Guardians,
On March 19th I had the pleasure of recognizing CDR Kevin Keast, LCDR Chris Shivery and though not in attendance Mr. George Weller for their outstanding contribution to the development of the international Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system. The Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner's Commendation was awarded during the brief ceremony.
Their leadership, teamwork and expertise was invaluable to the Canadian Coast Guard during discussions at International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings and through the development of the technical specifications for the International Long Range and Identification system. The United States LRIT team's efforts were instrumental to the success of the project which allowed Canada to fulfill its commitments to the international community while providing increased Maritime Domain Awareness worldwide. "With LRIT, the United States Coast Guard now tracks all SOLAS class U.S. flagged vessels anywhere in the world all the time," said CDR Kevin Keast. "Over 600 U.S. flagged ships are currently being tracked with another 2400 foreign vessels that are transiting within 1000 miles of our coast or enroute to a United States port. We expect to track even more ships as more National Data Centers come online - This new capability adds tremendous value to our joint missions like search and rescue, security, safety and environmental protection around the clock, around the globe."
CDR Kevin Keast is the Division Chief, Communications & Sensors Office of C4 & Sensor Capabilities USCG Headquarters, COMDT (CG-7611)
