View source for CFS Alert

{{short description|Canadian Forces Station in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = CFS Alert
|other_name = Station des Forces canadiennes Alert
|settlement_type = [[Canadian Forces base|Canadian Forces Station]]
|etymology = Named for [[HMS Alert (1856)|HMS ''Alert'']]
|motto = {{Lang|iu|Inuit Nunangata Ungata}}<br />({{langx|en|Beyond the Inuit Land}})<ref name=RCAF/>{{force singular}}
|image_skyline = CFS Alert May 2016.jpg
|image_caption = The station from the south, May 2016
|image_flag =
|image_seal =
|image_shield =
|image_map =
|map_caption =
|pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut
|pushpin_label_position = bottom
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = Canada
|subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Nunavut]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of regions of Nunavut|Region]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]
|established_title = Established
|established_date = {{start date|1958|09|01}}
|population_as_of = 2021
|population_footnotes =<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Qikiqtaaluk%2C%20Unorganized&DGUIDlist=2021A00056204030&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table - Qikiqtaaluk, Unorganized, Unorganized (NO) Nunavut [Census subdivision]|access-date=April 11, 2023|date=February 1, 2023}}</ref>
|population_note = Temporary population
|population_total = 0
|timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
|utc_offset = −05:00
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = −04:00
|coordinates = {{coord|82|29|57|N|62|20|45|W|region:CA-NU|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAAAB|CFS Alert}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes = <ref>{{CFS}}</ref>
|elevation_m =
|elevation_ft = 100
|elevation_min_m =
|elevation_max_m =
}}
'''Canadian Forces Station Alert''' ({{langx|fr|Station des Forces canadiennes Alert}}<ref>[http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/fr/alert.page Station des Forces canadiennes Alert]</ref>), often shortened to '''CFS Alert''' ({{lang|fr|SFC Alert}}), is a [[signals intelligence]] intercept facility of the [[Canadian Armed Forces]] at [[Alert, Nunavut|Alert]], in the [[Qikiqtaaluk Region]] of [[Nunavut]], Canada.

Located on the northeastern tip of [[Ellesmere Island]], Alert is the [[List of northernmost settlements|northernmost]] continuously inhabited place in the world.<ref name=RCAF>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/alert.html |title=Canadian Forces Station Alert|publisher=[[Royal Canadian Air Force]]|date=February 27, 2019|access-date=January 4, 2024}}</ref> It takes its name from the [[Royal Navy]] vessel [[HMS Alert (1856)|HMS ''Alert'']], which wintered {{convert|10|km|abbr=on}} east of the present station off what is now [[Cape Sheridan]], Nunavut in 1875–1876.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/USQUE_Alert |title=A History of the Canadian Coast Guard and Marine Services|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928085229/http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/USQUE_Alert |archive-date=September 28, 2009 }}</ref>
[[File:Ambassador Jacobson in Alert, Nunavut.jpg|thumb|[[List of ambassadors of the United States to Canada|U.S. Ambassador]] [[David Jacobson (diplomat)|David Jacobson]] in front of CFS Alert welcome sign]]

==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 Armed Forces|Canadian military]] 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]] made it of strategic importance. Alert is closer to [[Moscow]] (c. {{cvt|2500|mi|order=flip|disp=sqbr}}) than it is to the capital [[Ottawa]] (c. {{cvt|2580|mi|order=flip|disp=sqbr}}). 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]] (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 [[Transport Canada|Department of Transport]]'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]] (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 [[Cryptography|cryptographic]] equipment. On 1 September 1958 control of the station was transferred from the RCAF to the [[Canadian Army]] 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 Canadian Armed Forces|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 [[Communications and Electronics Branch|Canadian Forces Communications Command]].

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 [[Five Eyes|US-UK-CAN-AUS-NZ intelligence sharing alliance]], with Alert being privy to many secret Soviet communications regarding land-based and sea-based [[Intercontinental ballistic missile|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.<ref name=RCAF/> The first female commanding officer was [[Canadian Armed Forces ranks and insignia|Major]] Cathy Cowan, who took command in January 1996.  The first female Station Warrant Officer (SWO), [[Master warrant officer|Master Warrant Officer]] Renee Hansen, was appointed in December 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brunet|first1=Julie|title=CFS Alert welcomes first female station warrant officer – The Maple Leaf|url=https://ml-fd.caf-fac.ca/en/2018/01/9879?WT.mc_id=20180206DTupdate_ml_eng&WT.mc_id=20180206DTupdate_ml_eng|website=The Maple Leaf|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=February 8, 2018|archive-date=February 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209182232/https://ml-fd.caf-fac.ca/en/2018/01/9879?WT.mc_id=20180206DTupdate_ml_eng&WT.mc_id=20180206DTupdate_ml_eng|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Budget cuts to the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|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]]. Remaining personnel are responsible for airfield operations, construction/engineering, food service, and logistical/administrative support. As of 2024, there are about 55 people stationed at CFS Alert, and they consist of military personnel, ECCC and other civilian employees.<ref name=RCAF/> 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]].

With Canada's commitment to the global war on terrorism following the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]] in New York City and Washington, D.C., CFS Alert has received renewed and increased funding to expand its [[Signals intelligence|SIGINT]] capabilities. On 1 April 2009, the RCAF officially took responsibility for CFS Alert from Canadian Forces Information Operations Group (CFIOG).

===Civilian contractor===
{{as of|2006|04|13}} the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] reported that station heating costs had risen, leading the military to cut back on support trade positions by using private contractors.<ref name="CbcAlert20060413">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/costly-fuel-prompts-cuts-at-northern-military-station-1.607547 |title=Costly fuel prompts cuts at northern military station|work=[[CBC News]]|date=April 13, 2006|access-date=August 9, 2008|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414125705/http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/13/north-alert-military060413.html |archive-date=April 14, 2006}}</ref> 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 Corporation, a majority Inuit-owned organization which also holds the North Warning System operations contract.

==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.<ref>{{Citation|title=CFS Alert HAPs Tour 1996|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djh_PxAoZOs|language=en|work=[[YouTube]]| date=October 2, 2013 |access-date=July 13, 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada}}
* [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]]
* [[Drifting ice station]] (North Pole station)
* [[Nanisivik Naval Facility]] {{cvt|1100|km}} south
* [[Station Nord, Greenland]]
* [[Pituffik Space Base]]
* [[CFS Frobisher Bay]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|CFS Alert}}
*[https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corporate/alert.html Royal Canadian Air Force page on CFS Alert]

{{Canadian Forces Bases}}
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alert}}
[[Category:Ellesmere Island]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
[[Category:Populated places in Arctic Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian Forces bases in Nunavut]]
[[Category:Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System]]
[[Category:Signals intelligence]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1956]]
[[Category:1956 establishments in the Northwest Territories]]