The Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT) is a Christian service ministry and training organization located in Big Sandy, TX at the former campus of Ambassador College

Ambassador College

Ambassador College was a four-year, liberal arts college run by the Worldwide Church of God. The college was established in 1947 in Pasadena, California by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, leader of what was then the Radio Church of God, later renamed the Worldwide Church of God...

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Training

Every ALERT Recruit goes through a 9-week Basic Training, modeled after military boot camp. It combines intense physical training and rigorous hikes, drill and ceremony, survival training, strict uniform and living area inspections. In order for the Recruit to promote to the rank of Responder (the first ALERT rank) he must pass these inspections, maintain a daily journal, pass minimum physical standards, demonstrate character, and memorize the New Testament book of 1 Peter in the King James Bible.

After Basic Training, each Responder undergoes Emergency Response Training, which incorporates Basic Fire Fighting, Basic High-Angle Rescue, Leadership, Evangelism, Open Water Diving, Advanced Open Water Diving, Rescue Systems One, Sawyer, Search-And-Rescue, and Special Response Diver (in coordination with the National Academy of Police Diving).

As a training organization, it is a vocational technical school, with programs in aircraft maintenance, aquatics, auto mechanics, aviation, leadership, emergency medical technician (basic and paramedic), emergency services operation, firefighting, law enforcement, property and facility care, and water treatment apprenticeship. The law enforcement program is non-accredited.

Public service

As a disaster relief organization, ALERT is deployed at the request of government officials. The men serve nationally and internationally, in response to natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and ice storms.

As a public service organization, ALERT Responders use their dive recovery training, sawyer, and land search and rescue training to serve local authorities on a volunteer basis. They respond upon request from government officials.

In addition to specialized skills, ALERT units have volunteered to serve in projects including cemetery cleanup, playground construction, children's camps, and community improvement.

Organizational Ties

ALERT was founded under the auspices of, and still retains an association with the Institute in Basic Life Principles

Institute in Basic Life Principles

The Institute in Basic Life Principles is a non-denominational, Christian organization in Oak Brook, Illinois that serves as an umbrella organization for several ministries. IBLP was established by Bill Gothard for the purpose of resolving youth and family conflicts...

, the non-denominational ministry founded by Bill Gothard

Bill Gothard

William W. Gothard is an American Christian minister, speaker and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles , notable for his ultraconservative teachings...

. Today, however, ALERT is a separate corporation and is financially independent.