The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (
Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
) and staffed by personnel of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...
(RCAF) and the
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...
(CCG).
JRCC Victoria is responsible for coordinating the Search and Rescue (SAR) response to air and marine incidents within the Victoria Search and Rescue Region (SRR). This region includes the land masses of
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and
Yukon
Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
, as well as the adjacent marine waters of British Columbia. As a secondary role, JRCC Victoria coordinates requests by other levels of government for federal SAR resources. These secondary requests are commonly made for humanitarian reasons that fall within provincial or municipal jurisdiction (e.g., searching for missing hunters, hoisting injured hikers and medical evacuation when civilian agencies are unable due to weather or location).
Mission
"The national search and rescue (SAR) objective is to prevent loss of life and injury through search and rescue alerting, responding and aiding activities using public and private resources."[National SAR Manual Para 1.4]
JRCC Victoria coordinates and controls Search and Rescue Units (SRUs) within its area of responsibility. The centre serves as a communications hub and primary point of contact for the coordination and direction of rescue units and on-scene commanders in order to meet the national objective in the safest and most effective manner possible.
Command and control
The
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The minister of National Defence (MND; ) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada.
The Department of National Defence (Canada), Dep ...
has overall responsibility for the operation of the coordinated federal SAR system with primary (full-time) SAR resources provided by the Canadian Forces and Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Within the Canadian Forces, SAR policy and procedures are a
Search and Rescue Secretariat responsibility with each JRCC being operationally responsible to the senior military officer in their region. JRCC Victoria is responsible also to the Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific/Joint Task Force (Pacific).
Personnel
JRCC Victoria is staffed by personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)/Canadian Forces and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) 24 hours a day, year-round. Duty staff consists of:
*Two Maritime Coordinators commonly referred to as the "Marine Coordinator" (experienced CCG officers)
*One Aeronautical Coordinator commonly referred to as the "Air Coordinator" (experienced RCAF Pilot or Air Combat Systems Officer)
*One Assistant Aeronautical Coordinator or "Air Assistant" (experienced RCAF Aerospace Controllers or Search and Rescue Technicians)
Air and Marine controllers are collectively called "mission coordinators". All JRCC personnel function together as a team to ensure that response to distress incidents is coordinated effectively.
The military administration is carried out by the OIC (Officer in Charge) and the Chief Clerk (any elemental uniform.) The Coast Guard is done by the Senior Coast Guard member and Coast Guard Base Admin Support.
Location
JRCC Victoria is located on Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (
CFB Esquimalt
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is the Royal Canadian Navy's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. , 4,411 military personnel and 2,762 civilians ...
), within Greater Victoria, British Columbia. JRCC Victoria ties into the Canadian Mission Control Center (CMCC),
Nav Canada
Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, non-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established by statute in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercializati ...
, and the
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...
Marine Communications and Traffic Services alerting system.
Geographic area
The Victoria Search and Rescue Region (SRR) comprises the land masses of British Columbia and Yukon, as well as a portion of the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. It is approximately of mainly mountainous terrain, with another of ocean and of coastline. The oceanic area extends westward from the British Columbia coast approximately in the south and in the north.
Resources
Air
The primary SAR air resource in the Victoria region is
442 Transport and Rescue Squadron located at
19 Wing Comox
Canadian Forces Base Comox , commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces base on Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley, north northeast of Comox, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Roya ...
on Vancouver Island. 442 Squadron is equipped with five Cormorant
CH-149
The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the air-sea rescue variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101) helicopter for the Canadian Armed Forces. Developed by AgustaWestland in Italy (now merged as part of Leonardo), the CH-149 is a med ...
helicopters and six de Havilland Canada
DHC-5 Buffalo
The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility transport turboprop aircraft developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 Caribou. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance and is able to take off ...
CC-115 fixed-wing aircraft. The Buffalo is the primary search platform and its low speed maneuverability and
STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...
capability makes it ideally suited for mountainous terrain. The Cormorant is the main rescue aircraft, and because of its versatility, it can operate effectively in mountain and marine environments. Other aircraft are available from federal and provincial departments if required. JRCC Victoria will also charter local helicopters to perform certain SAR functions as required.
