# List of White Alice Communications System sites

This is a list of White Alice Communications System sites. The White Alice Communications System (WACS) was a United States Air Force telecommunication link system constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. It featured tropospheric scatter links and line-of-sight microwave radio links.

## Original White Alice installations

These sites were part of the initial White Alice system and connected Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) sites with central command and control facilities. The Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake link was both the first and last operational link in the White Alice system, serving from 1956 to 1985.

### Tropospheric scatter sites

| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Aniak, Alaska | 1958–1979 | N/A | 61°34′58″N 159°35′33″W﻿ / ﻿61.58278°N 159.59250°W﻿ / 61.58278; -159.59250 | In flight path for Aniak Airport and antennas were painted with a red and white checkerboard pattern. |
| Anvil Mountain, Alaska | 1958–1978 | N/A | 64°33′52″N 165°22′25″W﻿ / ﻿64.56444°N 165.37361°W﻿ / 64.56444; -165.37361 | 7½ km (4.7 mi.) north of Nome, Alaska. Last intact existing site 2016.* |
| Bear Creek, Alaska | 1958?-1979? | N/A | 65°10′49″N 152°13′22″W﻿ / ﻿65.18028°N 152.22278°W﻿ / 65.18028; -152.22278 | Stand-alone site with a 5,200 sq ft (480 m$^2$) dormitory and a 7,200 sq ft (670 m$^2$) equipment and power building approximately six miles northeast of Tanana, Alaska |
| Bethel, Alaska | 1958–1979 | Former AC&W site | 60°44′36″N 161°39′58″W﻿ / ﻿60.74333°N 161.66611°W﻿ / 60.74333; -161.66611 | Originally six antennas. Last antenna demolished in August 2011. |
| Big Mountain, Alaska | 1957–1979 | N/A | 59°23′25″N 155°13′39″W﻿ / ﻿59.39028°N 155.22750°W﻿ / 59.39028; -155.22750 | Demolished 2003–2005 |
| Boswell Bay, Alaska | 1956–1985 | N/A | 60°25′01″N 146°09′12″W﻿ / ﻿60.41694°N 146.15333°W﻿ / 60.41694; -146.15333 | Demolished 1987 after extensive historical documentation. |
| Fort Yukon, Alaska | 1958-UKN | 709th AC&W | Est.66°34′10″N 145°14′26″W﻿ / ﻿66.56944°N 145.24056°W﻿ / 66.56944; -145.24056 | 120 ft antennas added in 1962 to Barter Island. Demolished Summer of 1999. |
| Granite Mountain, Alaska | 1957–1976 | N/A | 65°25′55″N 161°14′9″W﻿ / ﻿65.43194°N 161.23583°W﻿ / 65.43194; -161.23583 | Lease to Alascom 1976. 4×60 ft, 2× 30 ft (9.1 m) dishes |
| Indian Mountain, Alaska | | AC&W / Long Range RADAR | 66°04′07″N 153°41′23″W﻿ / ﻿66.06861°N 153.68972°W﻿ / 66.06861; -153.68972 | Top camp was around 4,200 ft (1,300 m) and 10 miles (16 km) away from bottom camp, which contained airfield and Geodesic dome support buildings. |
| Kalakaket Creek, Alaska | 1957- | N/A | 64°25′48″N 156°50′19″W﻿ / ﻿64.43000°N 156.83861°W﻿ / 64.43000; -156.83861 | Originally Tropo only, TD-2 microwave link added later. |
| King Salmon, Alaska | 1957–1979 | King Salmon Air Force Station/LRR | 58°42′19″N 156°40′08″W﻿ / ﻿58.70528°N 156.66889°W﻿ / 58.70528; -156.66889 | |
| Kotzebue, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W station / FAA | 66°50′34″N 162°36′13″W﻿ / ﻿66.84278°N 162.60361°W﻿ / 66.84278; -162.60361 | 3 miles south of Kotzebue |
| Cape Lisburne, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W / Long range radar site | 68°52′11″N 166°08′56″W﻿ / ﻿68.86972°N 166.14889°W﻿ / 68.86972; -166.14889 | Northernmost and only seasonal WACS, closed during winter. A $6.5 million composite building was constructed in 1970. |
| Middleton Island, Alaska | 1956–1985 | AC&W station / FAA | 59°27′36″N 146°18′21″W﻿ / ﻿59.46000°N 146.30583°W﻿ / 59.46000; -146.30583 | 30 ft parabolic dish |
| Cape Newenham, Alaska | 1958–1979 | Originally AC&W, now Long Range RADAR | Est.58°38′46″N 162°01′48″W﻿ / ﻿58.64611°N 162.03000°W﻿ / 58.64611; -162.03000 | Revamped in 1974 for $6 Million. Demolished by 1987. |
| North River, Alaska | 1958–1978 | Near a former AC&W site | 63°53′00″N 160°31′50″W﻿ / ﻿63.88333°N 160.53056°W﻿ / 63.88333; -160.53056 | Demolished 1993–1995 |
| Northeast Cape, Alaska | 1958- | AC&W | 63°17′34″N 168°42′05″W﻿ / ﻿63.29278°N 168.70139°W﻿ / 63.29278; -168.70139 | A very remote site, demolished in 2003 for $10.5 million. The White Alice site was located about 1/2 mile from the USAF AC&W site. |
| Pillar Mountain, Kodiak, Alaska | 1957–1979 | N/A | Est.57°47′19″N 152°26′12″W﻿ / ﻿57.78861°N 152.43667°W﻿ / 57.78861; -152.43667 | Dismantled in 1997 |
| Cape Romanzof, Alaska | 1958–1979 | AC&W / Minimally attended RADAR | 61°46′53″N 165°57′04″W﻿ / ﻿61.78139°N 165.95111°W﻿ / 61.78139; -165.95111 | Upper camp was accessible via tramway and by road. The AC&W site was located in the crater of an extinct volcano. The White Alice site was perched on, I believe, the west rim of the crater. |
| Sparrevohn, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W | 61°06′22″N 155°36′36″W﻿ / ﻿61.10611°N 155.61000°W﻿ / 61.10611; -155.61000 | Demolished prior to 1987. Very costly construction, dangerous runway. Long Range RADAR still at site. |
| Tatalina, Alaska | 1957–1979 | AC&W site | 62°55′41″N 156°01′30″W﻿ / ﻿62.92806°N 156.02500°W﻿ / 62.92806; -156.02500 | Tram and road used to reach top camp. WACS located east of RADARs in Top camp. |
| Tin City, Alaska | 1958–1975 | AC&W/Long range radar | 65°34′58″N 167°56′25″W﻿ / ﻿65.58278°N 167.94028°W﻿ / 65.58278; -167.94028 | Located on Cape Mountain. Tram used to reach top camp. WACS located on a 600-foot plateau 2 miles east of the peak and radar. |

