The TROTSAR Mounted Team will respond to requests from responsible government authorities for assistance in searches of lost or missing persons in wilderness, rural and urban areas within the mid-Atlantic region and primary serves the States of Maryland and Virginia, by providing highly trained first responder resources mounted on horseback. The TROTSAR Mounted Team has a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) emergency response agreement with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and the Maryland Natural Resources State Police. Our meets and/or exceeds the Mounted Search and Rescue (MSAR) standards that have been established by the State of Virginia and their Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Each team member is equipped with a handheld VHF 2-way radio programmed with frequencies compatible with law enforcement and other search agencies. Each rider is a self sufficient first responder resource and carries equipment and supplies for a minimum deployment period of 72 hours, including first-aid and basic survival equipment. Team members (at their own expense) supply their own transportation, fuel, search gear, tack and supplies for their horse.

The Team and its members are self-equipped to establish their own base camp indefinitely at or near an incident command post site. All certified team members are issued a TROTSAR Mounted Team photo identification card and have submitted to a criminal background check.

All operational members of the Mounted Team have completed over 100 hours of academic training and field exercises, covering search and rescue related topics such as:

TROTSAR Mounted Team members also receive training from a host of recognized resources. All deployable members attend a minimum of 40 hours of in-service training annually and have received certifications from the Department of Homeland Security for the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS) and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) courses. All operational members have also obtained the National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR) SAR TECH III, Maryland Natural Resource Police Search Team Member (STM) course or the Virginia Department of Emergency Management Field Team Member (FTM) course certification. Several members have obtained the NASAR SAR Tech II certification, with most members obtaining wilderness first aid certification (or higher).

Cooperating Agencies

The TROTSAR Mounted Team has trained and worked in the field with many agencies, including:

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