Coast Guard 'Rescue 21' behind schedule.

• Author: Fein, Geoff S.
• Position: Security Beat

The Coast Guard will have to reschedule its initial operating capability for Rescue 21--the planned modernization of its search and rescue systems. The service was to begin testing the new technology in September. A new schedule currently is in the works.

The postponement was attributed in part to delays in the development of the technology, said the General Accounting Office, a Congressional watchdog agency.

Rescue 21 is a $611 million program to upgrade the Coast Guard's communications systems. The program will replace a wide range of aging equipment, including VHF-FM radios, consoles, remote transceiver sites, as well as the network connecting 270 sites. The equipment would be installed on nearly 700 vessels, and the Coast Guard would purchase approximately 3,000 portable radios.

"In reviewing the Coast Guard's test management practices, we found that the Coast Guard postponed key tests, in part, because prior schedules showed delay, overlap and...