TEERS Founder
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Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a city blown to pieces by the Halifax Explosion of December, 1917. In the aftermath of the explosion the good people of Boston, Massachusetts came to the aid of their neighbors in need. They came without invitation, they came because they cared. Commander Pottier has dedicated most of his life rescuing others. A lesson he learned from the stories of the Halifax Explosion told by his father when he was as a child. He continues the work of those good people from Boston by taking it around the world. In his own words, "The people of Boston came to our side when we needed help the most. I do for others what they did for us in our time of greatest need. I hope my small contribution will see us enter the "Age of the Humanitarian". |
| David Pottier, Founder and President - A Life Time of Service |
Early Life
Diagnosed with a crippling tendon disorder in his left knee before he was thirteen he was required to wear a 35 pound plaster cast for almost 3 years. When the cast came off he began to swim to rebuild his under developed left leg. By the time he reached 16 he had become the youngest fully qualified Red Cross Water Safety Instructor in Canadian history. That same year he became an accomplished scuba diver receiving an honorary "Clearance Diver" badge from his Canadian Navy Diving Instructors at CFB Granby. Battle hardened men who had served as Commandos during World War II. Men who had been torpedoed in the North Atlantic and survived. The training David received from them shaped and honed his own survivor instincts. From an interview, "I have survived death six times, mostly by God''s grace and by the "drive to survive" they taught me."
Before his 17th birthday he had become Canada's youngest Red Cross Water Safety Examiner and one of the country''s youngest professional salvage divers. That same year, working with the Royal Life Saving Society, he became involved in the design and testing of new life jackets that would replace the older kapok jackets that tended to take more lives than they saved. New jackets were developed and are in use today. David's interest in creating better rescue and response systems began to grow.
The Lifeguard
In 1964, he was selected to become one of the Founding Group of Instructors in Canada's newly formed National Life-Guard Service. He spent many summers working as an elite "Surf Lifeguard." 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Canada's National Lifeguard Service.
"Each time I meet a Canadian Life-Guard," says David, "I take great pride in knowing that from our humble beginnings, aspirations and dreams, the Canadian National Life-Guard Service has grown to become the world leader in training and standards. It saved thousands of lives in the process, as it will for many years to come."
When asked what he felt his greatest accomplishment was his reply was, "The last life I saved".
In addition to his Life-Guard skills he is also a professional white water kayaker and an Outward Bound Instructor.
The Environment
In 1989, at the request of an Environmental Engineer with the government of British Columbia he was asked to design a rescue system that would stand as a neutral between government agencies during major disasters like the Exxon Valdez. From the request TEERS was born. An innovative concept in rescue systems that would use advanced satellite technology and communications to not only manage disasters but to bring scientists and medical help from around the world to the scene electronically. "When the Gulf War broke out we realized that what would work for the vast reaches and inlets of British Columbia would work anywhere on earth. We tested the system and it worked beyond our expectations. We would have to wait several more years for technology to catch up with the concepts.
Marine Rescue
Cdr. Pottier trained and served with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary and completed the US Coast Guard's Training as an On-Scene-Commander for Land, Sea and Air Operations. Captain Reg Gunn, Manager of the Western Region, Canadian Rescue Coordination Center, became his mentor in rescue and after evaluating his performance in an international emergency operation and commanding all three aspects at once simply commented, "Well done!".
In 2017 Cdr. Pottier began the process of Founding the Nova Scotia LifeBoat Institute whose primary mission is to provide volunteer marine rescue services and to promote public and fishermen Personal and Boating Safety throughout Southwestern Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada. The secondary mission is in the area research and development for marine safety and survivability at sea. Cdr. Pottier's goal is to bring positive and life saving technologies to those on the water, whether for recreation or livelihood.
International Rescue
In late 1995 the Canadian Space Agency launched RadarSat and first of the envisioned technologies had arrived. In March of 1996 Commander Pottier was invited to become part of an elite four member international rescue operation in South East Turkey. The mission - to enter a "hot" zone and recover the remains of a missing American youth. RadarSat was used to image the mountainous rescue area two weeks before the mission began. This marked the first time in history that radar satellite imagery was used in a rescue operation. This 1995 mission was also the most technologically advanced rescue mission ever conducted.
While in Turkey the team members were invited to meet with a group of Turkish mountaineers interested in forming a rescue team. From that meeting the AKUT Rescue team was formed. In 1999, when the Izmit earthquake took 35,000 lives, AKUT became national heroes. They were Turkey''s only rescue resource. Today, thanks to the efforts of men like Nasuh Mahruki and Memo Tranriserver and others, AKUT is one of the largest and best trained rescue teams in the world.
During the Afghan earthquakes, to assist with the rescue efforts, TEERS asked RadarSat if they could provide post quake images of the area. They did and the donated imagery was transmitted to England and presented to the Afghani Ambassador. "We feel this saved time and lives as road conditions could be assessed prior to aid convoys being dispatched."
Team Building
While visiting Istanbul in 2005 a chance meeting with a Mongolian national gave him the idea of creating a new International Rescue Team for Mongolia. They were in a perfect location and the suffered from severe environmental disasters such as the Dzud, or "White Death". Freezing winter blizzards that, in the winter of 2000, killed more than 55% of the nation''s livestock. The doctor recommended a candidate to lead the team. Her name was Madison Naidan, an amazing young third year Criminal Law student. By October of 2006 they had received international approval for the team's creation.
The Mongolian Environmental Emergency Response Service was born. Its members would be known as the Mongolian Rangers. Commander Pottier has accepted the position as team's first Vice-Chairman and Rescue Chief. He has a monumental challenge before him.
Mongolia, twice the size of Texas but with only 13% of it's population, is the world's largest landlocked country. Mongolians are a nomadic population with 58% following their grazing herds. They are also the last nomadic people on the planet.
For a rescuer Mongolia is a logistics nightmare. In this nation of just 3 million people most have access to cell phones, however, not all areas receive coverage. Some of the many problems facing the team include:
- How does an emergency situation get reported? How does a herdsman notify the Rangers of an emergency when he has no cell phone, no electricity to power a radio system and current locator technology is too expensive.
- How are victims to be located in time?
- How do the Rangers arrive in a timely manner when there are few roads and winter temperatures can drop to -50C.
- Mongolia is not a Cospas-Sarsat Participant. How is a rescue operation managed when there is no Local Users Terminal (LUT), which receive and process the satellite downlink signal to generate distress alerts, to communicate situation reports to the Ranger Units.
- Satellites available INSAT and GEOS-9 but this one''s operation will terminate in 2007.
These are just a few of the problems that Commander Pottier and members of the support teams from the international rescue community will have to solve.
