Homeland Security spent $430M on radios its employees don’t know how to use

Posted by R.J. Jacob ⋅ November 22, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

arstechnica.com
Theodoric Meyer, ProPublica

Getting the agencies responsible for national security to communicate better was one of the main reasons the Department of Homeland Security was created after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

But according to a recent report from the department’s inspector general, one aspect of this mission remains far from accomplished.

DHS has spent $430 million over the past nine years to provide radios tuned to a common, secure channel to 123,000 employees across the country. Problem is, no one seems to know how to use them.