The
Civil Air Search and Rescue Association
The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association or CASARA, is a Canada-wide volunteer aviation association dedicated to the promotion of aviation safety, and to the provision of air search support services to Canada's National Search and Rescue Progr ...
(CASARA) is a national organization of volunteers who actively participate in aircraft searches. They have 980 members and operate 100 private aircraft in many areas of the Victoria SRR. CASARA may be tasked at any time of day or night and can conduct both electronic direction-finding missions and visual searches. They are a primary source of trained spotters for military and civilian aircraft participating in major searches, and they often provide or arrange facilities for temporary search headquarters.
Marine
The Canadian Coast Guard provides the primary marine resources to the federal SAR system, with two vessels continually patrolling the north/south SAR areas, plus 11 rescue cutters and 2 hovercraft located at 12 stations on 30 minute standby. During the summer season, the regular SAR fleet is supplemented by Zodiac-type inshore rescue boats at locations with high concentrations of pleasure craft. In addition to these full-time SAR resources, the Canadian Coast Guard and other federal departments operate a variety of other vessels which are multi-tasked but available for SAR if needed.
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
ships are considered as secondary SAR resources under the National SAR Plan and regularly respond to an incident if tasked by a JRCC.
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) is a volunteer marine rescue service that saves lives and promotes public recreational boating safety throughout the coastal and some inland waters of the province of British Columbia and is associ ...
is a volunteer marine SAR group with 1,100 members across 42 Stations which operate 380 private rescue boats. They are well organized, train regularly and are on standby 365 days a year, 24 hours a day; these community-based volunteers can often provide the fastest response and work closely with the Canadian Coast Guard as well as other SAR resources.
Vessels of opportunity are important in resolving many cases. International law requires that vessels assist each other during distress situations and many, if not most, marine cases are resolved by assistance from other vessels in the vicinity of the distress.
Adjacent RCCs
JRCC Victoria works closely with, and shares resources freely with three adjacent RCCs:
*Juneau, Alaska to the north
*Seattle, Washington to the south
*
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton (JRCC Trenton) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). It is located on CFB Trenton in Astra, Ontario near Quinte West.
JRCC ...
(JRCC Trenton) to the east
The coastal RCCs share common air and marine radio circuits and all RCCs are linked by hot line telephones. Canadian JRCC's are mutually connected through the Canadian SAR Mission Management System (SMMS) computer network. It is not unusual for American or Canadian rescue units to respond to distress calls in each other's jurisdiction when they are the closest available unit. Joint operating agreements and special customs procedures promote maximum cooperation that provides an optimal response to any distress.
SARSAT
One of the most useful tools for the Canadian SAR system is the
Cospas-Sarsat
The International Cospas-Sarsat Programme is a satellite-aided search and rescue (SAR) initiative. It is organized as a treaty-based, nonprofit, intergovernmental, humanitarian cooperative of 45 nations and agencies (see infobox). It is dedica ...
satellite surveillance system that was jointly founded in 1981 by Canada, USA, France and USSR. At present 18 countries participate. The Canadian system uses three earth stations (LUT's) – Edmonton, Churchill and Goose Bay, to monitor satellites in polar orbit. These satellites detect and locate air and marine emergency beacons, referred to as Electronic Location Transmitters (ELTs), Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), and Personal Locating Beacons (PLB's) which transmit on 121.5, 243.0 and 406.0 MHz. The resultant distress signal is then routed to the appropriate JRCC for action.
References
External links
MARPAC webpageJoint Rescue Coordination Center Victoria WebpageVictoria Search and Rescue Region
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria
Royal Canadian Air Force
Canadian Coast Guard
Rescue coordination centres
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) is a rescue coordination centre operated by the 1 Canadian Air Division (Canadian Armed Forces) and staffed by personnel of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Gua ...