Page 25: of Marine News Magazine (August 2006)

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August, 2006 • MarineNews 25

The U.S. Coast Guard announced that on June 30 it began using the new Rescue 21 command, control and communica- tions system along the Alabama, Missis- sippi and Florida coastlines. General

Dynamics C4 Systems, is the prime con- tractor for development and deployment of the Rescue 21 system.

Advanced direction-finding capability, a critical component of Rescue 21, allows

Coast Guard watchstanders to more accu- rately locate the source of a distress call, said a Coast Guard release. That capabili- ty also allows the Coast Guard to locate the source of hoax calls. Rescue 21 also includes a network of towers to help reduce coverage gaps in coastal areas and ensure more calls get through to the Coast

Guard. "The system provides a revolutionary leap in enhanced command, control and communications capabilities," said Capt.

Dan Abel, Rescue 21 project manager. "Given our long and proud history of standing the watch, such leading-edge technology will radically improve the effi- ciency of search and rescue operations and offers interoperability with other fed- eral, state and local law enforcement agencies, and with first responders across all rescue or homeland security missions in the coastal area," he said.

Proving its mettle following Hurricanes

Katrina and Rita, is the Disaster Recovery

System (DRS), a critical component of

Rescue 21. A fully autonomous, rapidly deployable emergency communications package, it provides voice and data con- nectivity if a man-made or natural disaster destroys the existing communications infrastructure. The DRS connects to the

Coast Guard Data Network (CGDN+) via satellite communications. For six months, it reliably provided one-way communica- tions with mariners, in the southeastern portion of the Mississippi River and Gulf

Coast region. Currently, four of the deployable systems are staged in

Huntsville, Ala. for quick deployment.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration has predicted eight to 10 hurricanes in the Atlantic for 2006; at least half of which are expected to be the strength of Category Three storms. "Res- cue 21 has been accepted at an especially critical time of year in the Gulf States,"

USCG Activates Rescue 21 System in Gulf States

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