Military keeping tabs on Santa’s annual worldwide delivery schedule

Most likely Santa won’t be getting an official military escort by U.S. Air Force F-22s as he makes his worldwide journey on Christmas Eve, but the military personnel at NORAD on the Elmendorf side of JBER are once again ready to track his progress and provide whatever non-classified support they can.

“We do provide Santa with a briefing to make sure he is up to date on any current issues or threats so he knows what to expect as he is travelling,” Alaska Air National Guard Major Andrew Richmond said earlier this week during a media tour at the base in which NORAD personnel did a test run of the decades-old tradition of charting the yearly trek of the jolly man in the red suit as he delivers packages and toys to beneath the tree in every home across the globe. “We make certain he knows about areas that might be unfriendly toward aircraft flying overhead.”

As Santa’s home in North Pole is located relatively close to Eielson Air Force Base in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Richmond said Santa has most likely completed survival training school, but as according to military protocol, that is something he can neither deny nor confirm.

Neither can he tell us for sure if Santa is packing for his own protection.

“I guess that is up to Santa himself,” Richmond speculated.

Other anonymous military personnel on the floor at NORAD said “for certain” that Santa carries concealed on Christmas Eve, but they did not want to be identified because the counter measures used by Jolly Old Saint Nicholas aren’t for public knowledge.

“Children around the world – even in dangerous places – believe in Santa. So, what we can say is that as part of his counter measures, he has an upgraded avionics suite on his sleigh that gives him the best capabilities a civilian could possibly have,” Richmond said.

One thing was verified: Rudolph is issued a pair of night vision goggles just in case his shiny red nose fails.

But to Richmond’s knowledge, body armor for the lead reindeer is not provided.

That is mostly due to the fact that it isn’t made in his size.

Okay, so just in case you, dear reader, were wondering: Yes, the above was indeed holiday fa-la-la-la-la; a bit of festive verbal frolic that cannot be substantiated, but the lawyers are letting it slide in the spirit of the season.

All kidding aside, tracking Santa provides the military personnel at NORAD – the acronym for the North American Aerospace Defense Command – working the holiday a bit of fun while doing what they do best: provide a joint American and Canadian aerospace warning system that ensures air sovereignty and protection for both countries.

It also gives children of all ages the opportunity to follow Santa’s magical ride online.

The tradition actually began long before the Internet and NORAD as we know it today came into existence.

In 1955, a Sears department store advertisement in a Colorado Springs, Colorado, newspaper in late November included a phone number that children could call to talk to Santa. A misprint in the phone number inadvertently routed the calls to the Continental Air Defense Command at Cheyenne Mountain – the forerunner of NORAD.

As the story goes, kiddos began calling in asking about Santa.

Some versions of the story say that Col. Harry Shoup – a crew commander that took one of the first calls – was less than enthusiastic at first. Some versions of the story indicate Shoup played along with the child caller that he was indeed Santa. Other versions indicate Shoup instructed Col. Barney Oldfield, the public relations officer, to tell media that CONAD was indeed tracking Santa’s progress after an unidentified member of Shoup’s staff placed a picture of Santa Claus on a board that was used to track unidentified aircraft.

Whatever the case, by 1958 when NORAD was formed, the program was in full swing each holiday season and its stories became more elaborate. In 1960, NORAD reported that Santa’s sleigh had taken on “unfriendly fire” and made an emergency landing in Hudson’s Bay, Canada, so Santa could bandage Dancer’s front foot. According to the story, Royal Canadian Air Force interceptors escorted Santa on the rest of his Christmas Eve journey.

In 1981, NORAD published a hotline number for the public to call regarding the progress of Santa’s delivery schedule.

Since then, a full-blown website with a gift shop of Santa tracker merchandise, a live-time Santa tracker, online games and music is available. Information about the North Pole and NORAD, including the “Secret Santa files,” are part of the website.

This year marks Richmond’s third year in Alaska. Last year, he stood overnight duty on Christmas Eve.

As a father of two young boys now ages eight and three, being part of the NORAD Santa Tracker gave him a bit of peace about leaving his family last year.

“I told the boys, ‘Dad is going to work now and he is going to be tracking Santa all night to make sure he gets around the world safely,’” Richmond said. “When I got home on Christmas morning, the oldest one asked me how Santa did.”

So, you better watch out, you better not cry. Santa Claus is indeed coming to town.

Not only has Santa made his list and checked it twice – the U.S. military has his “six,” which is fighter pilot lingo for watching someone’s back.

Of course, kiddos wishing to use the Santa tracker to covertly stay up later should be forewarned that for security reasons, NORAD may be publishing Santa’s location –country by country, province by province, and state by state – post his arrival and departure after dropping off gifts. After all, he is a very important person and not everyone should know his exact whereabouts at all times.

Those kiddos better be fast sleep and snug in their beds, rather than peeking out the windows, Richmond suggests.

“We cannot say ‘exactly’ what time Santa will be at everyone’s house,” Richmond said. “We can give an approximate time, but we are the military. We have to protect some of his secrets.”

Author’s Note: Find NORAD Tracks Santa online at www.noradsanta.org. As is my family’s tradition, we will be watching Santa’s progress. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all from the Armstrong family.