Sector Columbia River, in which Rescue 21 became active in
2008, maintains a network of more than 10 radio towers
along the Oregon and southwest Washington coastline
C ontinued From page 12
he towers also include transceivers capable of operating on other
channels, including Channel 22A, which the Coast Guard uses for
safety broadcasts.
When a mariner calls in distress, one of the towers receives the sig-
nal, for example the one on top of Megler Mountain north of Chi-
nook, Wash. The tower’s direction-finding capabilities creates a line
of bearing to the location of the call.
Inside a Rescue 21 operator booth at one of the Coast Guard’s
command centers, the call pops up on a computer screen, telling
watch standers which tower the signal is coming from and showing it on a map. The position
of the call is triangulated using a signal from another tower receiving the signal, say, one in
Bay Center, Wash., or Cape Meares.
“It takes out the human error,” said Hannah Silverman, an operations specialist with the
Coast Guard who works with Rescue 21. “It takes maybe two seconds to find a location.”
With the old National Distress and Response System, in use since the 1970s, Silverman
said boaters had to do a long count, counting from one to 10 and back, before the Coast
Guard could ensure a location. The Coast Guard used to radio other boats in the area to en-
sure they heard the transmission, creating a range ring, Silverman said, a process subject to
whether mariners are keeping a good watch, which is not always the case.
Another advantage of Rescue 21’s direction-finding technology is it can locate hoax
callers, who cost the Coast Guard thousands for each search on a false alarm.
T
Blanketing the country
Sector Columbia River, in which Rescue 21 became active in 2008, maintains a network
of more than 10 radio towers along the Oregon and southwest Washington coastline stretch-
ing from Copalis Beach, Wash., to Rocky Prairie north of Brookings. The network of Rescue
21 stations also follows the Columbia upriver as far as Wallula, Wash., near its confluence
with the Snake River.
The system casts a communications net at least 20 nautical miles out, helping ensure that
boaters in distress can reach the Coast Guard for assistance.
Rescue 21 now covers more than 41,000 miles of coastline on the Pacific and Atlantic
seaboards, Hawaii, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
and Northern Mariana Islands.
The only areas left to receive Rescue 21 coverage are the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys
and Alaska.
Lt. j.g. Alex Martfeld
25, PEA RIDGE, ARK.
What do you do in the Coast Guard and how did you end up in that
position?
“I’m an MH-60J pilot in my first flying assignment after flight school in
Pensacola, Fla. I graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2012 and
am thrilled to be flying here in the Pacific Northwest.
What is the most interesting thing about your job?
“Flying search and rescue on the beautiful Oregon Coast and working
with all of the different units is definitely the most exciting part of my
job so far. It’s amazing to fly down to Tillamook to work with a boat
crew and then up the river here for something else and then up to Grays
Harbor to work with that crew.
What do you like most about Astoria?
“My favorite part of Astoria is the setting. The area is full of awesome
opportunities to see the outdoors. The town itself has great food as well
and the people are very friendly. It’s hard to narrow it down to just one
specific thing!”
Tha n k Yo u USC G
fo r yo u r d ed i
c a ted servi
ce
Safeguarding Our Coast: U.S. Coast Guard 2015 • 13