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AIR SAR

Canada and Russia strengthen Arctic SAR

by Major Pat McSorley

Four Canadian Air Force Officers representing Canada's aeronautical Search and Rescue (SAR) system visited their Russian counterparts last July under the auspices of the Military Training Assistance Programme (MTAP). The exchange took place in Moscow and in the immediate vicinity of the Russian capital. This was a return visit, as a Russian SAR delegation visited Canada in May 2004.

The Canadian delegation (L-R: Maj. Atkins, LCol. Murray, Maj. McSorley and LCol. Goodman meet with Russian Air Force SAR officials in the Russian Rescue Coordination Centre. Photo courtesy of Major Pat McSorley

The four SAR Officers making up the delegation represented both the operational 1 Canadian Air Division headquarters in Winnipeg (LCol Colin Goodman and Maj Mike Atkins) and the Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa (LCol Colin Murray and Maj Pat McSorley).

The Russian Air Force hosts familiarized the Canadians with the organization of the aeronautical SAR system in Russia and how response to distress incidents is coordinated. In Russia, aeronautical SAR also includes spacecraft recovery, as twice a year Soyuz spacecraft return from the international space station. The group visited the Russian space centre (named after Yuri Gagarin - the first man in space), a SAR base near Moscow, where Russian fixed wing and helicopter aircraft were displayed along with the related equipment and techniques, and the primary Russian Rescue Coordination Centre in Moscow.

They discussed the increasing activity of SAR operations in the Arctic regions, created by the growth of both international air carrier over-flight traffic and domestic tourism and economic development in the North.

The delegation made a short visit to the Canadian embassy in Moscow, and met briefly with the Ambassador and Defence Attaché staff.

Such exchanges help strengthen cooperation between the two countries' search and rescue systems.

Major Pat McSorley is the Senior Staff Officer for Search and Rescue at National Defence Headquarters.

Behind the scenes of SMMS: SARNOCC

by Capt. Bernie Leclair

Located at the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in Trenton, Ontario, the SAR Network Operations Control Centre (SARNOCC) is one of the four major components used to effectively and efficiently run the SAR Mission Management System (SMMS).

SARNOCC provides 24 hour a day, 7 days a week support to the national search and rescue ground segment, and is the result of the rationalization of support to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centres (JRCC), Marine Rescue Sub Centres (MRSC) and Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC). In the fall of 2001, CMCC had one regular force Communications Officer supporting CMCC, assisted by a contractor. These two individuals were on-call 24/7, 365 days a year. On the other hand, the JRCCs and MRSCs had no support structure in place and were operating the SMMS system independently.

Captain Marty Rafuse, A3 SAR2, and Captain Bernie Leclair, CMCC Systems Officer, found the plans developed at Aerospace Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) in 1996 for a national SAR network and Accompanying Support Centre. The result was the development and implementation of SARnet, a national network dedicated to SAR and SARNOCC, a support centre dedicated solely to supporting SAR.

The original SARNOCC was staffed solely by Capt. Leclair, and three months later he was joined by Sgt. Skip Johnson and Sgt. Mike Hambley, both Class B reservists.

"The initial days were extremely busy, but now that the system has stabilized the workload has become manageable," said Sgt. Johnson.

SARNOCC’s Second Lieutenant Eugene Conrad fields trouble calls.

Additional personnel are being posted in this summer, bringing the strength up to nine. A cost-sharing plan between the Canadian Coast Guard and Department of National Defence has resulted in a part-time technician in Victoria.

As the national SAR support centre, SARNOCC leverages technology to the maximum to project a larger support posture. Using remote access software, SARNOCC technicians can fix problems with the software or PC anywhere in the country from Trenton. Cpl. Gary Graham, a SARNOCC technician said, "An operator calls the Help Desk and we are able to reach out and touch his PC and rectify the problem right away. This gives the user a high level of confidence in the system."

As the SMMS system matures, it becomes critical that Centres receive support. Second Lieutenant Gene Conrad, part of the SARNOCC team said "SARNOCC has assumed the role of a Wing Telecom Unit for SAR. Because Centres are manned by shift workers, we handle the IT requirements and liaise with local Telecom sections to ensure the Centres receive timely service."

SARNOCC has played an instrumental role in developing, engineering and supporting the Centres' backup sites, which allows the Centres to focus on their primary SAR role. The roll-out to the SAR Squadrons and the development of Deployed Search Headquarters is ongoing.

Capt. Bernie Leclair is the Deputy Officer in Charge of the Search and Rescue Network Operations Command Centre (SARNOCC) and the Systems Officer for Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC).

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