Doors to ADAC Pacific close

Maj Aaron Novecosky, Commanding Officer of Acoustic Data Analysis Center (ADAC) (Atlantic), and CPO2 Brad Main retire the ADAC(P) unit kisby ring to the Naval and Military Museum representative Clare Sharpe during the closing parade on June 28.

After supporting the Pacific fleet and honing the analysis skills of Sonar Operators for 45 years, the Acoustic Data Analysis Centre Pacific (ADAC (P)) closed on June 28.

The unit’s responsibilities have been assumed by the consolidated ADAC in Halifax, with local acoustics training transferred to Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt (CFFSE).

“The thought process was it didn’t make sense to have two identical branches doing the same work,” says CPO2 Main. “Bringing the two branches together into one allows a greater degree of efficiency in the administration of the organization, as well as a more consolidated degree of leadership.”

Formed in 1968 as a detachment of the original ADAC based in Halifax, the unit’s mission was to collect, catalogue, and report on acoustic information from ships, submarines, and aircraft. That information was then used to help Royal Canadian Navy Sonar Operators and Royal Canadian Air Force Acoustic Sensor Operators enhance their knowledge of acoustic signatures through advanced courses and continuation training.

“We helped bring the knowledge and skills of a basic Sonar Op to a more advanced level,” says CPO2 Brad Main, Senior Sonar Operator Instructor at Canadian Forces Fleet School Esquimalt (CFFSE), and the final Unit Chief of ADAC (P). “By enhancing what they already knew through an advanced acoustics course, we were able to give them a broader and more detailed knowledge of sonar operation and identification.”

ADAC (P) became a formed unit in 1995, with its own heraldic crest and unit motto, Scientia per sonum – “Knowledge through sound.”  A joint RCN/RCAF unit, it had air force officers as the Commanding Officer and department heads, with a navy Unit Chief and staff of Sonar Operator analysts and trainers.

With the unit’s close-out, several positions were transferred to ADAC Halifax to help with the additional workload of supporting both coasts, and two training positions were transferred to Fleet School to address the increased responsibility for continuation training.  

The close-out ceremony mirrored the stand-up, with the staff on parade in front of the Henderson building, which was built specifically for ADAC Pacific in 1995.  It was a fitting and poignant end to a unit with a proud history.

CPO2 Main is cautiously optimistic about the future.

“It’s a little early to know whether anything will be lost without a dedicated ADAC branch on the west coast, but the same resources and information are available.  The organization has a good head on its shoulders, and with CFFSE backing it up I think we’re more than up to the task.”

-Shawn O’Hara, Staff Writer