"NORAD Tracks Santa NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed program, which has existed since 1955, produced by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Every year on Christmas Eve, NORAD tracks Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. The program is in the tradition of the September 1897 editorial ""Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"" in the ""New York Sun"". On December 24, 1948, the United States Air Force issued a communique claiming that an ""early warning radar net to the north"" had detected ""one unidentified sleigh, powered by"
"The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first call for Santa and responded by telling children that there were signs on the radar that Santa was indeed heading south from the North Pole. A tradition began which continued under the name NORAD Tracks Santa when in 1958 Canada and the United States jointly created the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). This tracking can now be done via the Internet and NORAD's website. In the past, many local television stations in the United States and Canada likewise claimed they ""tracked Santa Claus"" in their own metropolitan areas through"
"an emergency landing on the ice of Hudson Bay, where Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) interceptor aircraft sent to investigate discovered Santa Claus bandaging his reindeer Dancer's front foot, after which the RCAF planes escorted him when he resumed his journey. Eventually, NORAD, which was renamed the North American Aerospace Defense Command in 1981, openly published a hotline number for the general public to call to get updates on Santa Claus's progress. Today, NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible. Each volunteer handles about forty telephone calls per hour, and the team typically handles more than 12,000 e-mails"
"informed him that the Associated Press and United Press International were awaiting reports that CONAD again was tracking Santa Claus. Shoup agreed that Oldfield should announce it again, and the annual tradition was born. In 1958, the North America Air Defense Command (NORAD) took over the reporting responsibility from CONAD, and the reporting became more elaborate as the years passed. On December 24, 1960, for example, NORAD's northern command post at Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Canada, provided regular updates of a sleigh operated by ""S. Claus"" which it identified as ""undoubtedly friendly"". During the evening, NORAD reported that the sleigh had made"
"such as NORAD Tracks Santa, the Airservices Australia Tracks Santa Project, the Santa Update Project, and the MSNBC and Bing Maps Platform Tracks Santa Project have endured. Others, such as the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's Tracks Santa Project and the NASA Tracks Santa Project, no longer actively track Santa. The origins of the NORAD Tracks Santa programme began in the United States in 1955, when a Sears Roebuck store in Colorado Springs, Colorado, gave children a number to call a ""Santa hotline"". The number was mistyped, resulting in children calling the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) on Christmas Eve instead."
"York Air National Guard and the U.S. Naval Reserve Navy Information Bureau (NIB) 1118 at Fort Carson, Colorado, as have the Canadian Armed Forces. Other U.S. federal agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have helped publicize the service. Former First Lady Michelle Obama has participated in the program each year since 2009, answering phone calls. According to Gerry Bowler, a history professor at the University of Manitoba, the NORAD Tracks Santa program is ""one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa Claus story that have stuck."" Bowler"
"Operation Christmas Drop Operation ""Christmas Drop"" is a tradition that serves as a training mission for the United States Air Force which started in 1952. It has since become the longest running United States Department of Defense mission in full operation, and the longest running humanitarian airlift in the world. Supported by the local communities of Guam, it is primarily conducted from Andersen Air Force Base and Yokota Air Base, and targets Micronesia. https://www.andersen.af.mil/ocd/ The operation was first conducted in 1952. Then, the aircrew of a WB-29 aircraft assigned to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, formerly assigned to Andersen Air"
"the facility is behind blast-proof doors. It was designed to be the ""nerve center"" for NORAD. The NORAD center has been staffed by Canadian and United States military personnel to monitor North American air space for intercontinental ballistic missiles and incoming Soviet military aircraft. Locally, this military boom during the Cold War included the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, and Fort Carson. After the Cold War, NORAD monitored objects orbiting the earth and aircraft without flight plans. It is also known for monitoring the Christmas Eve orbit of Santa Claus. NORAD used to"
"his release to the press, Oldfield added that ""CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S. against possible attack from those who do not believe in Christmas."" Over the following years, the legend of how the annual event originated began to change. By 1961, Shoup's version of the story was that he had not been gruff with the child, but instead had identified himself as Santa Claus when he spoke to the child on the phone. Shoup and his family later modified the"
"USCG Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Guthlein and retired Senior Chief David Considine are two of the people who suit up for the Flying Santa role today. The nonprofit Friends of Flying Santa was established in 1997 to continue the flights primarily as a way of expressing gratitude for the work performed by the Coast Guard. Flying Santa The Flying Santa is the name given to a tradition that dates to Christmas of 1929, when packages of gifts were dropped from a plane to lighthouse keepers and their families along the New England coast. The organization was the brainchild of William"
"Postal Service, they should send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by December 10 to: North Pole Holiday Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Dr, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998. Over 25 years, the Salvation Army in cooperation with the Alaska Air National Guard use C-130 Hercules to distribute every year gifts to children living in remote places in Alaska before Christmas. Operation Santa Claus Operation Santa Claus is a yearly initiative undertaken by the United States Postal Service. It was started in 1912 when United States Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to start responding to needy children, with"
