Robert Verhelst

Effective communication is incredibly important for search and rescue operations, as it helps to ensure that the area is cleared quickly and efficiently. It is necessary to have clear codes and strategies in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Having the right tools and personnel is also key.
 
Transcript: "You know, one of the biggest things in search and rescue operations is the communication because you're dealing with an environment that obviously is a steer that is can be constantly changing and making sure it's not just quick, but it's effective communication and making sure that's Universal. There's a lot of struggles. A lot of times with departments when you get into having different communication codes or different strategic situational communication, And it's so important to have, I, once a quick communication, but effective communication is so important in search-and-rescue operations, to be able to one clear the area to. If you do have a victim or you do have a challenging environment that you have to get through to effectively communicate, what tools, what personnel, and what's the, in essence, the timeline to be able to get through that situation. So, It's so important to have effective and efficient communication before you learn how to do things. You need to know how to communicate it."

Experiential knowledge such as mental health struggles, Ironman Triathlons, Half Iron Man's, being a firefighter and going to September 11th have given me an unique perspective on life. Taking pieces of this experience and making it one's own is an important aspect.
 
Transcript: "I think when you look at opinions, methods, and expertise, you always look at experiential knowledge. In essence, what have you done in your life that has made you become better at something and made you understand the little aspects and little points of it? And for myself, it's actually been mindset. I think that is one of the most unique things that I understand and know about because of the mental health struggles that I've went through, of the Ironman triathlons and half Ironmans that I've done in full firefighter gear, knowing the pain of that, of being a firefighter, going into austere environments, and also going to September 11th, being married, having kids. I think all of these experiential knowledge moments actually give me a unique, and other people, a unique aspect on life. And I think it's so important, so valuable for people to really listen to those, take in what you can, because not everything I've done in my life is going to apply to somebody else's. But if you take a little piece of it and actually make it your own, that's a huge aspect. So for me, it's always been mindset."

I think that the trend of not being able to communicate directly with each other is underappreciated and can have major consequences.
 
Transcript: "All right, this is gonna make me sound really old but the underappreciated trend I think and this is underappreciated that the severity and the Massive consequences like I have later is the inability for people to communicate directly with each other I think there's so much going on with people texting with people communicating via zoom and all these other things emails and I think the lack of That person-to-person contact that ability to communicate in full sentences and and really get your point across in Concise way, I think that is that is starting to become a trend that People aren't doing and I think it's gonna actually have massive consequences because Some other countries may be doing it more than we are but I think it's so important for kids to learn how to communicate and communicate effectively"