New
Mexico Search and Rescue Support TeamWe encourage you to browse and learn who our team serves, what our capabilities are, and how you might become a member or supporter.
Team Capabilities
The NM Sar Support Team maintains the following specialties:
- Mission communications support
- Four-wheel drive search and transport
- Base Camp Operations
- Ground team communications support
- Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) search
- ATV and Snowmobile search
People
Our team currently has approximately 50 members, some with years of experience and others who are new. We are a close-knit team and are always willing to help new members. Members can communicate on the team's own e-mail reflector, hosted by Sandia National Laboratories as a public service. New members should contact the team secretary, Frank LoGrasso, to join the email reflector. Several of our members are SAR Incident Commanders and others have taken Section Chief Training so they can perform management tasks on large missions.
Most of our members are licensed Amateur Radio operators, as communications support is a major capability of the New Mexico SAR Support Team
Membership Information
Membership information may be obtained from our Membership Prospectus found under the 'Documents' link and/or joining us at our monthly breakfast meeting held at 7:30AM on the second Saturday of each month at JB's Restaurant, 10300 Hotel Circle NE in Albuquerque. Additional membership questions may be forwarded to our President, Bob Rieden.
Donations and Support
New Mexico has one of the finest Search and Rescue systems in the world. You read about our work saving lives in the newspaper, and you see us on local TV. We are one of those anonymous "New Mexico Search Teams" you hear about in the media. The New Mexico SAR Support Team provides the essential infrastructure support for every search and rescue operation conducted in the Albuquerque and surrounding area and often responds to emergencies anywhere in the State of New Mexico. We are an all-volunteer team which provides the following essential services:
- Mission communications support
- Four-wheel drive search and transport
- Base Camp Operations
- Ground team communications support
- Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) search
- ATV and Snowmobile search
The New Mexico SAR Support Team has accomplished much with its volunteer resources. Each team member purchases his or her own equipment such as radios, Global Positioning Satellite Receivers, outdoor survival gear and, in some cases, All-Terrain Vehicles that are used to efficiently search large areas.
In addition, we operate invaluable team-owned equipment. It is in this area that we look for sponsorship, donations, and funding from the community that we serve. As our team capability grows, our needs grow too. We recently purchased a communications trailer to support complex search missions in the Albuquerque area and beyond. To become even more effective, additional communications equipment, such as a satellite phone and service to facilitate even greater interface between field operations and supporting agencies is being planned.
Our team depends on a pager system for callout. This is our largest recurring operating expense and is vital to our response to calls for help.
To perform our missions we use, and in many cases, advance the application of technology to manage the mission to find people and save lives. Today, New Mexico has the most extensive Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) network anywhere - primarily due to the efforts of members of our team and a few key sponsors in the community.
If you would like to help our team add to its capabilities you should know we are a 501 (c) (3) corporation and your generosity will qualify as a tax deducible donation.
Please contact our President, Bob Rieden for any questions you might have.
Donations may be mailed to:
New Mexico SAR Support Team
8400 Menual Blvd. NE
Suite A-174
Albuquerque, NM 87112
Team Sponsor
The New Mexico Search and Rescue Support Team is proud to acknowledge its sponsor, Wells Fargo.