Pete Melnick, the Operations Officer of Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, and Lance Ewers, the volunteer captain of Search and Rescue (SAR), share plans by to conduct a joint training operation this weekend and ongoing recruiting efforts. After hiking up Mt. Verstovia, Coast Guard pilots are going to teach SMR (Sitka Mountain Rescue) teams how to conduct rescue operations.
Ewers said there are 30 active volunteers in the SAR and they’re always looking for more. Melnick reminded listeners that May 16 to May 22, 2015 is National Safe Boating week and shared this memory aid: PLEDGE (Plan, Life jackets, Evaluate the weather, Dry sober boating, Gear and boat up to speed, EPIRBS, which are signalling devices that assist with search and rescue efforts).
