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The Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue (CFSSAR) is a Canadian Forces school for the instruction and training of Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Tech).

Origins
The Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue was initially created and moved to Comox, British Columbia under 19 Wing Comox in 1996. The primary training facility was opened on February 3, 1998. This facility was named the Cpl Philip Lloyd Cyril Young Building in honour of a Search and Rescue Technician (SAR Tech) killed in a Labrador helicopter crash on April 30, 1992. The CFSSAR trains one of the smallest branches of the Canadian Forces, approximately 130 members. defence frontline online/article/2005/5/6107-SAR-Techs

Present
Applications to become a SAR Tech are completed every year with approximately thirty personnel selected to attend a pre-selection course in Jarvis Lake. Approximately half of those at pre-selection will continue their training for the next eleven months at the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue. At the CFSSAR SAR Tech candidates are trained to perform para-rescue operations in all possible conditions within and outside of Canada. CFSSAR is also responsible for the on-going training and re-certification of current SAR Techs, including Restricted Team Leader, Team Leader, Dive Supervisor, Overturned Vessel Extraction, Parachute and Medical recertifications.

During pre-selection candidates are pushed both mentally and physically, often to the same standards as those of the JTF2. While physical fitness and dexterity are important, the CFSSAR also expects, prior to training, that a candidate has both the ability to learn and to apply that knowledge rapidly. CFSSAR trains Sar Techs in emergency medicine, parachuting, diving, rappelling, mountaineering, and survival. Initial training is undertaken in eleven months, however a candidate is only considered fully trained after five years of intensiveness study with the CFSSAR. Beyond the initial training SAR Techs are trained in operating in all environments, including underwater, only flat plains, in the mountains, and the frozen tundra. The CFSSAR also trains SAR techs in-hospital and in-ambulance.

According to Warrant Officer Paul Fleming, an instructor at CFSSAR, one of the most common challenges is “the primary care paramedic training… that’s where most people wash out.” This training, which usually takes six months to complete, is undertaken by SAR Techs in only four months. They will continually upgrade their medical knowledge through courses, lectures and hospital placements for the duration of their career.

Furthermore, CFSSAR also runs the training for the Sea Survival Detachment, which is located outside 19 Wing Comox. The Sea Survival Detachment trains approximately 250 students annually to help Canadian Forces personnel survive in adverse and emergency conditions in the sea environment. CFSSAR also maintains training detachments at Jarvis Lake, Hinton, Alberta, and Resolute Bay, Nunavut.