What is the Podcast For?
The SAR Take Podcast
Pararescue is arguably the most unique organization in Canada or the world. The process for entry, the geographical locations we work in, the demands put on the members, the triumphs and challenges; unparalleled. SAR attracts a vast spectrum of people unseen in most genres of the workforce. Our amazing trade has people with PHDs, pilots licenses, special forces experience, culinary degrees, the list goes on. You name it, we likely have a SAR Tech with experience in that field. Despite the myriad of experience, qualifications, personalities, past lives, everyone shows up for the common goal of protecting Canadians, providing security to adventurers and of course providing care to victims of disaster. This is all awesome, positive, inspiring yet no one knows who we are. The distinct reason we are unsung in nature is that we aren’t here to be heroes.
The respect for SAR Tech’s humility and willingness to do an important job with little reciprocity will not be infringed upon. That being said, Canadians deserve to know they are well protected and families deserve to know their loved ones stand a chance in emergency or unforeseen circumstances. Second to this is informing our own of the bigger picture and sharing experiences and lessons amongst one another. We also have a community of people who poured their heart into SAR and it's important for them to stay informed and know that the part they played was worth it.
There are 3 main goals The SAR Take Podcast aims to achieve; Informing, engaging and motivating.
Informing: Pararescue is an incredible opportunity for Canada's elite. An opportunity that is largely missed by experienced people and young people searching for an ultimate goal. You don’t know what you don’t know. For years the SAR trade has carried on through word of mouth with decent effectiveness. We are now facing the challenge of finding the right people and enough of them. It's not a supply problem; I’m sure there are hundreds of incredible, capable, motivated Canadians ready (extra points if you get the reference). The problem lies in those people not knowing that this outstanding opportunity exists.
Another solvable problem is the continued engagement of retired SAR Techs. The majority of our trade spends a small lifetime in this world of Pararescue, the brotherhood. We all know too well that all good things come to an end, yet the SAR brotherhood lives on. We can do even more to keep retired SAR Techs engaged.
Lastly, motivation. Being a SAR Tech is thankless at times. Paperwork, administration, conflicts, basically anything that isn’t skydiving, mountaineering, scuba diving, being outdoors, flying, you get the picture. Then there is the lack of luck in terms of missions, the Freado distribution that is a majority of the missions are tasked to a small percentage of operators. These things can wear on people and admit-ably can be the source of diminishing motivation. It's not that people won’t carry out the mission, but it can make it more mentally challenging. All it takes is knowing that a coursemate did an awesome mission or a unit was involved in a unique exercise and you get fired up and excited to get back to work.
The SAR Take Podcast aims to provide what it can for informing, engaging and motivating past, present, and future SAR Techs. We want to preserve the incredible stories, we want to share the experience with everyone, and we want the best candidates showing up to Jarvis Lake every year.
This podcast has been up for just over 2 years and I can't express the gratitude enough for the support I have received from most. Over 40 000 unique downloads (including YouTube views) and a lot of positive feedback/constructive criticism. I have made every effort to share positive information and am continually learning, improving, and adjusting. I've even conducted phone chats with several aspiring candidates to give insights that are simply not available to 18-year-old kids trying to pick a positive path forward in life. Theres a developing series of episodes with a BPSO to inform CAF members of the VOT process and producing episodes for our fallen brothers to be published on their anniversary dates.
Moving forward I will continually support aspiring candidates in their application process. Promising not to impede the natural process of selection. No insider tips or providing ANY unfair advantage. People should get a true understanding of what they are up against so they know how best to prepare with the intent of the best candidates making it through Jarvis Lake selection and ultimately joining our amazing family so that others may live
The show can be found everywhere podcasts are available. I can be reached a thesartake@gmail.com and definitely if you have a suggestion or something I could be doing to improve please tell. At the end of the day, I want this to be a Pararescue product.
Again, thank you. RESCUE!!!!!