Smart Tac

We train and deploy our search & rescue teams in service to others.

Day or night, anywhere, under any conditions.

In the chaos of disaster, when everything feels lost, our mission begins.
Each deployment is a race against time, not just to save lives and find the missing, but to restore hope
when it’s needed most.

BECAUSE EVERY SECOND COUNTS
EVERY LIFE MATTERS

Our Skills

OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS ARE TRAINED FOR THE JOB.
From collapsed buildings and swift waters to High-angle rescue, remote wilderness, and disaster-stricken zones, they bring more than skill. They bring light to families facing their darkest days.

Trauma First Responder
SMART TAC responders are often first to arrive at the scene in cases of missing persons or disasters. Our rapid responders receive specialized training in Pre-Hospital Trauma Care and are certified by the International Prehospital Medicine Institute. Every team is equipped to provide immediate medical assistance to stabilize victims in critical conditions. When necessary, a paramedic is integrated into the team, ensuring a higher level of medical care on-site.
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Crisis Liaison Team
SMART TAC has the ability to deploy a Crisis Liaison Team (CLT) to coordinate efforts on the ground and facilitate all communications between AIMS and all key stakeholders involved in the emergency response effort. This will help the people and companies we serve, make informed decisions regarding their clients', families and any other organisations involved (including insurance companies).
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K9 Search and recovery
SMART TAC’s Search, Rescue, and Recovery K9s are trained and qualified to assist in locating missing or lost individuals in wilderness areas as well as disaster scenarios such as earthquakes and floods. The K9 teams include specialized Live Find dogs, that exclusively alert to the presence of living individuals, completely ignoring the deceased. Additionally, SMART TAC employs dual-purpose K9s trained in both Live Find and Cadaver (Deceased) detection. These dual-purpose dogs operate under separate commands for each task, allowing them to prioritize finding live individuals. If no live persons are detected, they seamlessly transition to cadaver detection. This dual capability maximizes efficiency, enabling a single dog to locate both survivors and deceased individuals in the field, reducing the need to deploy multiple teams.
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Swift Water rescue
The SMART TAC team is swift water rescue qualified and prepared to respond effectively to the increasing threat of floods (one of the most frequent and devastating natural disasters). In 2024, Africa experienced a 20% increase in flooding incidents compared to the previous year, resulting in over 2,500 deaths and 4 million displaced people.
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Rope rescue
The SMART TAC team is highly trained in rope rescue, enabling them to operate effectively in challenging high-angle environments such as cliffs, ravines, and collapsed structures. Rope rescue skills are essential in both wilderness and urban disaster scenarios where victims may be trapped in hard-to-reach locations.
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Confined space rescue
SMART TAC teams are highly trained in confined space rescue, an essential skill for responding to incidents where victims are trapped in tight, enclosed areas such as tunnels, collapsed buildings, mines, or industrial sites. Confined space rescues are among the most hazardous operations due to limited access, restricted movement, poor ventilation, and the potential presence of hazardous materials
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Meet the Team

At the core of SmartTac is a team of elite professionals – veterans, specialists, and tactical responders with decades of military and rescue experience. From K9 handlers to swift water experts, our personnel are trained to operate in challenging environments where few can go.

James Smart (Founder, K9 & Rescue Operations)
James combines military discipline, advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, and corporate leadership experience, bringing strategic precision to SmartTac. His expertise spans K9 search-and-rescue operations, swift water rescue, wilderness competency, rope rescue, and trauma first response. James has successfully led critical operations locally and internationally, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Ghana.
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Kerrin Kruger (Operations & Strategic Partnerships)
Kerrin blends extensive corporate experience with frontline SAR knowledge. Specializing in K9 SAR handling, rope rescue, swift water rescue, and medical first response, he’s actively shaped SmartTac's operational readiness. Kerrin excels in building high-level relationships, coordinating partnerships with NGOs, governmental agencies, and international aid organizations.
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Cathy (Intelligence & Operational Coordination)
A veteran intelligence officer and project coordinator, Cathy brings decades of experience in military and civilian intelligence, operational logistics, and security. Her pioneering career includes being the first woman intelligence officer appointed to a South African Special Forces unit. Cathy ensures meticulous coordination and secure operations during complex missions.
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Garth (Special Operations & Risk Advisory)
With 30+ years as a Special Forces veteran, Garth's expertise in specialized military and risk advisory operations is unparalleled. He has extensive global operational experience in harsh environments, providing integrated solutions for diverse clients from high-risk industries. Garth plays a crucial role in leading high-stakes missions and training initiatives.
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Mike Green (rope rescue specialist)
Michael Green, born and raised in eSwatini, has nearly 20 years of rope experience and has been active in wilderness search and rescue since 2021. A member of the Mountain Club of South Africa’s Technical Wilderness Search and Rescue (MSAR) team, he specializes in rope-based rescue, safety at height, and training. With a background in rock climbing and mountaineering, Michael is known for his calm leadership, methodical approach, and focus on safety in remote, high-risk environments.
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Jono (water bourne rescue & comms specialist)
Johnathan has over a decade of experience in shipbuilding, marine design, and business development, currently serving as a business development manager and marine application engineer for a world-renowned propulsion manufacturer. With 13 years dedicated to search, rescue, and recovery (SARR), including 10 years as a qualified maritime coxswain and station commander, he brings deep technical and leadership expertise. Johnathan has been deployed to major local and international disasters, most recently the George building collapse in 2024.
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Mariann (K9 SARR Specialist)
Mariann Wilson (Crewe-Brown) is the national chairperson of K9 Search and Rescue South Africa, with decades of experience in K9 training and search, rescue, and recovery (SARR). A qualified detection dog trainer and former teacher, she has been training dogs since 1986, working with therapy, service, and companion dogs. After returning to South Africa in 2009, she became one of the first handlers to qualify a wilderness airscent dog in the Western Cape and has since led and trained numerous K9 teams. Mariann’s expertise spans trauma response, swift water, wilderness, and rope rescue, with a deep passion for advancing K9 SARR in a volunteer capacity.
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Tyrone (Brand and Marketing Specialist)
Tyrone has over 25 years of advertising experience, working with a diverse array of both local and global brands. He has distinguished himself among clients and peers in the industry by delivering innovative creative solutions, executing impactful campaigns, and demonstrating a strong commitment to collaboration. Additionally, he is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu instructor with experience teaching self-defense strategies for the security sector.

