By: Ben Banks Brandon Harnett 15 October, 2014

Points to Cover Interview Mr. Rick Banks Examine Interviewee’s present and past work experience Education and training Employment opportunities, advancements, management etc. How these opportunities shaped or influenced their lives Whether the interviewee’s employment is a fulfilling career

What is your present employment and how long have you been in the position? Search and Rescue Program Manager at Cougar Helicopters. Mr. Banks has worked at Cougar for 13 years but has been in the position of Search and Rescue Program Manager for 3 years.

Why did you choose your present job? While Mr. Banks has been working within the Search and Rescue trade inside the military and now with Cougar. He has always enjoyed helping people who are in distress and require lifesaving assistance.

What was your goal when you started your job? To help others requiring immediate assistance and advanced medical care in extremely remote locations. The first goal was to learn and educate himself on every aspect of the rescue field including parachuting, helicopter hoisting from helicopters, scuba diving, mountain rescue, elite survival skills and then applying advanced medical lifesaving skill knowledge to every rescue application above ensuring he was capable of saving lives in every environment.

What schooling did you complete for this job? Initially grade 12, then Pararescue training for 1 year, followed by Paramedic training for 3 years while working as a SAR Technician in the military. Later in his career he completed University programs from the University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in the USA. Many management and leadership courses were also completed leading up to his position of SAR Program manager.

How long have you been doing your job? First 22 years in the military as a Search and Rescue Technician, then a total of 13 years with Cougar Helicopters with 3 years as Search and Rescue Program manager.

Does your job involve travelling? If so, where? There is a lot of travelling internationally, but most trips are to Halifax, Ontario and British Columbia. Internationally, I visit Alaska, Louisiana and Australia.

Does your job offer any Health Care? Very good Health Care benefits are offered in both medical, disability and dental insurance programs.

Did your first job help you get your present job? Yes, by learning all aspects of the search and rescue occupation it enabled me to eventually lead all rescue teams and manage the Search and Rescue program internationally at all company helicopter bases of operations.

Is your job safe? In the line of search and rescue work, dangerous activities are experienced. However, all Rescue teams have a very safety orientated mindset and train at night and day on a daily basis to ensure the risks that may be encountered are reduced to as low as reasonably practical.

Is this the job you always wanted to do? Yes, ever since he was seventeen, he enjoyed the outdoors and had read various rescue stories performed by the military. That gave him the desire and drive to start working towards his goals at a very young age which was very advantageous in preparing for this career field.

Describe your work environment? While starting off parachuting into aircraft crashes, rescuing people off of mountains, scuba diving for lost persons and hoisting to vessels from a helicopter many miles out in the ocean, these days he no longer perform the rescues but rather coordinates the efforts and manages the crews from the search and rescue hangar in St, John’s.

What struggles did you face while persuing your career? The selection process was very tough and demanding. It started off with over 300 applicants that were reduced in screening to 30. During the 3 month selection phase that was both mentally and highly physically demanding only 8 of persons were selected to carry on training. Being prepared a couple of years early and knowing what the training and selection entailed helped him immensely.

How did you decide you wanted this career? One day he was reading Readers Digest, a small magazine, that had a daring rescue story from the Atlantic ocean in it. He started researching the unit involved and was hooked from that point forward. Mr. Banks wanted to be of these rescue team members and wanted to help others in remote places where most other people couldn’t assist.

What is required of you for this job? Mr. Banks needs to be organized at all times, get along with people and attend many meetings which means being on time, ready to present material and speak to large crowds of people. Writing reports and managing many rescue teams is also a big of his job.

Is your job hands on? For many years his job was hands on, lately though it is more management of rescue employees and ensuring their standards are met in a highly active and risky environment.

Was there any physical training for your career? Yes, very much so. As you can imagine, physical conditioning is a huge part of the rescue teams occupation. In fact, rescue technicians receive up to two hours a day to work out or swim to ensure they can endure highly stressful and physically demanding rescues at all time.

Did any high school courses help you with your career? Yes, most did, as examples: Math – used for all areas of my work, navigation, budgets, medications etc. Language – used daily for report writing Geography – used for identifying land masses and locations and survival. Sciences – Medical systems, anatomy etc.

Do you expect to be doing this career for much longer? Yes, at least another 10 years.

Do you enjoy this career? Very much, he stated better feeling than saving a life or helping people in distress.

Would you recommend this career for young people coming into the workforce? Yes he stated, helicopter search and rescue is a very gratifying career that keeps you working outside doing many exciting things. It also allows you to travel and work in different provinces or countries