Sawmill Radio Relay Station, Alaska

This unattended White Alice station carried Clear missile-warning communications across two microwave hops in southcentral Alaska.

Sawmill Radio Relay Station was an unattended U.S. Air Force microwave repeater near Glenn Highway mile 83. It belonged to the White Alice Communications System A Route serving the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) at Clear. Sawmill linked Neklasson Lake to Sheep Mountain. It passed communications traffic rather than detecting aircraft or missiles. ^{[1] [2]}

Military role

Unattended White Alice BMEWS A Route microwave repeater.

Equipment class

TD-2 line-of-sight microwave.

Direct links

Neklasson Lake, 33 miles; Sheep Mountain, 22 miles.

Location

Near Glenn Highway milepost 83, southcentral Alaska.

Map point

Approximately 61.807778 N, 148.330000 W, a 1976 radio-license point, not a parcel survey.

Construction and Mission

The Air Force extended White Alice with rearward communications routes for the missile-warning mission at Clear. The Army Corps of Engineers places construction of the BMEWS relay segment in 1960 and opening of its stations in 1960 or 1961. Sawmill was a TD-2 line-of-sight repeater on the coastal A Route. A station-specific commissioning day has not been established. ^[1]

The A Route ran toward Southeast Alaska and the Ketchikan-Seattle submarine cable before reaching the continental defense network and NORAD in Colorado. A separate B Route ran east through Canada. Those two rearward paths helped keep the warning system connected if one corridor failed. Sawmill was a small landward link in that wider arrangement, not a radar or command center. ^[1]

Neklasson to Sheep Mountain

The Corps route table gives Sawmill a 33-mile microwave path to Neklasson Lake and a 22-mile path to Sheep Mountain. The Air Force's 1983 history independently describes Sawmill as an unattended repeater between those stations at Glenn Highway milepost 83. It received traffic from one neighboring station and passed it onward to the other. ^{[1] [2]}

Neklasson Lake was a larger switching point with microwave, troposcatter and an Alaska AUTOVON interface. Sawmill had a different job: it sustained the circuit between that hub and the eastward chain through Sheep Mountain and Tahneta Pass. The relay's modest size should not obscure its importance to the long-distance warning route. ^{[1] [2]}

Original Relay Building

Sawmill has a rare site-specific set of surviving engineering drawings. Its as-built floor plan shows an equipment room occupying most of the building, with a vestibule, separate engine room, mechanical room and toilet grouped at one end. The elevations depict a compact pitched-roof utility building with an engine exhaust and exterior service openings. These drawings record Sawmill's own structure rather than a typical station substituted for it. ^[1]

Two further Sawmill sheets detail waveguide assemblies and their supports. At an active TD-2 relay, one directional antenna received the microwave signal; the indoor radio processed and amplified it before another antenna transmitted it to the next hop. Waveguides carried the signal between tower and equipment room. The Corps' photographic study of Rabbit Creek shows this equipment family in use, while the Sawmill sheets document the physical signal path at this station. ^[1]

Commercial Transition

RCA Alascom began operating White Alice under a system-wide lease in 1976. A December 1976 federal notice recorded a Sawmill radio-license point at 61°48'28" N, 148°19'48" W. RCA expressed interest in acquiring road-accessible TD-2 properties in 1977, and Sawmill appeared among stations in the Air Force's 1978 appraisal program. A Sawmill-specific military closure or conveyance date has not been established. ^{[2] [5]}

A Defense Department preservation inventory identifies the Sawmill White Alice site as Alaska Heritage Resources Survey ANC-00653 and records it as eligible for the National Register. This is an eligibility finding, not an individual listing. An Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation facility list later names an AT&T Sawmill Microwave Repeater. The listing identifies a later telecommunications facility, while the condition of the original Air Force building and tower remains unconfirmed. ^{[3] [4]}

Historical Image

The University of Alaska Anchorage catalogs original Air Force real-property photographs of Sawmill, but those photographs have not been obtained for this edition. The actual period TD-2 tower shown below was photographed at Soldotna and is included only as an equipment comparison. ^{[6] [1]}

Chronology

• 1960-1961 The BMEWS rearward White Alice route, including Sawmill, is constructed and placed in service.
• 1976 RCA Alascom begins operating White Alice under a system-wide lease.
• December 27, 1976 A federal notice records a licensed Sawmill radio point.
• 1978 Sawmill appears among TD-2 stations in the Air Force's property-appraisal program.
• 1983 An Air Force study describes Sawmill as an unattended relay between Neklasson Lake and Sheep Mountain.
• 2015 A Defense Department report records Sawmill as National Register eligible.
• 2024-2027 Alaska DEC's facility list includes an AT&T Sawmill Microwave Repeater entry.