Photo By Ana Henderson | Yuma Proving Ground runs on a four-day, ten-hour work schedule. Outside of those hours...... read more read more
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A Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) employee is putting his outdoor survival skills to good use. Adam Ghannoum is a volunteer with the Yuma County Sheriff's Office (YCSO) Search and Rescue team.
During the workweek, Ghannoum has a relatively white-collar job as an engineer with YPG’s Directorate of Public Works. His background is in mechanical engineering, and he describes his position as, “anything to do with base readiness essentially. So, anything from waterlines, HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning], concrete, things like that. Just making sure the base is up to speed and operational, so we can support the mission.”
Ghannoum grew up in Ohio and volunteered with the City of Hudson’s volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMT) team and earned his basic EMT certification which allowed him to help on ambulances. When Ghannoum and his wife moved to Portland, Ore. there wasn’t a lot of opportunities to volunteer because the world shut down due to COVID.
When the couple moved to sunny Arizona, after Ghannoum’s wife, a Marine pilot at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma, got orders to MCAS, he looked to return to his passion of helping.
“I reached out to the different areas and saw what was available. I love hiking, I love being in the outdoors and in the desert. Search and rescue seemed like a good fit,” he explained.
For the most part, YPG runs on a four-day, ten-hour work schedule. Outside of those hours Ghannoum is part to the YCSO Search and Rescue team where he’s been able to enhance and share his skills.
“Anything with experience outside with camping, hiking, climbing is a plus, but we have on-going training that the county will help pay for and get you up to speed. So really just a want to help and volunteer, and there’s many roles throughout the search and rescue team to support it.”
He explains that not all the roles are physical. There’s tracking, planning, and a variety of support roles.
Ghannoum’s background is in rope and high angle rescues. This gives him the opportunity to share that knowledge, “We get to teach a lot of the police who are supporting the mission how to stay safe on ropes.”
Now, you’ll find Ghannoum helping with rescues across Yuma County’s diverse terrain.
“Yuma County is unique because we have an urban place within the city. Then we have mountains and the desert. Because of the extreme environment and some of the population, you have anything from people who get in too deep and are stuck in the desert or you have people who are struggling with issue like dementia and wander.”
He notes that the several entities around collaborating and sharing information aids in search and rescue missions.
“There’s a lot of knowledge about the area, in ways we can work together and foster those relationships, to help these searches to a close quickly.”
Most recently Ghannoum was on standby during the Silver Spur Rodeo. Ghannoum encourages others to get involved in their community to enrich their lives. The experience has helped him, and his wife become part of the Yuma community.
“We have been really enjoying it. In any way that people want to volunteer, there’s all sorts of options. So, I encourage people to go out and try to see what can spark their interest.”
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2024 11:34 |
| Story ID: | 465580 |
| Location: | YUMA PROVING GROUND, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 178 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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