SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — The Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a ceremony and demonstration Wednesday to accept the new Rescue 21 communications system at Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, which spans Lake Superior and the northern parts of Lakes Huron and Michigan.
Rescue 21, the Coast Guard’s advanced command, control and direction-finding communications system, was created to more efficiently locate mariners in distress to save lives and property at sea and on navigable waterways.
With increased communications coverage and advanced direction-finding capabilities, Rescue 21 can help take the search out of search and rescue. More information about Rescue 21 can be found at: http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/rescue21.
Capt. Joseph McGuiness, commander of Sector Sault Ste. Marie, will join Capt. John Bingaman, chief of staff for the 9th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Cleveland, to talk about how Rescue 21’s state-of-the-art technology is enhancing search and rescue mission execution and maritime safety along the sector’s entire area of responsibility.
Congressman Dan Benishek, representative for Michigan’s 1st District will be the event’s keynote speaker. Capt. John Wood, manager of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Acquisitions Program at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., will also deliver remarks, as will Jim Gardner, deputy project manager for Rescue 21 at General Dynamics C4 Systems.
Speakers will be made available to the media following the ceremony, followed by demonstrations and visuals of the system at work in the command center for those interested.
Installation began in April 2011, and Sector Sault Ste. Marie’s Rescue 21 system became operational in September of 2011. Since then, it has been used in more than 200 search and rescue cases, contributing to the Coast Guard’s rescue of 35 mariners.
