El Dorado SAR members come from all ages, genders and backgrounds. No special skills are necessary to join. We limit new admissions to the number of people we can process and train effectively. In addition, we try to keep our West Slope membership under 130. (For many years we freely admitted everyone. But, we often had so many candidates that we couldn't give new recruits much personal attention. Also, our record keeping slipped. As a result, recruits would often get discouraged and leave.) The membership process goes something like this. Note that we fine tune it occasionally, so don't be surprised if it's a little different than described:. You fill out an application. You can get one from the Administration Coordinator at one of our monthly General Meetings. It is several pages long, and comes with several different forms to sign and some background material about SAR. It includes sections on medical conditions, legal history and other personal information, so we keep it confidential. You schedule an interview with the Administration Coordinator. In this informal meeting, you will discuss your background and interests with several senior SAR members. The purpose is to weed out candidates who are only mildly interested or who have unrealistic expectations. You are assigned a Mentor. This experienced SAR member will be available to you throughout the initial requirements of CPR/First Aid, obtaining a uniform, getting your pack together. Your mentor will contact you regularly to inform you of events of interest. You can, of course, contact your mentor for information or questions. You have your fingerprints taken. This is done at the Sheriff's Records Office during business hours. We check your background. The Sheriff's Office checks for warrants, and sends your fingerprints to the California Department of Justice for a background check. We assign you an FTO (Field Training Officer) after the initial requirements are completed. He or she will take the place of your Mentor and will oversee the remainder of your training requirements to include participation in searches. You attend meetings and trainings. You are welcome to attend as many meetings and trainings as you have interest and time for. This includes specialty teams such as Cliff Rescue and Swiftwater Rescue, and the twice-a-year SAREX (SAR EXercise) weekend. You and your FTO go on searches together. When a search happens, the two of you should touch base. That way, if one of you isn't coming the other knows. If your FTO won't be there, you'll either get a temporary FTO for the search, or else a job in the Command Post. You complete the core classes: radio, aircraft safety, land navigation, survival, search theory and tracking. These classes are usually offered twice a year. You "graduate". The whole process usually takes several months. By the time you finish, you are trained in SAR fundamentals and have several real searches under your belt. You can now serve as a search team member, and may offer opinions on where the lost person really is (like skiing at Lake Tahoe). For more information about the Mentoring program or other questions, please contact us.