March 21, 2025 BRACE CERT Monthly Training: Outdoor Search & Rescue event at 5:30PM – 8:30PM-115 St. John St, Pensacola, FL, 32503

 John Thomas Winskas Attended Event:

Attended Event-Friday, March 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM-Brace CERT  Monthly Training: BRACE CERT- Outdoor Search & Rescue event at 5:30PM – 8:30PM-115 St. John St, Pensacola, FL, 32503

Instructors: Preston Marvel, Dr. Sam Mathews, Philip Switzer, Capt. Bill Marvel, Gary Walker 

• Got a ride from my father at 5:30pm from home to the Gathering Place at Taylor Chapel, Arrived late at 6.
•  After missing the first 20-30 minutes due to arriving late. I noticed the BRACE CERT team already gathered outside the Chapel already participating in an item finding drill/ practice.
• After the item finding drill, we went into the chapel conference room, and Preston handed out the briefing for the search & rescue scenario to find a missing Girl and her dog diesel.
• Preston gave us a few minutes to read the BRACE Briefing for the Search & Rescue scenario and Designated Philip Switzer as our team lead.
• Philip then divided the BRACE CERT volunteers into two teams for the search and designated Preston as the scribe.
• Philip assigned 1 radio to each team.
• Team 1 was assigned 3 members and team 2 as assigned 4 members.
• I was assigned to team 2 along with Mr. Bill Marvel, Will, and team 2 radio Operator (who's name I don't remember at the time of this writing).
• The team member were advised to grab a bottle of water before leaving the building (incase we found the missing girl or dog)
• We proceeded to form a line facing the playground & swing set with our backs to the door (to the right of the door).
• We spread out and performed a grid search.
• We followed the following set of steps when a potential piece of evidence was found.
• A team member would call out that a piece of evidence was found if the evidence was observed while walking in formation.
• All the team members would stop in formation and the team member who found the evidence would describe the piece of evidence.
• The team radio would call in the evidence to the team leader.
• For many pieces of the evidence Mr. Bill Marvel would take a picture of the evidence.
• The Team leader would notify the scribe who would walk over to evidence location to record and collect the evidence.
• I marked my evidence locations with a piece of plastic bag.
• Walking in this grid formation for sweep 1 (toward the fence) we found.
• what could have been a medicine or prescription bottle.
• I had not yet implemented the plastic bag evidence location marking system, so the first piece of evidence was marked with a plastic biohazard bag and a water bottle.
• What could have been the inside of a pen.
• A dog toy.
• A white piece of unidentifiable plastic (That Mr. Marvel took a picture of to mark the location that I might have left in the area).
• Near the Fence I found a zip tie.
• We turned left at the fence line and turned the formation back towards the building for sweep 2 (away from the fence) and continued the grid search walking toward the building (away from the fence).
• Near the swing set the team found a (dog face jiblet?-(according to Preston) and a few beads (mistakenly called marbles in the debrief after the search).
• In the playground mulch there were long marks (that could have been indicative of a struggle).
• there was also a blue piece of plastic that was reported to Mr. Marvel and Preston yet was left near the Mulch markings.
• I don't recall any more evidence being called out during the team 2 grid sweep 2 (toward the chapel/away from the fence).
• We turned right in formation again for sweep 3 back toward the fence
• In the immediate vicinity of the command area; I called out a blue envelope.
• The team leader (Philip) told me that he would notate and tell Preston about the blue envelope and that team 2 could continue the sweep.
• During Sweep 3 I stopped in the sand and noticed what could have been 5-10 shoe prints in the sand - Mr. Bill Marvel advised that there may have been too many footprints to mark them as evidence.
• the end of sweep 3 
•  at the fence after sweep 3, I noticed 5-10 streaks (compressed leaves), in the piles of leaves outside the mulch, that looked like they could have been caused by bike tires.
• upon investigation of the leaf Area I found and called out the barcode of a wrapper and Mr. Bill Marvel took a picture of the barcode with his phone- I marked the location with a piece of plastic bag and placed the evidence in the evidence pile. The Team 2 radio notified me that we had been called back into the building to continue the search, The Barcode wrapper was not reported to the team lead using the radio.
• Team 2 then walked back into the building and continued searching for the girl and diesel.
• After a brief discussion about the barcode wrapper evidence with Philip
• I continued inside the building
• I found team 2 to the right of the buildings back entrance
• I then continued to follow behind the other team 2 members in a line.
• and began calling out to the girl and the dog
• I noticed a group talking in a hallway and called out to them
• when I had the groups attention I asked if they had seen a little girl and her dog; I told them the names were Junno and Diesel. The Group in the hallway mentioned that they had not seen a girl or dog in the building and my team continued the search. 
• At the cupboards near the lost and found the team radio found what he said could have been junnos items
• I asked him how he knew those were junno's items he clarified that he wasn't sure if they were junno's items and that they might be junno's items and that he was told to notify the team lead of the items.
• I waited with team 2 until the team radio said we could continue the search.
• I trailed line formation as team 2 continued the search; taking a right after entering the main room of the chapel; and continued in formation along the right wall toward the corner of the room. 
• While trailing the team 2 search line; The Team 2 radio called out that he had "found junno and diesel" I heard barking that was coming from a radio next to a dummy sitting against a wall.
• I think the team leader was inferring that the dummy was junno and that the dog barking heard coming from the radio was in place of an actual dog at the simulation scene.
• I asked if the dummy and dog barking heard on the radio could be significant if the simulation were a real scenario; (The CERT instructors mentioned that if it were a real scenario as opposed to a CERT Simulation than it could be necessary to call the police).
• The two teams then sat at the table and debriefed/discussed the search & rescue simulation scenario.
• Mr. Gary Walker recommended a Search & Rescue book for the BRACE CERT members, for further study.
• Preston notified us of the Upcoming BRACE calendar event; Damage Assessment training in Santa Rosa 04252025.
• Preston also notified us that a group email was sent to BRACE members/volunteers notifying that BRACE was on standby.
• I notified Preston that I did not receive the BRACE member/volunteer standby email at my Johntwinskas@gmail.com email address an asked if he could make sure I am on the BRACE email list.
• I also asked about my background check for my BRACE membership he mentioned  I should contact Dr. Jackson.
• I also had a conversation with Mr. Bill Marvel about continuing to volunteer!

I Look forward to continuing to volunteer with Escambia County BRACE CERT!