FAR
Recruitment

FAR volunteers are called upon to use their normal archaeological skills in situations that may be anything but normal. They are expected to work calmly and in a controlled, professional manner under generally chaotic and stressful conditions. At times FAR volunteers may encounter terrible sights ranging from burned and fragmented human remains to emotionally distraught survivors and families of victims. Every effort is made to buffer fieldworkers from direct contact with the relatives of victims and with the press and media while working at the disaster scene, but sometimes these encounters are inescapable. Fieldwork as a FAR volunteer is not for everyone.

FAR currently has 35 volunteers rostered and current with their training. The team is based in Rhode Island and will continue there for the foreseeable future. Increasingly, however, members are joining from other states. FAR has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the RI Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services, who have provided valuable support at both actual and training deployments by FAR. We are also preparing an MOU with the Society of American Archaeology (SAA) to establish an electronic nationwide roster for emergency use in case of possible mass-fatality disasters anywhere in the United States.

Forensic recovery at disaster scenes is difficult but important work. Anyone interested in participating in training and in perform duties as a FAR volunteer should contact Dr. Richard A. Gould, Director & Team Leader, Forensic Archaeology (FAR), c/o Department of Anthropology, Box 1921, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 (phone:401-863-3251; FAX 401-863-7588) for more detailed information and application procedures.