Carl McOnie

Training Designer & Course Instructor Location: Christchurch

I first got involved in SAR in the early 1990’s when working for the Army.  I spent 20 years in the New Zealand Army and throughout that that time I undertook comprehensive training as a rifleman/Sniper. Over the years I have been involved in work as part of United Nations contingents in East Timor, Bosnia and the Solomon Islands as well as serving on numerous other postings overseas.

I am involved operationally as a volunteer with LandSAR - generally as part of the field teams in suburban searches and on wilderness based searches. I see this as my opportunity to give back to the community. It also gives me a chance to talk to people on the ground and see what may be influencing training.

As an Instructor I am fortunate to have been trained by some of the best outdoors people around. Over the years I have used these skills in many different situations.  Now through working with SARINZ I am getting a chance to pass this information on and in doing so “helping others save lives”.

As the Training designer my main role is to assist in developing existing training or creating new training to meet SAR operational needs. I also conduct internal evaluation / validation of training to ensure what we are teaching is meeting the operational needs of the SAR community.

I am based in Christchurch and am married with two children. I have a Diploma in Adult education and training, along with a number of management certificates. I am also a member of New Zealand Association of Training and Development (NZATD).