It is kind of like reimbursable services in law enforcement. A big tree falls down blocking a road, the local agency sends an officer to direct traffic, that is part of the job. A movie company wants to film on that same road, gets the required permits from the highway department, and pays the agency to send an officer, paying both the officers overtime (NOT an on duty officer, but one off duty), and so much per mile for the vehicle. Why? Because making movies on a public highway is not the "normal" use of the road, so the user has to pay for the governmental agency to provide the service.

As for the use of the military in civilian rescues, yes, they love to get involved in them. A real life civilian rescue is great training for their primary mission, real life military rescues. I had more than one Navy chopper land at a traffic accident, and ask if they could provide medical aid, "for the training." And that is why the Army sends its combat medics and doctors to Martin Luther King Hospital in L.A., lots of shooting and stabbing victims for them to train on, to prepare them for their primary mission, combat.

I still say, if a $5 item will just possibly help in your rescue, what does it hurt to take one along???