The White Alice Communications System

The White Alice Communications System (WACS) was built in the mid 1950's to provide improved communications for the U.S.A.F.'s Alaskan AC&W radar stations. These radar stations had been buiIt several years earlier along Alaska's western coastline as part of America's early warning network and relied on a variety of less than adequate HF and VHF rad... io systems for their communications needs. The WACS provided these stations with reliable, quality telecommunications. The WACS also consolidated other government systems such as the FAA and the Alaska Communications System. White Alice is an acronym for White, as in the frozen north, and Alice for ALaska Integrated Communications & Electronics. The WACS was designed for the U.S. Air Force by the Bell System and installed by their subsidiary Western Electric Company (WECO). The original 25 stations required three years to construct with the first station becoming operational in 1956. In 1960, the WACS was extended through southeast Alaska, to Adak and Shemya in the Aleutian Islands and to Barter Island on the Dewline. Additionally, a microwave system was built from the newly constructed BMEWS site at Clear through Canada and a second microwave link was built from Fairbanks to Anchorage. The White Alice system operated until the late 1970's, a victim of satellite technology. Even though the WACS was a military system, it was operated by civilian contractor personnel, Federal Electric, RCA Service Comany and ITT Arctic Services throughout it's twenty year lifespan. The only part of the system ever run by the Air Force were the seven Aleutian Dew stations and that was only until 1969 when the radars were shut down and the WACS contractor took over operation of the remaining communications links. Today, the surviving radar stations communicate via satellite directly with the ROCC at Elmendorf, and other locations. The AC&W sites now have minimally attended radar installed and a few maintenance people are the only ones at each site. The remote satellite communications ...Read More