### Microwave sites

| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Clam Gulch, Alaska | 1957- | N/A | 60°12′51″N 151°24′52.4″W﻿ / ﻿60.21417°N 151.414556°W﻿ / 60.21417; -151.414556 | TD-2 Microwave, Acquired by Alascom operating in 1987 |
| Naptowne, Alaska | | N/A | 60°31′45.9″N 150°35′00.3″W﻿ / ﻿60.529417°N 150.583417°W﻿ / 60.529417; -150.583417 | |
| Rabbit Creek, Alaska | | N/A | 61°05′20.8″N 149°44′09.1″W﻿ / ﻿61.089111°N 149.735861°W﻿ / 61.089111; -149.735861 | |
| R1-N a.k.a. Anchorage | 1956- | Located on Elmendorf Air Force Base | 61°15′38.2″N 149°49′52.2″W﻿ / ﻿61.260611°N 149.831167°W﻿ / 61.260611; -149.831167 | Unattended TD-2 microwave link |
| Soldotna, Alaska | | N/A | 60°31′55.1″N 151°04′59.6″W﻿ / ﻿60.531972°N 151.083222°W﻿ / 60.531972; -151.083222 | |
| Starisky, Alaska | | N/A | 59°52′51.6″N 151°47′10.4″W﻿ / ﻿59.881000°N 151.786222°W﻿ / 59.881000; -151.786222 | |

