If ambulance paramedics are to be converted into winchmen the training they receive has to be of the highest order - lengthy and thorough - and we're talking the best part of a year. Any less just won't do.
Section 4.7 of CAP 999 gives a detailed list of ground and flying training requirements which although not exhaustive, would at least give someone without any SAR experience a fighting chance of doing a decent job. So here the CAA have laid down the bare minimum they expect to be covered, in quite a lot of detail, but then they get all vague. They say that the training and checking of what they are calling 'Technical Crew' has to be carried out by someone who is 'suitably qualified'.
What qualification are they talking about for rearcrew in the civil world? How will the CAA ensure that the 'technical crew' trainers themselves are capable of providing this training that will be absolutely critical to the safe outcome of operations?
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP999_...icoper_SAR.pdf