity for those new to the mission and as a helpful refresher for those returning to the mission after one or two assignments away from SAR.
The International SAR System
It is a maritime tradition to render assistance to those in distress on the high seas.3 It is also an obligation recognized by international law under Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ratified in 1982. In fact, the global SAR system is sponsored by two United Nations agencies devoted to transportation safety: the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization. Both jointly developed the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR) to provide doctrine to participating nations, ensuring all persons in distress will be assisted regardless of their location, nationality, or circumstance.4
Within the United States, the National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS) to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual establishes search-and-rescue regions and assigns responsibility to ensure adequate communications, appropriate infrastructure, and proper operational coordination. The NSS divides the country into three separate regions, each overseen by SAR coordinators (SC). The U.S. Air Force is the aeronautical SC for the continental United States. The U.S. Pacific Command is the aeronautical SC for Alaska. The Coast Guard is the aeronautical and maritime SC for waters under U.S. jurisdiction.5 Within this maritime region, the SMC leads the Coast Guard’s response efforts.
Journey to SMC
Each member will take a different path to SMC. Regardless of background, all SMCs should consider two fundamental principles in developing an ethos and proficiency: know your “stuff” (policy and procedures) and genuinely care about the potential victims, letting that empathy motivate your efforts.6
In a perfect world, you will become SMC with a strong foundation of experience, training, and knowledge. You would have previously qualified in all watch stations at a command center, including command duty officer. You would possess well-informed insights from your time as an operator of a SAR unit. You would be a graduate of the two classroom courses at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown and be thoroughly familiar with the U.S. Coast Guard Addendum: a 746-page SAR manual.7 You might also have enjoyed several months of experience in a prior assignment as a “break-in SMC,” listening in on the communication between the command center and a qualified SMC, offering your opinions when asked, and participating in post-case debriefs.
The more likely scenario is that you arrive at the SMC role with an appreciation for its impact and complexity but with limited mission-specific experience. Most of your strength will come from experience commanding operational teams and assets, making reasoned decisions, inferring the right course of action, and staying focused on the “big picture” while your team of technical experts works the specifics and delineates the minutiae.8 You may be moderately familiar with the U.S. Coast Guard Addendum but not entirely comfortable with its format or content. You also have the benefit of the two mandated training courses noted here, with five cumulative weeks in a classroom, surrounded by subject matter experts and fellow SMC candidates. You are ready to lead your team, and you are willing to learn.
Ten Tips for Proficiency
As you embark on the role of search-and-rescue mission coordinator, consider these ten insights, which we recognize only scratch the surface and thus serve as a snapshot of a complex, multi-faceted, and critical mission.
Research. Before your first case, be proactive in studying and learning search and rescue. In addition to the official publications, reference media products to access real SAR cases. The first and easiest choice is to watch SAR cases on television and in film, including The Weather Channel’s series Coast Guard Alaska, Coast Guard Florida, and Coast Guard Cape Disappointment, as well as the film The Perfect Storm, based on Sebastian Junger’s book that details rescue efforts off the coast of New England during a devastating 1991 storm. Your next option is to study cases in popular periodicals or books, which are written in an easy, narrative format, balancing technical accuracy with audience readability.9 Finally, there are case studies written by Coast Guard units on major SAR missions. Most of these are archived at Coast Guard Headquarters with limited access. However, several cases with national visibility and congressional interest are available to the public.10 Some case studies detail fatal errors and mistakes, many of which led to formal changes in policy.
Know Your Team. Build a strong rapport with the men and women who actively conduct search-and-rescue cases under your leadership.11 Act early and frequently to establish and strengthen these relationships. Start with simple acts. Visit your watchstanders often. Many SMCs make a habit of visiting the command center three times a day: once for the morning operational briefing, once during the work day to see if any activity is developing, and once at the end of the day to check out. With each visit, take time to greet the watchstanders by name and learn more about each. Know your assets and understand their operation parameters.12
Visit your operators and embark on their assets for routine training. Engage the crews in conversation about their personal observations and experiences with recent cases. Finally, commit to participating in the watchstanders’ qualification boards and monthly training and your operators’ annual readiness assessment visits. Understand their knowledge and thought processes. These actions are not just good leadership; they will pay great dividends when the same watchstanders wake you in the middle of the night to direct a complex case.
The Real Thing. Before you ever feel truly ready to lead a search-and-rescue case, you will be presented one. Every SAR case requires a response. Have a strong bias for action and never hesitate to launch an asset. Ensure your watchstanders brief the search-and-rescue units (SRUs) on the objective and any foreseeable hazards.13 Stay engaged with the search, ask good questions, and provide quality assurance to your team’s computer modeling. Solicit the recommendations of all watchstanders to determine how they would assess the case and what actions they would take.
If a case is several hours’ or days’ duration, speak directly to the search-and-rescue units’ commanding officer to confirm crew endurance and readiness.14 Ensure the correct employment of assets, maintaining consistent search presence on-scene. When more SRUs are needed, launch them. Remember to engage local and state marine agencies for support. Your most effective tool is the radio; make timely, frequent, and accurate broadcasts so nearby mariners are aware, informed, and equipped to engage. Brief all levels of your command, both those you answer to and those you direct, with timely situation reports and your intended future actions. Give each case the respect it deserves.