Tyrone is passionate about building the Smart Tac brand and plans to leverage his creative and strategic expertise to enhance the organization’s marketing and communications initiatives.
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what people have to say:

Acting Director of the Emergency Response Department

"The State Emergency Service of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the Smart Tac Search and Rescue Team and to you personally for participating in joint training sessions in Kyiv from November 15 to December 6, 2023 and for strengthening the capacities of the SES dog units to conduct search and rescue operations to find victims in buildings destroyed as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation.”

CJJ Barnard, IC, George Fire and Rescue

"K9’s deployed with no hesitation working the large site locating 6 positions of live victims buried under the many layers of concrete and rubble. As the rescue efforts progressed, we brought the K9’s in repeatedly to confirm location of the victims and ensure we our teams were clearing the structure in the correct locations. The 2 K9’s and handlers worked throughout the first night, with a short break before being requested again early the next morning for new possible victim locations to be confirmed.

Over the ensuing 5 days, the team and their two Disaster K9’s not only worked to find live victims but, due to their special training of having one command to find live victims and another command to find the deceased, they were able to also aid in the locating and recovery of deceased."

Head of Disaster Management Western Cape

"SMART TAC has provided services to us on two occasions. The first was during the flooding disaster in April 2022 when a team provided Search and rescue services to the Kwazulu Natal Government and the second was in May 2024 at the building collapse in George. During both incidents the SMART TAC team played an integral part in the search and rescue operation always displaying a professional approach. The quality of the training of their K9 team was evident and was instrumental in saving the lives of several victims."

Lt Col Durban Metropolitan Police

"The SMART TAC team were instrumental in conducting search operations in aquatic environments, including in dams and rivers. Terrestrial search operations were also conducted amongst collapsed buildings and structures, all being an extremely difficult and challenging environment to work in."

Director Emergency Medical Services

"On behalf of Wilderness Search and Rescue we would like to thank you for your passion and dedication. The time and energy your team has contributed has enabled us to provide a world-class rescue service for the outdoor community."

our Shop

From essential K9 gear to branded merchandise, every purchase from our shop helps support our life-saving search and rescue efforts.

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

Your donations help us continue our life-saving work. Every contribution makes a difference.

We deploy teams to hostile and austere environments that most need our skills, in order to provide Search, Rescue and Recovery functions. Our mission is to minimize loss of civilian life, reunite families and in the event of deaths give closure to the families left behind. A team of handler, search technician and K9 will deploy as needed and as quickly as possible to ensure civilians receive help within the shortest possible time, maximizing the chances of rescue and survival.

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Latest News

The Ukrainian Deployment - Week One
The Ukrainian Deployment - Week One

 We have just completed our first week in Ukraine, where we worked alongside the State Emergency Services (SES) to augment their K9 Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capabilities. During the initial week, we met the team we will be deploying with and trained with the SES at their state-of-the-art facility. We were warmly welcomed, and it was great to share knowledge with such an experienced team and to benchmark ourselves against international standards.

We were invited again to train with the SES USAR team, who are also International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) certified.We began by discussing the training and what our dogs are trained to do.

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The Ukrainian Deployment - Week 2 & 3
The Ukrainian Deployment - Week One

During weeks two and three of our deployment to Ukraine, we focused on more training and preparation. As we mentioned in our last update, we had mixed emotions about not having any missions. While we were eager to help those in need, we were relieved that no one required our assistance.

Working with a search and rescue dog, or any working dog, requires ongoing training and appropriate challenges to ensure continuous progress. During our first session with the SES team, our dog Chaos was challenged with two odors (live person and HR) in the same area. Despite just having traveled for four days and being asked to climb a 2.5-meter-high ladder, Chaos performed exceptionally well.

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