About This Career

Search and rescue operations specialists are responsible for locating personnel in distress, delivering them to safety, and providing necessary medical care. They operate in a range of environments and often require skills such as swimming/diving or parachuting. They may use advanced communications and imaging equipment to assist search and rescue efforts and are sometimes involved in the recovery of military equipment.

This career is part of the Government and Public Administration cluster National Security pathway.

A person in this career:

• Plans, coordinates, and conducts personnel recovery, technical rescue, and material recovery in all geographic and environmental conditions
• Performs survival, evasion, resistance, and escape in hostile or politically sensitive environments by land, sea, or air
• Participates in the full spectrum of military missions to include counterterrorism, security force assistance, humanitarian assistance, and hostage rescue and recovery
• Employs specialized equipment to recover personnel and equipment from avalanche, alpine, and underwater environments
• Plans, coordinates, and conducts emergency medical care; assesses, diagnoses, treats, stabilizes, and transports patients with minor to life threatening illnesses and injuries
• Utilizes specialized electronic sensing and communications equipment during missions, including performing dispatcher duties
• Operates and maintains fire protection equipment and self-contained breathing apparatus
• Operates and performs driver operator maintenance and inspection on support vehicles and rescue equipment
• Performs material requisitions, inventory, issue, and accounting supply functions
• Directs all phases of aircraft rescue, emergency, firefighting, and salvage operations

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Exposed to conditions such as high voltage electricity, combustibles, explosives, and chemicals more than once a month
• Exposed to hazardous situations involving possible injury such as cuts, bites, stings, and minor burns more than once a month
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours