Marks 63rd Year To Track St. Nick

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is celebrating its 60th anniversary of defending the homeland along with its tradition of tracking Santa’s journey around the globe on Dec. 24.

“In addition to our day-to-day mission of defending North America, we are proud to carry on the tradition of tracking Santa as he travels along his yuletide flight,” said Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy, commander NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. “The same radars, satellites and interceptors employed on December 24 are used year-round to protect Canada and the United States.”

NORAD is a binational U.S. and Canadian Command charged with aerospace and maritime warning and aerospace control of North America as well as monitoring aerospace activity globally. However, every year during the holidays, NORAD assumes the supplementary mission of tracking Santa as he travels around the world.  It all started in 1955 when a local ad directed children to call Santa – only the number was misdialed. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, the predecessor to NORAD.

Now, the 63rd iteration of NORAD Tracks Santa kicked off Dec. 1, with a more mobile friendly website, social media channels, “Santa Cam” streaming video and a call center that will be operating around the clock on Dec. 24.  More than 1,400 volunteers are expected to join NORAD on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs to help track Santa’s journey.

NORAD Tracks Santa is truly a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. This is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous program contributors.

(Source: NORAD news release. Images from YouTube video and from file)

FMI: www.noradsanta.org.