Search and Rescue Academy
Search & Rescue Academy
2026 SAR Academy Course
The Benton County Search and Rescue (SAR) Certification Course is only offered once per year. This course is an opportunity to learn many new skills and become certified to be deployed on missions, if you join one of our volunteer units. Current and in-process Benton County SAR members will have first priority for limited seating.
Schedule: The 8 week course is held on Thursday nights 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., beginning the first Thursday of March.
Attendance: It is mandatory to attend all field exercises and students must have a 93% or higher attendance in order to graduate. If you have a certificate that you are skilled in a particular topic, you may be excused if unable to attend that class. Please contact specialservices@bentoncountyor.gov.
Minors: The academy is geared toward adults, but open to all persons age 16 and older. Individuals under 18-years-of-age must have a signed consent from a parent or legal guardian and must be accompanied by the parent or legal guardian during the course. In addition to all other registration materials, please complete and sign the SAR Academy Minor Participation Authorization Form.
Prerequisites: If accepted to the class, you will be required to complete three online courses from the FEMA Incident Command System: ICS 100, 200, & 700, PRIOR to the start of the Academy.
CPR & First Aid certificates are also required by the start of class. An optional course will be offered before the start of the academy for those needing certification. The cost of the class is $40, please email specialservices@bentoncountyor.gov to sign up.
Fee: A $125.00 fee covers the cost of books and course materials.
To Register: Contact the Special Services Program Specialist at specialservices@bentoncountyor.gov to see if there are seats available or if you have questions.
The following curriculum will be covered during the SAR Course and other topics may be added:
- Introduction to SAR, Oregon SAR laws, and Benton County SAR Plan
- Search strategies, tracking, and K-9 resources
- Communications and clothing & equipment
- SkySAR and distress alert beacons
- SARGAR, knots, and search leadership
- Wilderness navigation: maps, GPS, and field exercise
- Lost subject behavior and SAR Topo
- Equine Resources and medical day
- Environmental injuries and rescue techniques
- Crime scene hazard protocols and ethics
- Fire, shelter, water and signaling field exercise
Document Attachments
- Fill out the SAR Academy volunteer application and agreement packet.
- Fill out the SAR Academy minor participation authorization form.