Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System Newsletters, 1983-2002

The Washington- Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) was part of U.S. Army Signal Corps and used both military and civilian workers. It operated from 1900 to 1936 laying telegraph lines in various locations in Alaska. In 1900, the WAMCATS were formed by an act of Congress. In 1936, the name was changed to Alaska Communication System (ACS) from which the Northwest Military Radio Relay separated in 1959. The ACS was transferred to the Air Force in 1962 and then sold to Commercial RCA Alascom a few years later in 1967. The group changed hands a few more times, being sold to Pacific Power and Light in 1979, and becoming part of Alascom, owned by Pacific Telecom (an outgrowth of Pacific Power and Light) later in 1979 where they stayed. A timeline can be found in the 1988 Roster, Third Edition which also states, "The largest submarine cable network under jurisdiction of the United States Army Signal Corps was the Alaskan System operated between the years of 1900 and 1962. The laying, operation and maintenance of the system was under the direct control of the WAMCATS, later to be known as the ACS." The main responsibility of the WAMCATS/ACS was laying telegraph, and later telephone, lines in northern Alaska. The ACS eventually grew into what is now Alaska Communications based in Anchorage, Alaska.