Maritime "Diefenbunker"
In 1958, at the height of the Cold War and the infancy of the ICBM threat, Debert was selected as the site for 1 of 6 communication centres and "Regional Emergency Government Headquarters" complexes being located across Canada. The Debert facility would be the only such complex built in the Maritime provinces.
A small part of Camp Debert was proposed to be used for the complex along with supporting surface structures and personnel housing. Construction began in 1960 on an underground 2-storey bunker (approximately half the size of the CEGHQ, located in Carp, Ontario) capable of withstanding a near-hit from a nuclear explosion (an approximate 1–1.5 mi (1.6–2.4 km) radius). The underground building had blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters (mainly against biological, chemical and radioactive contaminants). Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facility which was capable of supporting several dozen people for weeks. These blast shelters, nicknamed "Diefenbunkers", were administered by the Canadian Corps of Signals. The facility was also equipped with Telegraph Automated Relay Equipment, or TARE, which relayed signals from the nearby Folly Lake NATO Satellite Ground Terminal.
Opening in 1964, the Debert facility was already outdated, since ICBM targeting had improved to the point where a direct hit was possible on the bunker, however it persisted as a Provincial Warning Centre (for Nova Scotia), staffed by the 720 Communication Squadron, along with the space for the emergency government. Antenna farms were dispersed from the bunker and were located on the shores of Cobequid Bay in nearby Masstown as well as in the Cobequid Hills near Londonderry.
On February 1, 1968, the merger of the three service branches into the Canadian Forces saw the Diefenbunker and support facilities, the last remnants of Camp Debert, change its name to Canadian Forces Station Debert (CFS Debert), in keeping with the naming convention for minor military facilities across Canada.
In the 1970s, CFS Debert, as with most Diefenbunker facilities across the country, was downgraded further as the number of personnel were reduced. Attempts to find other uses for the remaining military facilities took place through the 1980s with militia reserve units training at CFS Debert.
The end of the Cold War and reduction in the ICBM threat, as well as the Diefenbunker's obsolescence, saw all remaining military personnel removed from CFS Debert by the mid-1990s. In 1998 the Department of National Defence finished all environmental assessments and decommissioned the facility, transferring the facility to "Colchester Park", a local development authority.
Today the only remnant of a once-vast military presence in Debert is a small-arms firing range used by militia reserve units from Cumberland, Colchester and Pictou counties.
In 2005, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets used the Diefenbunker for its Regional Gliding School (Atlantic) Headquarters. Air Cadets ranging in age from 15–18 train there on the AAC (Advanced Aviation Course) or Glider Pilot Scholarship programs. These courses are staffed by members of the CIC Reserve component and some Reserve members.
In December 2008 the 64,000 sq ft (5,900 m2) Diefenbunker was sold by the Colchester Regional Development Authority to a private data warehousing and data centre co-location services provider, Bastionhost. Bastionhost is renovating the facility as a high-density, groundwater -cooled secure data centre.
In November 2012 the Diefenbunker was sold again by the city to recoup unpaid taxes from the previous owner. It was purchased by Jonathon Baha'i for $31,000, and is again intended to be used as a data centre.
Read more about this topic: CFS Debert