A
Anonymous
Guest
The Polk County Sheriff's office is forming an "Airboat Volunteer" (VSART) team to assist the PCSO in times of need. Below is the outline for volunteers. While this is not a simple "Show & Go" endeavor, there are benefits & rewards for investing time & effort to be involved. Please contact deputy Hanger of the Polk County Sheriff's Office for more details.
This effort has been long in coming and has taken much effort to get to this point. (FWC showed little effort on this subject in the past) I hope ya'll will get involved with this opportunity to give back to our communities. This could become a select, desirable and prestigious team.
Happy hunting,
Phil Walters GatorStick@tampabay.rr.com
GatorGuides.com
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Dear Mr. Walters,
Enclosed is a final approved copy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office vessel search and recovery team general order. Our general orders specify procedures used in the conduct of Sheriff's Office activities. Due to your interest in using the general public in search and rescue operations, this general order was developed to allow screened and qualified persons to assist in this important function. Please review the enclosed documents on the requirements for members of the public to join the vessel search and rescue team. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact me. My office number is 863-534-7205 and due to the varied hours I work, my cell phone number is 863-287-2227. Again I thank you for your interest in this challenging and rewarding aspect of the Sheriff's Office.
Sincerely,
Brian Hanger BHanger@polksheriff.org
Marine unit/Dive team
Deputy Sheriff, Polk County
*************************************************************
POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
GENERAL ORDER
PURPOSE: The purpose of the volunteer airboat program is to utilize competent, qualified, and knowledgeable volunteers in a non-law enforcement capacity to augment search and rescue missions of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Marine unit.
SCOPE: This order shall apply to all Sheriff’s Office members.
POLICY: It shall be the policy of the Sheriff’s Office to utilize the volunteer airboat program, as needed, to augment an ongoing search and rescue mission in areas not accessible to normal vessels and the requirements dictate the need for an airboat. The volunteer airboat program will not be used for any activity that requires, or could potentially require the actions of a sworn law enforcement member. Volunteers will provide their own vessel, training, and all other required equipment to include fuel costs. The Sheriff’s Office will not reimburse the volunteer for any damage or loss the volunteer incurs as a volunteer.
PROCEDURE: Airboat operations have the potential for danger for a variety of reasons to include: weather, unfamiliar and changing environment, rural nature of airboat activities, the potential for vessel crashes, and drowning. Therefore, safety will be the primary factor for any decision that involves the volunteer airboat program. Persons requesting to participate in the volunteer airboat program must, in addition to general order 16.5, adhere to the following procedures.
1. APPLICATION: Volunteers must follow all application procedures as required by general order 16.5 and additionally have the following qualifications: Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadron safe boating course, have their vessel comply with Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety standards, have their vessel inspected by a member of the marine unit to endure it is in safe condition, perform a practical boating exercise under the direction of a member of the marine unit to ensure boating skills, pass an oral review board by three members of the support services section for the applicant to demonstrate knowledge of potential search areas and other boating skills.
2. VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION: Volunteers must understand that search and rescue will often occur at night, take an extended period of time, and be impossible to predict. A commitment to the mission of search and rescue must be shown by each volunteer and the personal and professional situation of each volunteer must be conducive to call out at all times. Failure to participate in a search and rescue mission will be grounds for dismissal from the volunteer airboat program.
3. ORGANIZATION: At the beginning of a search, a search plan will be briefed in which individual assignments will be issued. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to conduct the search within the boundaries of the search plan.
Volunteers will be under the direct supervision of a sworn law enforcement officer. Volunteers must have a mode of communications to contact the sworn supervisor for safety and other reasons. All actions of the volunteer will be at the direction of the sworn supervisor and failure to follow directions from the sworn supervisor will be grounds for dismissal from the volunteer airboat program. Volunteers have the discretion to decline a search and rescue mission while on scene for safety reasons. Disputes on a safety issue will be resolved by the marine
This effort has been long in coming and has taken much effort to get to this point. (FWC showed little effort on this subject in the past) I hope ya'll will get involved with this opportunity to give back to our communities. This could become a select, desirable and prestigious team.
Happy hunting,
Phil Walters GatorStick@tampabay.rr.com
GatorGuides.com
*************************************************************
Dear Mr. Walters,
Enclosed is a final approved copy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office vessel search and recovery team general order. Our general orders specify procedures used in the conduct of Sheriff's Office activities. Due to your interest in using the general public in search and rescue operations, this general order was developed to allow screened and qualified persons to assist in this important function. Please review the enclosed documents on the requirements for members of the public to join the vessel search and rescue team. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact me. My office number is 863-534-7205 and due to the varied hours I work, my cell phone number is 863-287-2227. Again I thank you for your interest in this challenging and rewarding aspect of the Sheriff's Office.
Sincerely,
Brian Hanger BHanger@polksheriff.org
Marine unit/Dive team
Deputy Sheriff, Polk County
*************************************************************
POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
GENERAL ORDER
PURPOSE: The purpose of the volunteer airboat program is to utilize competent, qualified, and knowledgeable volunteers in a non-law enforcement capacity to augment search and rescue missions of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Marine unit.
SCOPE: This order shall apply to all Sheriff’s Office members.
POLICY: It shall be the policy of the Sheriff’s Office to utilize the volunteer airboat program, as needed, to augment an ongoing search and rescue mission in areas not accessible to normal vessels and the requirements dictate the need for an airboat. The volunteer airboat program will not be used for any activity that requires, or could potentially require the actions of a sworn law enforcement member. Volunteers will provide their own vessel, training, and all other required equipment to include fuel costs. The Sheriff’s Office will not reimburse the volunteer for any damage or loss the volunteer incurs as a volunteer.
PROCEDURE: Airboat operations have the potential for danger for a variety of reasons to include: weather, unfamiliar and changing environment, rural nature of airboat activities, the potential for vessel crashes, and drowning. Therefore, safety will be the primary factor for any decision that involves the volunteer airboat program. Persons requesting to participate in the volunteer airboat program must, in addition to general order 16.5, adhere to the following procedures.
1. APPLICATION: Volunteers must follow all application procedures as required by general order 16.5 and additionally have the following qualifications: Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadron safe boating course, have their vessel comply with Coast Guard Auxiliary boating safety standards, have their vessel inspected by a member of the marine unit to endure it is in safe condition, perform a practical boating exercise under the direction of a member of the marine unit to ensure boating skills, pass an oral review board by three members of the support services section for the applicant to demonstrate knowledge of potential search areas and other boating skills.
2. VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION: Volunteers must understand that search and rescue will often occur at night, take an extended period of time, and be impossible to predict. A commitment to the mission of search and rescue must be shown by each volunteer and the personal and professional situation of each volunteer must be conducive to call out at all times. Failure to participate in a search and rescue mission will be grounds for dismissal from the volunteer airboat program.
3. ORGANIZATION: At the beginning of a search, a search plan will be briefed in which individual assignments will be issued. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to conduct the search within the boundaries of the search plan.
Volunteers will be under the direct supervision of a sworn law enforcement officer. Volunteers must have a mode of communications to contact the sworn supervisor for safety and other reasons. All actions of the volunteer will be at the direction of the sworn supervisor and failure to follow directions from the sworn supervisor will be grounds for dismissal from the volunteer airboat program. Volunteers have the discretion to decline a search and rescue mission while on scene for safety reasons. Disputes on a safety issue will be resolved by the marine
