Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) employees are putting their 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 week, Ghannoum works a relatively white-collar job as an engineer for the YPG's Public Works Department. With a background in mechanical engineering, he describes his job as “basically everything to do with the readiness of the base.” That means plumbing, air conditioning, [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning]Specifics and things like that. Just making sure the base is up and running and ready to support the mission.”

Ghannoum grew up in Ohio and volunteered with the Hudson City Volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMT) team, earning his basic EMT certification that allows him to assist in ambulances. When Ghannoum and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon, there weren't many opportunities to volunteer because the world was shutting down due to COVID-19.
After Ghannum's wife, a Marine pilot based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (MCAS), received orders to deploy to MCAS, the couple moved to sunny Arizona, but Ghannum wanted to return to his passion of helping others.

“I reached out to different communities to see what I could do. I love hiking, I love being outdoors and being in the desert, and I thought search and rescue would be a great fit,” he explained.

YPG operates on a four-day, 10-hour work schedule most days. Outside of that, Ghannoum has the opportunity to hone and share his skills as part of the YCSO search and rescue team.

“If you have experience with the outdoors, camping, hiking, climbing, that's even better, but there's ongoing training paid for by the county to help you get up to speed quickly. So, if you just really want to help and want to be a volunteer, there are lots of roles on the search and rescue team to support that.”
He explains that not all of the roles are physical labour – there's tracking, planning and a range of support roles.

Ghannoum has experience in rope rescues and high altitude rescues. This experience gives him the opportunity to share his knowledge: “We teach a lot of the police officers who are helping out how to be safe on the ropes.”
Currently, Ghannoum assists in rescue efforts across the diverse terrain of Yuma County.

“Yuma County is unique in that we have an urban area within a city. And then we have mountains and desert. The harsh environment and some of our residents mean that some people get too deep in the desert and become stuck, or suffer from issues like dementia and wandering.”

He points out that collaboration and information sharing among multiple organizations helps search and rescue efforts.

“We have a wealth of knowledge of the area and by working together and fostering relationships we can bring the search to a swift conclusion.”

Gannoum was recently on standby at the Silver Spur Rodeo. Gannoum encourages people to get involved in their local community to enrich their lives, and this experience has helped him and his wife become part of the Yuma community.

“We really enjoy it, and there are lots of different options for how you want to volunteer, so I encourage you to get out there and find something that piques your interest.”