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In this week's episode we deep dive the fitness test used by Backcountry Search and Rescue (BUSAR). They are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization comprised of members with extensive backcountry and outdoor experience, as well as specialized professional expertise from the NPS, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. Members also have experience in aviation, tracking, survival, firefighting, law enforcement, and medical professions.
Their unique fitness test consists of the following:
Burpee pack pullups - as many reps as you can do in 10 minutes with your SAR pack (~ 20 lbs.) - minimum 50
225 pound trap bar deadlift - as many reps as you can do with good form in 1 minute - minimum 15
3 mile pack test with 45 pounds in under 45 minutes (USFS pack test), followed by additional 30 minutes up and over a picnic table with your SAR Pack (~ 20 lbs.) and a 45# kettlebell or dumbbell
Andrew Herrington grew up a free range kid, shaped by Boy Scouts, wilderness, and hard less. A near-fatal rescue at 17 locked his purpose in for good. With nearly two decades in Smokies Search & Resuce, he became a master of survival. His specialties include land navigation, tracking, swiftwater, hunting, trapping, and wildland fire operations. A former backcountry ranger, hog hunter, and wildland firefighter, he blends instinct with experience. As founder and leader of the team, he trains others to think, adapt, and move. Known as an empathetic problem solver, he builds teams under pressure. He doesn't just solve rescues, he forges heroes.
Greg Grieco learned early that standing still gets people hurt. As a former wildlife ranger in the Smokies, he tracked and trapped conflict bears relying on his photographic memory and encyclopedic mind to outsmart the beasts before they could cause more problems. A university of Tennessee football alum, Greg brings power, speed, and fearless momentum to every mission. He specializes in land navigation, rapid decision making, and reading terrain like an open book. When hesitation creeps in, he pushes that team forward.
