National Guard Upgrading Emergency Communications

The National Guard is spending some money to buy communications systems that will allow easier communication with local, state, and federal responders during disaster response:

The National Guard Bureau is using supplemental congressional funding to upgrade its interim satellite incident site communications sets, which it deployed in 11 states, to field an upgraded version called the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC). JISCC packages can be towed or airlifted to incident sites and can communicate via high-frequency radio, telephone, video and satellites to interface a variety of communications equipment used by first responders and state and federal agencies.

"We are on track to have this rapid-response capability in all 54 states and territories by mid-2007," Maj. Gen. Alan Cowles said.

Any step toward interoperable communications is good news. The lack of interoperable communications systems was a real hindrance to the response to 9/11 and Katrina.