Former POW-A DEW Line Radar Site

 oil and gas industry, former air force base, early warning radar

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Established in 1957 as an Intermediate or "I" site in the POW Sector of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, the Cape Simpson DEW Line site was the Northernmost of three "Gap Filler" sites in the sector tasked with monitoring low-level airspace not covered by the long range sites. Serving in this role for the Auxiliary Sites at Point Barrow (POW-MAIN) and POW-1 at Lonely, POW-A was manned by approximately 5 full-time staff who attended to the operation of the site's AN/FPS-23 radar system and tropospheric scatter communication systems.

Remaining operational until its its radar system was made obsolete by technological advancements at the Auxiliary sites, POW-A was shut down and abandoned at the end of the Summer season in 1963. Remaining abandoned until being environmentally remediated as part of Operation Clean Sweep in 1998, today the former DEW Line site and airstrip are now owned by North Slope Borough and leased to Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation, Inc. as an oil exploration staging area.

lswilson.dewlineadventures.com/powa.htm