Air Squadron
Sierra Law Enforcement Chaplaincy
The El Dorado Sheriffs Air Squadron has been serving the county since 1985. The Squadron is an all-volunteer group consisting of pilots and observers. The missions flown fall into five general categories: transport, orientation, surveillance, emergencies and search/rescue.
The Squadron is called upon to transport the Sheriff, his deputies, witnesses or other personnel for a variety of reasons. There is also a formal flight orientation program which familiarizes new and existing employees with the county by providing a birds-eye view of the road network and land forms.
In addition, the squadron is utilized for surveillance activities often related to drug cases. Finally, the squadron is available for use during emergencies or natural disasters and for select search and rescue operations.
The Squadron consists of 18 members, 13 of whom are active pilots. Seven pilots have private certificates and six have commercial certificates.
The Squadron consists of 12 fixed wing aircraft.
Ten pilots have instrument ratings.
The Squadron flew seven missions in 2017,
which were flown by six different pilots. Five of
these missions were for the purpose of
orientation of new employees, one for
surveillance and one for transportation of
Sheriff's Office employees.
The Sierra Law Enforcement Chaplaincy is a nonprofit organization that exists to be a resource for the law enforcement agencies in
El Dorado County and the City of Folsom including the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. The 30 active Chaplains that make up the Chaplaincy are there to serve the emotional and spiritual needs of the law enforcement officer, support services, as well as the families of anyone associated with the department.
One of the most visible ways Chaplains help,
besides riding along with officers during their
shifts, is by responding to call outs in the
community. A Chaplain’s presence on a scene
helps remove the emotional burden that would have been passed on to officers and allows the
officer to return to service faster in order to
better serve the community.
In 2017, Chaplains responded to 53 call outs in
the community mostly to provide comfort to
citizens dealing with an emotional or spiritual
crisis mostly stemming from the death of a loved one. This required the Chaplains to make
themselves available over 10,000 hours in order
to be on call 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Those hours do not include the countless hours
of follow up the Chaplaincy provided to families
and officers throughout the year. In addition
Chaplains have coordinated and officiated at
funerals related to their call outs as well as for
families of law enforcement officers. They have
also officiated weddings for law enforcement
officials which allows the Chaplains to connect
with the officers and families in a more joy filled
and relaxed setting.
"Engaging first responders and citizens in Folsom and El Dorado County dealing with emotional and spiritual trauma by deploying trained Chaplains equipped to provide compassion, information, practical assistance, and safety in time of crisis."
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