Canadian Forces Station Alert (french: Station des Forces canadiennes Alert), often shortened to CFS Alert (), is a
signals intelligence intercept facility of the
Canadian Armed Forces at
Alert, in the
Qikiqtaaluk Region of
Nunavut, Canada.
Located on the northeastern tip of
Ellesmere Island, Alert is the
northernmost continuously inhabited place in the world.
It takes its name from
HMS ''Alert'', which wintered east of the present station off what is now
Cape Sheridan, Nunavut in 1875–1876. The entire population of
Baffin, Unorganized, part of the Baffin Region, the
Statistics Canada name for Qikiqtaaluk, resides here. As of the
2016 Canadian census the population was 62, an increase of 1,140 per cent over the
2011 census.
History
Alert Wireless Station
Alert, then in Canada's
Northwest Territories, was first settled April 9, 1950, when the first staff for the
Joint Arctic Weather Station (JAWS) arrived and began construction. Since the beginning of the JAWS project, the
Canadian military
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force ...
had been interested in the establishment at Alert for several reasons: the JAWS facility extended Canadian sovereignty over a large uninhabited area which Canada claimed as its sovereign territory, and furthermore, its proximity to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
made it of strategic importance. Alert is closer to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
(c. ) than it is to the capital
Ottawa (c. ). Thus, the possibility of using the site for intercepting radio signals was deemed to warrant a military presence.
In 1956, the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
(RCAF), which was expanding its presence throughout the high Arctic with the construction of the
Distant Early Warning Line radar network, established a building uphill from the
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's JAWS station to house "High Arctic Long Range Communications Research", or
signals intelligence operations.
In 1957, Alert Wireless Station was conceived as an intercept facility to be jointly staffed by personnel from the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
(RCN) and the RCAF. Five additional buildings were constructed: a
mess, three
barracks, and a power house and vehicle maintenance building, in addition to the existing operations building, built in 1956. The operations building housed the radio intercept and
cryptographic equipment. On 1 September 1958 control of the station was transferred from the RCAF to the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...
and it officially began operations.
Canadian Forces Station Alert
The following decade saw a dramatic expansion of the station with a correspondingly greater number of personnel stationed there. The 1 February 1968
unification of the RCN, RCAF, and army to form the
Canadian Armed Forces saw Alert Wireless Station change its name to Canadian Forces Station Alert (CFS Alert). Its personnel were no longer drawn from only the air force or navy, but primarily from the
Canadian Forces Communications Command
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
.
At its peak, CFS Alert had upwards of 215 personnel posted at any one time. The station became a key asset in the global
ECHELON network of the
US-UK-CAN-AUS-NZ intelligence sharing alliance, with Alert being privy to many secret Soviet communications regarding land-based and sea-based
ICBM test launches and many operational military deployments.
The first military women to serve in Alert arrived in 1980 as part of the Canadian Forces' Women In Non-Traditional Roles study. After its completion in 1983, women were fully authorized to serve in all roles. The first female commanding officer was
Major Cathy Cowan, who took command in January 1996. The first female Station Warrant Officer (SWO),
Master Warrant Officer Renee Hansen, was appointed in December 2017.
Budget cuts to the
Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Forces in 1994, and modernization of communications equipment, saw CFS Alert downsized to approximately 74 personnel by 1997–1998 when most radio-intercept operations were remotely controlled by personnel at
CFS Leitrim
Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, also referred to as CFS Leitrim, is a Canadian Forces Station located in the neighbourhood of Leitrim in Ottawa, Ontario. It is concerned with the interception, decrypting and processing of communication for the ...
. Remaining personnel are responsible for airfield operations, construction/engineering, food service, and logistical/administrative support. Only six persons are now responsible for actual operations, and control of the facility was passed to DND's Information Management Group following the disbanding of CF Communications Command with force restructuring and cutbacks in the mid-1990s. Several of these personnel are likely also attached to DND's
Communications Security Establishment
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE; french: Centre de la sécurité des télécommunications, ''CST''), formerly (from 2008-2014) called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), is the Government of Canada's national ...
.
With Canada's commitment to the global war on terrorism following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., CFS Alert has received renewed and increased funding to expand its
SIGINT
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
capabilities. On 1 April 2009, the RCAF officially took responsibility for CFS Alert from Canadian Forces Information Operations Group (CFIOG).
Civilian contractor
the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
reported that station heating costs had risen, leading the military to cut back on support trade positions by using private contractors.
By 2008, maintenance operations on station (including food and housekeeping services, vehicle maintenance, power plant operation, and heating, electrical, and plumbing) had been transferred to a civilian contractor. The contract was initially awarded to Canadian Base Operators (CBO), a subsidiary of Black & McDonald. In 2012, the contract was won by Nasittuq, a subsidiary of
ATCO Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing ...
.
Facilities and infrastructure
*
Alert Airport
* Cold storage building
* Construction engineering building
* Fire station
* Headquarters and Personnel Services (HAPS) building: Churchill Hall
* Living quarters: Chimo Hall, Ladner Hall, and Whitehorse Hall
* Gym
* Operations building: Polaris Hall
* Power plants: primary and backup
* Supply building
* Vehicle maintenance building
* Water treatment plant
Main building
The main building consists of five halls; Churchill Hall contains the administrative and main amenities on the station, such as a gathering area called the "beach", a
dining room called ''Igloo Gardens'', library, barber shop, radio station, post office, and a store. Chimo, Ladner, and Whitehorse halls are the three barrack blocks, which each barrack block containing three sections. Polaris Hall contains the operations branch. All halls and barrack blocks are connected by a linkway. Because of the cold climate, the doors leading in and out of the main building are the same as those for walk-in refrigerators.
See also
*
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
*
Drifting ice station
A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in the Arctic Ocean on floes such as Fletcher's Ice Island for res ...
(North Pole station)
*
Nanisivik Naval Facility
The Nanisivik Naval Facility (french: links=no, installation navale de Nanisivik) is a Canadian Forces naval facility on Baffin Island, Nunavut. The station is built at the former lead-zinc mine site near the former company town of Nanisivik. Th ...
south
*
Station Nord, Greenland
Station Nord is a military and scientific station in northeastern Greenland 1700 km north of the Arctic Circle.
It is about from the geographic North Pole, on Princess Ingeborg Peninsula ( da, Prinsesse Ingeborg Halvø) in northern Kro ...
*
CFS Frobisher Bay
References
External links
CFS Alert (Canadian Forces) J. Proc history page
The Frozen Chosen - DND video on life in CFS Alert, YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alert
Ellesmere Island
Populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region
Populated places in Arctic Canada
Canadian Forces bases in Nunavut
Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System
Signals intelligence