Forward by Bill Robinson...
CFS Alert, located on the north coast of Ellesmere Island in the Northwest Territories, is the "most northern permanently inhabited settlement in the world."  Established on an experimental basis by the RCAF in 1956, it was taken over by the RCCS in September 1958. In 1958, the station complement was only 29 personnel, but by 1959 it had grown to 92, by 1970 it had grown to "about 200," and by the late 1980s it had grown to "approximately 220" personnel. In 1994 the station's complement was reported to be "approximately 180 military positions." As many as 110 of those were members of the Communicator Research trade (intercept operators). As of early 1997, the station's complement was reported to average 150 personnel. In February 1994, it was announced that Alert will be converted to remote operation by 1997-98, reducing its complement by about 90%. Current plans call for about 60 personnel to remain at the station.