Acronyms
This is not an exhaustive list of acronyms and abbreviations one might run across in the rescue world but the list provides some of the more common ones that might be encountered.
- ALS
- Advanced Life Support
- ART
- Advanced Rescue Technician
- AFRCC
- Air Force Rescue Coordinator Center
- ATC
- Air Traffic Control
- A/C
- Aircraft
- ATV
- All Terrain Vehicle
- ARC
- American Red Cross
- ASRC
- Appalachian Search and Rescue Conference
- AHJ
- Authority Having Jurisdiction
- BLS
- Basic Life Support
- BRT
- Basic Rescue Technician
- BDSAR
- Black Diamond Search and Rescue
- BVRS
- Blacksburg Volunteer Rescue Squad
- BRMRG
- Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue Group
- COQ
- Call Out Qualified
- CCERT
- Campus Community Emergency Response Team
- CPR
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
- CDC
- Center for Disease Control
- CAP
- Civil Air Patrol
- COVSAR
- Commonwealth of Virginia Search and Rescue
- CSAR
- Commonwealth Search and Rescue
- CERT
- Community Emergency Response Team
- CONUS
- Continental United States
- UTC
- Coordinated Universal Time
- CSP
- Crime Scene Preservation
- CISM
- Critical Incident Stress Management
- CIS
- Critical Indicent Stress
- DOD
- Department of Defense
- DOF
- Department of Forestry
- DHS
- Department of Homeland Security
- DOI
- Department of Interior
- DOT
- Department of Transportation
- DF
- Direction Finding
- ELB
- Emergency Locator Beacon
- ELT
- Emergency Locator Transmitter
- EMS
- Emergency Management System
- EMT-B
- Emergency Medical Technician Basic
- EMT-E
- Emergency Medical Technician Enhanced
- EMT-I
- Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate
- EMT-P
- Emergency Medical Technician Paramedic
- EOC
- Emergency Operations Center
- EPIRB
- Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon
- EPLO
- Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer
- ESF
- Emergency Support Function
- ETA
- Estimated Time of Arrival
- ETD
- Estimated Time of Departure
- FAA
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAST
- Foundations of Awareness, Signcutting, and Tracking
- FBI
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FCC
- Federal Communications Commission
- FEMA
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- FOG
- Field Operations Guide
- FTL
- Field Team Leader
- FTM
- Field Team Member
- FTS
- Field Team Signcutter
- FLIR
- Forward Looking Infared
- FAST
- Foundations of Awareness, Signcutting, and Tracking
- GIS
- Geographic Information System
- GPS
- Global Positioning System
- GSAR
- Ground Search and Rescue College
- HazMat
- Hazardous Material
- HTR
- Heavy Technical RescueI
- CP
- Incident Command Post
- ICS
- Incident Command System
- IC
- Incident Commander
- IS
- Incident Staff
- IAP
- Initial Action Plan
- IPP
- Initial Planning Point
- LKP
- Last Known Position
- LOS
- Line of Sight
- LPB
- Lost Person Behavior
- MLSO
- Management of Land Search Operations
- MTL
- Management Team Leader
- MTM
- Management Team Member
- MOA
- Memorandum of Agreement
- MOU
- Memorandum of Understanding
- MGRS
- Military Grid Refernce System
- MARG
- Mountain Area Rescue Group
- MRA
- Mountain Rescue Association
- NASA
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- NAWAS
- National Alert Warning System
- NASAR
- National Association of Search and Rescue
- NCRC
- National Cave Rescue Committee
- NFPA
- National Fire Protection Association
- NIMS
- National Incident Management System
- NOAA
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- NPS
- National Park Service
- NRF
- National Response Framework
- NSARC
- National Search and Rescue Committee
- NSP
- National Search and Rescue Plan
- NSS
- National Speleological Society
- NTAP
- National Track Analysis Program
- NTSB
- National Transportation Safety Board
- NWS
- National Weather Service
- NATS
- Natural Awareness Tracking School
- NRV
- New River Valley
- OSHA
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- OOC
- Officer On Call
- OSC
- On-Scene Coordinator
- PLB
- Personal Locator Beacon
- PPE
- Personal Protective Equipment
- PSAR
- Preventative Search and Rescue
- PSAR
- Piedmont Search and Rescue
- PLS
- Point Last Scene
- POA
- Probability of Area
- POC
- Probability of Containment
- POD
- Probability of Detection
- POS
- Probability of Success
- PIO
- Public Information Officer
- PR
- Public Relations
- ROC
- Rescue Onscene Commander
- RTL
- Rescue Team Leader
- RTM
- Rescue Team Member
- RA
- Responsible Agent
- SATCOM
- Satellite Communications
- SAP
- Search Action Plan
- SAR
- Search and Rescue
- SC
- Search and Rescue Coordinator
- SMC
- Search Management Coordinator
- STL
- Search Team Leader
- STM
- Search Team Member
- SCBA
- Self-Containted Breathing Apparatus
- SWVAMRG
- Southwest Virginia Mountain Rescue Group
- SOG
- Standard Operating Guidelines
- SOP
- Standard Operating Procedures
- SOLO
- Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities
- TAF
- Task Assessment Form
- TF
- Task Force
- TFL
- Task Force Leader
- TFM
- Task Force Member
- TS
- Technical Specialist
- UHF
- Ultra High Frequency
- UC
- Unified Command
- USAF
- United States Air Force
- USCG
- United States Coast Guard
- USFS
- United States Forest Service
- USNG
- United States National Grid
- USN
- United States Navy
- UTM
- Universal Transverse Mercator
- USAR
- Urban Search and Rescue
- VRT
- Vertical Rescue Technician
- VHF
- Very High Frequency
- VAVRS
- Virginia Association of Volunteer Rescue Squads
- VDEM
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management
- VDFP
- Virginia Department of Fire Programs
- VASARCO
- Virginia Search and Rescue Council
- WMD
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- WAS
- Wide Area Search
- WEMT
- Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
- WFA
- Wilderness First Aid
- WFR
- Wilderness First Responder
- WRT
- Wilderness Rescue Technician