ACCS Quad and MPN 25 radars at 8 Wing Trenton. to Afghanistan; called Roto 0 it lasted from December 2001 until July 2002. The advance party of Maritime Patrol Detachment left Greenwood on 27 December 2001 and ar- rived in Dubai on the 29th. The main body fol- lowed in early January 2002 and were joined by a detachment from the Joint Signal Regi- ment in Kingston, which provided rear-link communications to Canada with a Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Mobile Terminal 5 (MT5). This small group of C&E personnel, housed in portable trailers, helped establish what became known as Camp Mirage. The ATIS techs connected the trailers by cable and installed computers and telephones. Cellular services were soon established allowing per- sonnel to correspond with Canada. When it was announced that the Army was going to begin operations in Afghanistan, Camp Mi- rage became the supply base and expanded rapidly. In late January 2002, a Tactical Airlift (TAL) detachment arrived from 8 Wing in Trenton as well as a Crypto Custodian and an- other lineman from 14 WTIS. With the begin- ning of Hercules fights into Afghanistan, High Frequency (HF) communications were set up. In early March, a National Support Element was sent to Camp Mirage to expand its facili- ties, requiring more trailers and more com- munications. The growth of Camp Mirage was complicated by the insistence of the UAE gov- ernment that the Canadian presence was not to be disclosed. When it became clear that it would be a permanent facility, new communi- cations were installed in new buildings that kept the men from 14 WTIS at Greenwood busy until they were replaced by a team from 8 WTIS at Trenton in July 2002. Before they left, two of the Greenwood techs, realizing the need for a form of entertainment for the res- ident personnel and for those passing through to Afghanistan, set up an outdoor theatre against the side of one of the build- ings. In spite of its rudimentary set up the the- atre operated for years afterwards. Prior to 1969, RCAF Station Trenton’s De- ployment Team and Air Traffic Control’s transportable Quad-Radar provided NavAids and radar control at unprepared airfields. In 1969, it became the Air Transportable Com-
(VCDS). Presently, it is under the ADM Infor- mation Management. In 1979, a Joint USA-Canada Air Defence Study examined evolving airborne threats to North America and appropriate responses. The Study led to the development of an Air Defence Master Plan (ADMP) that acknowl- edged that long-range bombers carrying air- launched cruise missiles (ALCM) represented a significant threat that had to be countered. Existing legacy systems, such as the DEW Line and the Pinetree Line, were not capable or not correctly positioned to deal with the threat. The ADMP concept of integrated attack warning and assessment called for a system of Backscatter (OTH-B) radars covering approaches to North America out to 1,500 miles. The OTH-B used HF technology, which depended on the ionosphere for suc- cessful operation. The use of a north-looking OTH-B was ruled out because the severe and unpredictable disturbances to the ionosphere caused by the Aurora Borealis would have ren- dered such a system unreliable and opera- tionally useless. Using space-based radar to detect and track airborne vehicles was also ruled out based on technical feasibility and prohibitive cost. These two factors led to the decision to replace the DEW Line system with a modern, automated, microwave radar net- work that would be able to detect both aircraft and ALCMs down to a low level, and that would complement the coverage of the planned OTH-B systems on the East Coast of North America and in Alaska. The new radar network would be known as the North Warn- ing System (NWS). By 1984, the SAGE system computers had been replaced with the solid-state AN/FYQ-93 computers. The system was reorganized into regional and sector operations control cen- tres. At the same time, the NORAD areas of re- Four CELE (Air) Colonels exchange positions at Cambridge Bay, NWT, 1991. L-r _, _, Col Sandy Taylor, _, Col Pep Fraser, Col Larry Saunders, _, _, Col Merv Sywyk, _. Col Saunders was taking over the position of Project Manager NAADM from Col Merv Sywyk; Col Pep Fraser was handing over the position of Director NWS Office to Col Sandy Taylor.