The Continuous Activity Scheduling Planning, Execution and Replanning (CASPER) system has been used for a wide range of automation applications ranging from spacecraft, rovers, ground communications stations, to unpiloted aerial vehicles. In almost all of these applications, CASPER uses at its core a local search algorithm to rapidly solve planning and scheduling problems. In this paper we describe the basics of this local search algorithm as well as outline several of the benefits and drawbacks of using a local search approach.