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(U) The Most Northerly Permanent Settlement in the World -- And
SIGINTers Are There
FROM:
CSE Historian
Run Date: 08/03/2006
(U) Alert, a facility in the high Arctic, was the "jewel in Canada's Cold War collection crown" and
still operates today.
(U) Diamond in the Rough
(U) On 9 April 1950, a US Dakota on skis celebrated Easter Sunday by touching down on the ice
of Alert Bay on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island. On behalf of the Canadian Department
of Transport and the US Weather Bureau, the onboard work party began construction on a Joint
Arctic Weather Station (JAWS). In so doing, they established the most northern permanently
inhabited settlement in the world.
(U) The hazards of such a remote site were driven home within months when a Royal Canadian
Air Force Lancaster crashed killing all nine people on board. That tragedy would be followed by
the crash of a US C-54D in 1952, a survey Piper in 1965, a helicopter in 1988 and a Canadian
Hercules in 1991.
(U) Alert soon caught the attention of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) planners in
Ottawa and Washington. The Cold War was heating up, and there could be no greater threat
to North America than Soviet bombers coming across the Pole. A high Arctic site was needed for
intelligence indications and warnings. Comparative tests were recommended for Alert, Resolute
and Nord, Greenland.
(U) On a bleak afternoon in late August 1957, a survey party landed at Alert for a six month
sampling. Living conditions were challenging to say the least. Water had to be hauled from a
nearby lake; sewage in turn carted off to the infamous "Shwailets Bay" for burial. Contact with
the outside world came from Canadian supply flights every six weeks and occasional US
transports from Thule, Greenland.
(U) The survey soon turned into a permanent station. Over the next several years, Alert
grew to over 200 winter inhabitants and often over 300 in the busy summer construction
season. The site proved not only the jewel in Canada's Cold War collection crown but also a vital
cog in overall Allied coverage of the Soviet Union. Remoting and downsizing over the years have
made the station a leaner, meaner operation, but one that is still worth its weight in gold.
(U) Editor's note: Have you ever visited Alert? If so, we'd like to hear your impressions of the
place. Make your entry in the SIDtoday Blog . (A couple of interesting stories have been posted
already.)
(U//FOUO) In addition, our thanks go to the author, a historian at Canada's Communications
Security Establishment, for approving this article's publication on SIDtoday.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108