Think Critically. View each case from a strategic level, rising above the minute-by-minute tactics. Develop the ability to look at a case from multiple perspectives, carefully filtering out unfounded assumptions and challenging prevailing theory. This is known as critical thinking, and your leadership and operational experience are ideally suited for it. You can recall times in your career when others briefed you, and your instincts said, “that does not sound right; something is off.” Embrace and nurture that instinct for search and rescue.
Take action by asking good questions and develop a list of questions to guide your team. Think like a detective.15 “Whenever a problem cannot be solved formulaically or robotically, critical thinking is required . . . Rarely can problems be precisely and fairly stated prior to analysis, gathering of evidence, and dialogical or dialectical thought wherein several provisional descriptions of the problem are proposed, assessed, and revised.”16
Push your team to challenge assumptions. Have them call back the reporting source and verify the initial reports. Double-check your own theories and those of your team. Be mindful of “group think.” Consensus should result only after serious debate and discussion. Prevent complacency. The buck essentially stops with the SMC, so when it comes to closing or suspending a case you must be the most conservative and most prudent person in the room.17
Communications, Part I: SRUs. This is your personal and direct communications with the search-and-rescue units. In a typical case one or more assets will launch quickly, dispatch to the emergency, commence a search or investigate further, then execute the rescue. This happens relatively quickly, with a member of your watch team providing the SRUs constant guidance and relaying frequent updates to you. For longer and more complex cases, you might speak directly to the units as well. This is especially true with larger cutters and ships searching offshore.
When connectivity allows, pick up the phone and call. Check in on the crew’s comfort and morale. Find out what they need but are unwilling to ask for over the radio. Provide them your candid assessment of the case and your future intentions; you should also offer context, such as how the family is doing and what the media’s interest is. Reassure the SRUs that their efforts matter.
Once the case is concluded, personally reach out to each unit and thank them. A good practice is to provide a succinct case summary on email. If there are news article summaries available, share them. For major cases with extensive searching, follow-up with individual phone calls.18
Communications, Part II: Public Affairs. Engage the media to answer the public’s questions about a case while simultaneously soliciting their help. As a senior officer, you are responsible to ensure this communication is effective. The Coast Guard will generally release all information regarding SAR operations while the case is open and active; this includes the names of individuals being sought or having been rescued. The Coast Guard may also release the names of persons medically evacuated. Some survivors will request their names not be released.19 Once a SAR case has been closed, anyone seeking the names must submit a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.20
Speak to the media in plain English. Do not use acronyms or technical terms. Do not speculate or make promises.21 Exclude gruesome or inappropriate details. Prioritize the information needs of the victims’ families before releasing those details to the public.22 When suspending a case in lieu of closing one, focus on a clear notification that avoids misinterpretation and inadvertent conclusions.23 Always include a sincere expression of sympathy.
Communications, Part III: Next of Kin. You will be in direct contact with the family of those missing. This is the most challenging and personal component of the search-and-rescue mission. As a senior officer, you are responsible to brief the family frequently and ensure they have the most current information. When deciding whether or not to delegate this responsibility, understand that more seniority is always preferred, frequent and timely contact is the standard of performance, and personalized, empathetic interaction is the expectation. In addition to the legally designated next of kin, you may need to consider estranged children, ex-spouses, long-term life partners, and relatives serving in the role of surrogate parents.
When visiting a family inperson, travel with at least one other senior member of your command who can facilitate the briefing. A chaplain is a great choice. Additionally, junior officers should witness this difficult exchange as part of their professional development. You should consider inviting local law enforcement, as they may provide a familiar face and will be able to offer the correct point of contact for obtaining the remains of the deceased, a certificate of death, or a letter of presumed death. It is important to mentally prepare for the emotional strain of the face-to-face meeting with grieving families. Ultimately, next-of-kin briefings are never easy, and no two are ever the same.24
Maritime Safety. The maritime law-enforcement mission should always complement a search-and-rescue case.25 You must ensure your team takes every opportunity to understand the cause of a SAR case and works toward preventing future ones. A post-SAR boarding enables your team to meet this expectation. There are three basic steps. First, upon notification of a vessel in distress, your team should check all available databases to see if a history, pattern of behavior, or concern worth noting exists as you prepare to engage and support the vessel. This should be done in tandem with your rescue efforts, but should not detract from them.
Second, after completion of rescue efforts, direct the nearest on-scene Coast Guard law-enforcement element to conduct a boarding. They should be polite and professional, but they must complete the boarding. Your concerns are: What caused the SAR case in the first place? Do elements exist onboard the boat that could lead to another SAR case? Are you holding the master accountable for the safety and well being of the vessel and crew? Following a successful post-SAR boarding, ensure your team documents what they observed for future reference. Develop a history on each vessel.
