OSWEGO and ONONDAGA COUNTIES – Thirteen new recruits are now qualified to join the Oswego and Onondaga County volunteer search and rescue teams after completing the 2022 Search and Rescue (SAR) Academy.

The students successfully completed several weeks of classroom and practical skills training in Oswego and Onondaga counties. For their final exam on June 12, the students were required to demonstrate wilderness survival and navigation skills through a lengthy course at Happy Valley Wildlife Management Area in Oswego County.

Volunteer instructors from the Oswego County Pioneer and the Onondaga County Wilderness SAR teams conduct the joint training academy every two years. The academy covers search and rescue techniques including map, compass, and GPS navigation, grid search techniques, man-tracking, wilderness survival, radio communications, cold weather emergencies, crime scene preservation, the National Incident Management System (NIMS), and other related topics.

The 13 academy graduates are Mark Bender, Constantia; Cathy Celeste, Oswego; Christina Dix, Fulton; Timothy Gleeson, Warners; Dylan Holden, Oswego; Elisabeth Meyers, Phoenix; Adam Pennisi, Syracuse; David Powers, Sandy Creek; Jeff Sargent, Lafayette; Kelly Schulz, Central Square; Michael Tafler, Oswego; Chelsea Thorn, Baldwinsville; and Michele Wilson, Baldwinsville.

Team leaders congratulated the students and thanked them for their efforts.

“We’re excited to add these new volunteer members to our teams,” said Oswego County Team Coordinator Aaron Albrecht. “I have great confidence sending these recruits on search and rescue missions in Central New York and throughout the state.”

Onondaga County Team Coordinator Jason Baleno said, “We are very grateful to these new recruits for the countless hours that they have put in to complete the 2022 SAR Academy. I am very confident in the skills that they have learned and look forward to working with them on many search missions in the years to come.”

NYS DEC Forest Ranger Jacob Murphy assisted in teaching the academy. 

“Each year, DEC Forest Rangers conduct hundreds of search and rescue missions,” said Ranger Murphy. “Search teams like Oswego Pioneer SAR and Onondaga Wilderness SAR play a vital role in the wilderness when minutes and seconds count. I was proud to be part of the instruction of these volunteers and look forward to working with them in the field.”

The Oswego and Onondaga County SAR teams frequently train together and support each other in mutual aid searches for lost persons in Central New York and across New York State.

Both teams are all-volunteer units and serve as the primary search and rescue resource in their respective counties, working closely with law enforcement agencies. All SAR team members are certified as NYS DEC Basic Wildlands Searchers, and are certified in Wilderness First Aid, American Heart Association CPR, and as Project Lifesaver Electronic Search Specialists.

The team coordinators said many community agencies help support the training efforts. Special thanks go to the NYS Forest Rangers, NYS Police, West Monroe Fire Department, Clay Highway Department, Oswego City-County Parks and Recreation, Oswego County Fire Coordinators, Oswego County E-911, and Onondaga County Parks for their assistance with the 2022 training academy.

For more information, visit the team Facebook pages at https://www.facebook.com/OCPSAR and https://www.facebook.com/WSARTeam/.


SAR RECRUITS COMPLETE TRAINING – The Oswego and Onondaga County Search and Rescue Teams completed their 2022 joint training academy June 12 in Williamstown. Thirteen new recruits finished several months of classroom and practical skills training to qualify as volunteer members of the search and rescue teams. On hand to show their support were NYS DEC Forest Ranger Jacob Murphy, academy instructors, and members of the Oswego and Onondaga County SAR teams.