1) Document a searched area for legal purposes. If each team and/or vehicle is APRS equipped and radio coverage is adequate, a map of the searched area may be easily documented.

2) Can keep track of fixed and/or mobile assets during an operation. Note that an object need not have a tracker on it to become a tracked object on the map. An object can be placed on the map and have it's position updated manually.

3) Messaging between units, although this should not be relied upon unless ACK's are verified for each message. Perhaps a better protocol for reliable messaging would be TCP/IP, which also can be provided by amateur radio operators for an event.

4) Real-time tactical display of an operation.

5) Allows keeping track of resources without interrupting the voice comms.

6) Allows people at the EOC/DEM office to keep track of the operation out in the field in real-time.

7) Allows sending internet e-mail from the field.

8) If vehicles are equipped with APRS messaging-capable units, volunteers can be checked in/out while the vehicle is in transit. Assignments may be delivered without the vehicle needing to be routed past base camp.

9) Teams in vehicles or on foot can be recalled or reassigned quickly.

10) Search aircraft can have their positions/tracks monitored real-time on topo maps, and be informed immediately if there are missing areas in the search coverage.

11) Weather at the site can be automatically relayed and viewed in aircraft that may need to arrive/depart quickly. Wind direction and speed are critical info for helicopters.

12) An operation can be made more visible to the public (or not) to promote knowledge of the event.

13) APRS promotes higher usage of given resources due to the greater knowledge of where resources are deployed, and where currently unused resources reside.

14) Additional data can be supplied to search teams via APRS as it becomes available, again without tying up the voice comms.

15) APRS can be deployed using MIC-E style operation on the voice frequency. Every time a radio unkeys, an APRS packet gets sent out before the transmitter is dropped. This means that only one radio need be carried but requires training of voice operators who will be hearing strange modem tones on the frequency periodically. It may also require licensing of APRS and careful review of the FCC rules for the band in question.

16) Vehicles/Aircraft can be guided to particular sites via APRS positioning, for instance SAR base camp or a helicopter landing site.

17) Lost/misguided vehicles or teams can be quickly put back on track via APRS.

18) The operations chief could easily direct teams into areas that hadn't been properly searched without waiting for a semi-accurate debriefing of where a team THOUGHT it had been searching.

19) Can place real-time displays at the Operations, Incident Command, Planning, and Logistics stations, and one for the searchers who aren't currently deployed. This would require less interaction between all parties in order for everyone to know more about the current state of the operation. Most of these would not even have to have transmit capability, and could be tied into a central computer that was used by Operations.

20) If the software supports it, detailed annotated topo maps may be printed out as needed during the search.

21) APRS documentation from a search may be used as feedback to search teams to determine what could be done better for the next event. This info could also be fed back into the pre-plan for an area (pre-planned search instructions for areas where people tend to get lost a lot and in similar manners).

22) Tactical calls may be assigned to different tracked teams that define the particular talents of that team, for instance "Hasty Team 1" could be called "Hasty1", "Dog Team 5" could be called "Dog5", "Man-Tracking" "Team 6" could be "Track6", etc. This allows instant recognition of where the specialty teams are deployed via a quick glance at the map. It's best to use the same label for a team as used on the voice radio.

23) In areas of extreme damage (earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, floods, etc), APRS can help to identify buildings, street corners or other tracked assets that search teams or damage control teams need to get to or monitor. It can also be used to keep track of evacuation routes and whether each route is currently available or blocked.

24) For fires a real-time map can help to keep workers out of danger. Positions can be updated manually from data relayed by voice or automatically by APRS trackers.