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Western Rivers Project

Rescue 21 Western Rivers, the Coast Guard's updated communications system for Sectors Upper Mississippi, Lower Mississippi and Ohio River Valley will modernize VHF-FM marine coverage in 'The Heartland.'

As part of Rescue 21 Western Rivers, the Coast Guard is recapitalizing the National Distress System (NDS) on the Mississippi River and throughout the Ohio River Valley. The recapitalization will result in a more cost effective and realistic solution tailored for the unique operating environment along these busy inland waterways. All work on the Western Rivers is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012.

The Rescue 21 Western Rivers project will replace aging equipment including radios and antennas and add a second radio at the remote tower sites to provide additional transmit and receive capability. Additionally, this recapitalization will standardize and improve watch stander radio consoles at Sectors Ohio River Valley, Upper Mississippi River and Lower Mississippi River. In concert with the Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) major acquisition project and the Coast Guard’s Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic staff, this effort will also combine resources to provide necessary remote site facility upgrades, uninterruptible backup power solutions and new digital communications circuits, providing a fully-networked solution for Rescue 21 Western Rivers.

When completed, this vital major systems acquisition will provide leading-edge VHF-FM communications replacing the legacy National Distress and Response System or NDS that has been in use since the 1970s. By replacing outdated legacy technology with a modernized system, Rescue 21 Western Rivers will provide the Coast Guard with an upgraded tool and technology suite with which to better protect the nation’s inland waterways.

Capabilities:

• Enhances clarity of distress calls
• Allows simultaneous channel monitoring
• Provides more supportable, modern technology

Timeline

• April 2006: Acquisition Program Baseline Revision (4) approved. Adjusted the requirement from deploy R21 on the Western Rivers to recapitalizing existing equipment.
• February 2007: Stakeholder's Conference in St Louis, MO, attended by CG-938, CG-761, MLC(t), D8 and Sectors Upper, Lower and Ohio Valley.
• May 2007: CG-938 submitted DRAFT preliminary scope definition to the Sponsor based on Stakeholder's Conference.
• July 2007: Coast Guard District 8 submitted response to preliminary scope definition to CG-7.
• June 2008: First Western Rivers Working Group meeting held.
• July 2008: Rescue 21 Operational Requirements Document Change 2 approved, incorporating new Western Rivers requirements.

Resources

Western Rivers Fact Sheet (pdf)

Western Rivers FAQs