### Dual Tropo/Micro

| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Neklasson Lake, Alaska | 1956–1985 | N/A | 61°37′10.1″N 149°15′23″W﻿ / ﻿61.619472°N 149.25639°W﻿ / 61.619472; -149.25639 | Boswell Bay to Neklasson Lake was the last operational link |
| Diamond Ridge, Alaska | 1957- | FAA?/Homer, Alaska | 59°40′14.6″N 151°34′07″W﻿ / ﻿59.670722°N 151.56861°W﻿ / 59.670722; -151.56861 | Acquired by Alascom, Micro in use / Tropo removed as of 1987 |
| Pedro Dome, Alaska | 1958-? | N/A | 65°02′2.5″N 147°30′07″W﻿ / ﻿65.034028°N 147.50194°W﻿ / 65.034028; -147.50194 | Tropo was demolished prior to 1986. Micro still operated by AT&T. |
Note: There were Tropo Billboards at Soldotna (co-located with the TD2) and at Fire Island, as well. Also, There was a TD-2 site at what is now the Civil Air Patrol Wing Headquarters on Elmendorf AFB—it was called R2N. And, there is a TD-2 site at Rabbit Creek, that was originally, and briefly, called R1S, which linked into the TD-2 site at Naptowne.
* Est. indicates location unclear from USGS topo

## The BMEWS Network

The second segment of White Alice was a pair of TD-2 microwave radio links that supported the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) at Clear Air Force Station. This section provided two routes from Alaska to NORAD in Colorado, for this reason it was also known as the Rearward Communications System. The A Route went down the southeast coast of Alaska to a submarine cable and the B Route went east into Canada. Some of the systems were colocated with previous sites.

### A Route

Aurora, Black Rapids, Boswell Bay, Cape Yakataga, Clear, Donnelly Dome, Duncan Canal, Glennallen, Harding Lake, Hoonah, McCallum, Murphy Dome, Neklasson Lake, Ocean Cape, Paxson, Pedro Dome, Sawmill, Sheep Mountain, Smuggler Cove, Tahneta Pass, Tolsona

### B Route

Beaver Creek, Canyon Creek, Cathedral, Delta Junction, Gerstle River, Gold King Creek, Knob Ridge, Tok Junction

## Project Stretchout sites

Project Stretchout began in 1959 and finished in the mid-1960s. It was the extension of White Alice to the Alaska Peninsula including the Aleutian DEW Line system.
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Cold Bay, Alaska | | DEW Line | Est.55°15′49″N 162°53′08″W﻿ / ﻿55.26361°N 162.88556°W﻿ / 55.26361; -162.88556 | About $8 million combined cost for Cold Bay and Cape Sarichef |
| Driftwood Bay, Alaska | | DEW Line | Est.53°58′12″N 166°52′46″W﻿ / ﻿53.97000°N 166.87944°W﻿ / 53.97000; -166.87944 | |
| Nikolski, Alaska | | DEW Line, Navy, FAA | Est.52°58′12″N 168°51′20″W﻿ / ﻿52.97000°N 168.85556°W﻿ / 52.97000; -168.85556 | |
| Port Heiden, Alaska | | DEW Line | Est.56°58′38″N 158°39′09″W﻿ / ﻿56.97722°N 158.65250°W﻿ / 56.97722; -158.65250 | $3.5 million |
| Port Moller, Alaska | | DEW Line | Est.55°58′41″N 160°30′01″W﻿ / ﻿55.97806°N 160.50028°W﻿ / 55.97806; -160.50028 | $4.4 million to construct. |
| Cape Sarichef, Alaska | late 1950s to the mid-1970s | DEW line / LORAN station / Airfield | Est.54°35′37″N 164°55′06″W﻿ / ﻿54.59361°N 164.91833°W﻿ / 54.59361; -164.91833 | Built atop a levelled cinder cone |

## Project Bluegrass sites

Extension of the White Alice system from Nikolski to Shemya near the end of the Aleutian Islands. Both shots were over 340 miles (550 km), requiring large 120 ft (37 m) antennas and 50 kW transmitters. Both sites were demolished before 1987. In addition to the Aleutian Island extension, Project Bluegrass also included a 50 kW shot from Fort Yukon to Barter Island to connect the northern DEW line to the White Alice system.
| Location | Operational | Colocated with | Coordinates | Notes |
| Shemya island, Alaska | Late-60s to late-70s | AC&W / FAA | 52°43′25″N 174°08′21″E﻿ / ﻿52.72361°N 174.13917°E﻿ / 52.72361; 174.13917 | Shemya to Adak shot was 393 miles (632 km) |
| Adak, Alaska | Late-60s to late-70s | Navy and others | Est.51°54′25″N 176°38′26″W﻿ / ﻿51.90694°N 176.64056°W﻿ / 51.90694; -176.64056 | Adak to Nikolski shot was 341 miles (549 km). |