ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. – The U.S. Coast Guard formally accepted and introduced their new Rescue 21 advanced communications system at a ceremony today at Sector North Carolina.
This new capability, which will eventually be introduced nationwide, increases the ability of Coast Guard men and women to execute all of their missions, especially the search and rescue mission, with greater agility and efficiency. Today’s ceremony included speeches from senior local and national Coast Guard officials.
“We’re already seeing tremendous results from the cutting edge capabilities Rescue 21 provides, such as the rescue just last week of a family of four, with very limited radio communication,” said Capt. June Ryan, Sector North Carolina commander. “Our men and women can now hear distress calls clearer, quickly narrow down the location of each call and arrive on-scene much faster than with our older system. That means more lives saved along the North Carolina coast.”
Rescue 21 is an advanced command, control and communications system that was created to better locate mariners in distress and save lives and property at sea and on navigable rivers. As the marine version of 9-1-1; it facilitates better communication in emergency situations. With its advanced direction finding capabilities and increased range, Rescue 21 helps the Coast Guard better ‘hear the call’ and quickly respond to boaters in distress. It also helps identify hoax distress calls made from land that can unnecessarily divert Coast Guard assets and manpower. Today’s acceptance formally brings those capabilities to North Carolina and increases total U.S. coastline currently covered by Rescue 21 to more than 28,000 miles.
“We’re very pleased with this project,” said Rear Adm. John Korn, Program Executive Officer and Director of Acquisition Programs. “Today’s acceptance marks a tremendous leap forward in our ability to save lives at sea. Rescue 21’s success in North Carolina and nationwide is the result of the dedicated work of many Coast Guard and industry personnel, as well as sustained support from the Congress and the Department of Homeland Security.”
