Is Santa on your radar?

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alex Echols
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  With Christmas just around the corner, one of the units here at Tyndall will take on a very important and very special job.

The men and women of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center and the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, who have an around-the-clock mission of providing air defense for the nation, will have one additional task on Christmas Eve.

For years, CONR along with the rest of NORAD, to include Canada and Alaska, have been tracking Santa as he flies across the globe delivering presents to children around the world.

"The purpose of the program is to let everyone know Santa's whereabouts on Christmas Eve as he makes his magical journey around the world delivering toys," said Capt. Andrew Scott, 601st Air and Space Operations Center Public Affairs officer.

It all started more than half a century ago with an incorrect flyer and a little girl who wanted to know where Santa was.

"Tracking Santa is a NORAD tradition and one that actually started by mistake," Scott said. "In 1955, a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. misprinted a telephone number for children to call and speak with Santa. The wrong number was actually to the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD's predecessor, Commander-in-Chief's operation "hotline." Instead of the man in the red suit, Col. Harry Shoup, director of operations at the time, answered the phone. As the calls came in Shoup and his staff gave children updates on Santa's whereabouts and a tradition was born. Now 58 years later, tracking Santa is tradition that NORAD proudly continues."

Something special began that night and grew exponentially with more and more volunteers helping out each year. The tradition led to the creation of a website dedicated to tracking the accurate location of Old Saint Nick during his world-wide journey.

The website goes live each year Dec. 1, and hosts holiday music performed by military bands and Santa themed games, a new one updating each day of December. There are also videos with more information on the program and a library with Santa's sleigh specifications as well as different holiday traditions from around the world.

"This is my seventh year working the NORAD Tracks Santa program and it is exciting to watch how it grows each year," Scott said. "Each year I remind my nephews and nieces to be sure to monitor the website Christmas Eve to track Santa on his journey around the world. It feels pretty awesome to be a part of a program that lights up the faces of millions of children around the world!"

Volunteers will be waiting Dec. 24 to answer calls and emails about Santa's whereabouts as well as providing live updates of his flight at www.NoradSanta.org.
601 AOC mission:
The 601st AOC is responsible for detecting, deterring, defending and if necessary, defeating any aviation threat to the citizens of the United States and to U.S. critical infrastructure.

For additional information visit www.facebook.com/AmericasAOC or twitter.com/1stAF.