The primary mission of the Tactical Search Unit is to provide specialists in tracking and navigation. This unit provides extensive expertise in ground search activities and provides support to other units during specialized SAR missions. The unit is responsible for training Bureau personnel on tracking and navigation skills and for teaching basic tracking and navigation at the SAR Academy.

The members of the Tactical Search Unit are major participants on field teams during actual missions. Because they employ no more than their own feet, rather than horses or motor vehicles, to traverse the terrain, they are often referred to as the, "Ground Pounders". A title they proudly sport! Desert heat to mountain snow; from deep ravines to high ridges; through rugged canyons and heavy brush; up or down steep slopes; in daylight or darkness; the Tactical Search Unit members are prepared for field team assignments and leadership.

Members of the Tactical Search Unit are specialists in both tracking and navigation. Tracking is both an art and a technical skill. Members of the Tactical Search Unit are highly trained and skilled in preserving and assessing the PLS (point last seen) for clues and sign left behind by the subjects of a search and in determining a direction of travel of subjects. They specialize in discerning disturbances on the ground and in the brush to detect the slightest indication that a person has or has not passed through an area. They are trained specialists in both, "slow" or step by step tracking and "fast", or jump, tracking. They are highly trained specialists in the use of map and compass and GPS units to navigate through any type of terrain and can provide navigation support for any field team.

The Tactical Search Unit is responsible for monitoring and mapping the movement of field teams during each mission and providing this information to the Search Management Team. Radio transmissions are monitored in order to collect navigation data, or map coordinates, as each team carries out their assignment. When teams return to the command post data is collected from their GPS units and downloaded onto specialized computer programs located on Mobile Command-1. An up to date record is maintained on the computer to indicate where teams are in the field, as well as, to record a history of what search areas have or have not been covered during the mission. This data is plotted to provide detailed graphic representations of maps that are then used by the management team in the planning of the future search operations.

All members of the Tactical Search Unit are required to attain specialist certification in both tracking and navigation within one year of entry into the Unit. This is accomplished through training, testing, and mission experience. Each year the Unit offers a course in Tracking Specialist and a course in Navigation Specialist. The courses include both classroom and field training and are in addition to the basic tracking and navigation training received in the SAR Academy. After completing the Specialist courses the candidate must complete and document 20 hours of training for each of the two specialties. Mission experience is counted toward certification. Following completion of the training phase, the specialist candidate will be required to complete a certification trial, or test, to demonstrate successfully the skills of the specialty.

Overall the Tactical Search Unit offers an exciting opportunity to participate in demanding assignments on critical search and rescue missions. By developing and utilizing specialized search skills; training with enthusiastic, highly skilled personnel; and being prepared to take on field team leadership responsibilities; members of the Tactical Search Unit are an active, integral part of the San Diego Sheriff's Search and Rescue Bureau.