Peer Group. Create and foster a tight-knit peer group to share lessons learned, debate policy changes, and actively coach each other during major cases. Easily understood yet less frequently practiced, a peer group is invaluable to every senior leader. This is particularly true in the role of search-and-rescue mission coordinator when lives are at stake and countless individuals—including the victims’ families, the media, and even elected officials—are scrutinizing your actions. Start your peer group early. Build an email list with those senior members who attended training with you. Get to know those individuals geographically located nearby. Share policy updates, providing your own insights and forward news articles on search-and-rescue cases.
Dedicate time every few months to schedule conference calls with two or three of your closest peers to communicate and empathize. Use this forum to ask tough questions you would be embarrassed to ask anyone else: How do you make good decisions when fatigued by consecutive cases? What is your greatest fear? Many successful SMCs recall late-night phone calls or text messages from their peers, offering support and sharing advice during major cases. This outreach was critical to their success.
Teach. Developing tomorrow’s search-and-rescue mission coordinators is critical to the organization’s future success. It also reiterates the priority you, as SMC, place on professionalism. Best practices include dedicating time, perhaps an hour each month, for all senior mission coordinators and future mission coordinators to gather and debate. Select a topic from the U.S. Coast Guard Addendum, assign it to one of the attendees, and pair it with a short quiz and relevant case study. The ensuing conversations and questions will be invaluable for all. Recommend each attendee create a professional binder to hold the notes, quizzes, and case studies for future reference.
Develop a “Break-In SMC” program for aspiring search-and-rescue mission coordinators. On those cases with limited risk and low apprehension, have the watch call your break-in first and elicit their recommendations prior to your being briefed. Finally, require case debriefs and safety stand-downs after all major evolutions. Invite all stakeholders inside your agency to elicit multiple perspectives, learn something new, and ultimately refine your processes. Embrace your role as teacher early in your assignment and remember that the best way to learn something yourself is to teach it to others.
Ideally, both newly minted and seasoned search-and-rescue mission coordinators will find confidence in reviewing this summary of basics and best practices. Of course, this is only a snapshot of the complex and dynamic mission of search and rescue. You should tailor these insights as you see fit, develop and publish your own, and ultimately embrace your role as search-and-rescue mission coordinator.
1. U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Addendum to the United States National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS) to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR), (2013), COMDTINST M16130.2F, 1-8, www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/COMDTINST%20M16130.2F.pdf.
2. Joe Vojvodich, “A Look at Sectors: Building upon Authorities, Capabilities, and Partnerships,” U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association Bulletin, vol. 73, no. 6, (December 2011), 40–49.
3. CDR Marc Knowlton, USCG, email to LT Preston Hieb, 23 April 2014.
4. International Maritime Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization, International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR) vol. I, ch. 1, (2013 edition), (London/Montreal: 2008).
5. National Search and Rescue Committee, United States National Search and Rescue Supplement to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual, (Washington, D.C., 2000), Appendix A, www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/manuals/natl_sar_supp.pdf.
6. Jerome Popiel, email to CDR Sean Carroll via CAPT Anthony Popiel, USCG, 24 April 2014.
7. U.S. Coast Guard Addendum To The United States National Search And Rescue Supplement (NSS) To The International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR).
8. CAPT Brian Penoyer, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 23 April 2014.
9. Paul Tough “A Speck in the Sea,” The New York Times Magazine, 2 January 2014. Thomas W. Gross, “For Those In Peril,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. no. (December 1994). Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman, The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue (New York: Scribner, 2010). Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman, Not Without Hope (New York: William Morrow, 2010).
10 “A Review of the Coast Guard’s Search and Rescue Mission”(111-64); Hearing before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; U.S. Congress House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Session, 30 September 2009. “Sinking of the Recreational Sailing Vessel Morning Dew at the Entrance to the Harbor of Charleston, South Carolina,” National Transportation Safety Board Marine Accident Report, 29 December 1997.
11. CDR Kendall Garran, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 23 August 2013.
12. CDR Casey Hehr, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 8 May 2014.
13. Addendum to the United States National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS) to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR), 1-14.
14. LCDR Leanne Lusk, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 8 August 2013.
15. CDR Timothy Haws, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 29 April 2014.
16. R. Paul and L. Elder, Critical Thinking (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2002), 336.
17. CAPT Ronald LaBrec, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 14 May 2014.
18. CDR Brian LeFebvre, USCG, email to CDR Sean Carroll, 27 August 2013.
19. United States Coast Guard (2008), Public Affairs Manual, COMDTINST M5728.2d, (2008) 2-27.
20. Ibid., 2-27.
21. Ibid., 2-31.
22. Ibid., 2-27.
23. Addendum to the United States National Search and Rescue Supplement (NSS) to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual (IAMSAR), 3-93.
24. CAPT John C. O’Connor III, USCG, conversation with CDR Sean Carroll, 30 October 2013.
25. 14 U.S. Code § 89–Law Enforcement, www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/14/89.
Lieutenant Hieb is the command center chief and a command duty officer for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston.
Chief Boatswain’s Mate Woodhead (Ret.) is currently a command duty officer and search-and-rescue mission coordinator for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston.