Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue

The Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue (CFSSAR) officially opened its training complex on February 3, 1998. It is called the Corporal Philip Lloyd Cyril Young Building in honour of a Search and Rescue Technician (SAR Tech) killed in a CH-113 Labrador helicopter crash on April 30, 1992.

SAR Techs are Air Force Para-Rescue Specialists who wear their distinctive orange berets and flight suits with pride. They are responsible for saving lives 24/7 in some of the harshest and most remote locations in Canada.

Each year, applications from all trades in the Canadian Armed Forces are submitted for occupational transfer to the SAR Tech trade. Once a board reviews the applications, 24 to 30 personnel are selected to attend a two-week pre-selection course held in February in Jarvis Lake, Alberta. Upon completion of the pre-selection phase, approximately 12 to 16 students are selected to attend the 11-month SAR Tech course at CFSSAR. Candidates are trained to penetrate and operate in remote, inaccessible areas of Canada for the purpose of rendering immediate and life-sustaining medical care to casualties. In addition to training the new candidates, CFSSAR is also responsible for training the operational SAR Techs in various courses, including SAR Tech, Team Leader, Dive Supervisor, Overturned Vessel Extraction, Parachute and Medical recertifications.

Training SAR Techs is not the only role of this busy training establishment. The Sea Survival detachment, located at Goose Spit in Comox, trains approximately 250 aircrew and other students annually to survive under emergency conditions in the event of an ejection or crash-landing into the water.

In addition to the Sea Survival detachment, CFSSAR also maintains training detachments at Jarvis Lake, Alberta, and Resolute Bay, Nunavut.