"Google Santa Tracker Google Santa Tracker is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program first launched in 2004 by Google, Inc. that allows users to track Santa during Christmas Eve and before that allows users to play, watch, and learn through little activities that are added daily from the start of December. Google's rival Santa tracker, NORAD Tracks Santa, has operated since 1955. In early 2004, Google saw the NORAD Tracks Santa service and said they ""felt like it could be better for users to 'visualize' where Santa is currently at"". So, in 2004, after Keyhole, Inc. was acquired by Google, they"
"inquiring about Santa. He told his operators to give a current location for Santa Claus to any child who called in. Three years later, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was formed and the NORAD Tracks Santa service continued. Mr. Jingeling, the Keeper of the Keys to Santa's Workshop, was created in 1956 as a radio spokesman to promote the toys sold at Halle's Department Store in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Jingeling was immediately popular and became an annual fixture at Halle's where he prowled the seventh floor toy department entertaining shoppers. The costumed character was first played by Max"
"Operation Santa Claus Operation Santa Claus is a yearly initiative undertaken by the United States Postal Service. It was started in 1912 when United States Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to start responding to needy children, with the first one starting at the James Farley Post Office. For those seeking the Santa Claus holiday postmark through the United States Postal Service, they should send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by December 10 to: Santa Claus, PO Box 202, Santa Claus, IN 47579. For those seeking the North Pole holiday postmark through the United States"
"24. However, site visitors can interact with the games and lesson plans in Santa's Village beginning from the start of December. Google Santa Tracker Google Santa Tracker is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program first launched in 2004 by Google, Inc. that allows users to track Santa during Christmas Eve and before that allows users to play, watch, and learn through little activities that are added daily from the start of December. Google's rival Santa tracker, NORAD Tracks Santa, has operated since 1955. In early 2004, Google saw the NORAD Tracks Santa service and said they ""felt like it could be"
"the story is based on a family tradition started by Carol Aebersold for her twin daughters, Chanda Bell and Christa Pitts in Georgia, USA. This story describes how Santa's ""scout elves"" hide in people's homes to watch over events. Once everyone goes to bed, the scout elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa the activities, good and bad, that have taken place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each morning, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout"
"Warning Center's mission ""expanded to include the interior airspace of North America."" The Cheyenne Mountain Realignment was announced on 28 July 2006, to consolidate NORAD's day-to-day operations at Peterson Air Force Base with Cheyenne Mountain in ""warm standby"" staffed with support personnel. The NORAD command center located under Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado is a setting of the 1983 film ""WarGames"" and the television series ""Jeremiah"" and ""Stargate SG-1"". As a publicity move on December 24, 1955, NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), informed the press that CONAD was tracking Santa Claus's sleigh, adding that ""CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine"
"on November 30 a child trying to reach Santa Claus on a hotline number provided in a Sears advertisement misdialed the number and instead reached Shoup at his desk at CONAD. Shoup responded gruffly to the child, and no additional Santa Claus-related calls came in to CONAD. However, when a member of Shoup's staff placed a picture of Santa Claus on a board used to track unidentified aircraft that December, Shoup saw a public relations opportunity for CONAD, and he asked CONAD's public relations officer, Colonel Barney Oldfield, to inform the press that CONAD was tracking Santa Claus's sleigh. In"
"Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas is a Christmas television special, featuring characters from the cartoon series ""Inspector Gadget"". The special was produced by DIC Entertainment and aired on NBC on December 4, 1992. The special opens up at the North Pole, where Santa Claus and his elves are working on all the toys that Santa will deliver at Christmas. Doctor Claw has managed to sneak into the factory and disguise himself as Santa. He has also managed to install mind-control devices on all the elves, which he then activates, and orders them to capture Santa. His plan"
"and more than 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories. Most of these contacts happen during the twenty-five hours from 2 a.m. on December 24 until 3 a.m. MST on December 25. A website called NORADSanta.org was established to allow project access for Internet users. Google Analytics has been in use since December 2007 to analyze website traffic. As a result of this analysis information, the program can project and scale volunteer staffing, telephone equipment, and computer equipment needs for Christmas Eve. Volunteers include NORAD military and civilian personnel. In 2014, NORAD answered more than 100,000"
"Air Command was disestablished in 1992, ""Christmas tree"" aprons and their associated ""mole holes"" continue to exist on numerous Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard bases, as well as two active Army Air Fields and several civilian and joint civil-military airports that were previously SAC installations for all or part of the 1950s through the 1990s. Christmas tree (aviation) A ""Christmas tree"" was a type of alert area constructed by the United States Air Force for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during"
"C-130 Hercules to join the three C-130's provided by the United States. The JASDF and RAAF also participated in the 2016 and 2017 operations. December of 2017 marked the inaugural training event for the new C-130J from Yokota AB as well as the first quad-lateral event with the JASDF, RAAF and Philippine Air Force. Operation Christmas Drop Operation ""Christmas Drop"" is a tradition that serves as a training mission for the United States Air Force which started in 1952. It has since become the longest running United States Department of Defense mission in full operation, and the longest running humanitarian"
"called ""Operation Santa"" to ensure that letters to Santa are adopted by charitable organizations, major corporations, local businesses and individuals in order to make children's holiday dreams come true from coast to coast. Those seeking a North Pole holiday postmark through the USPS, are told to send their letter from Santa or a holiday greeting card by 10 December to: North Pole Holiday Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Dr, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998. In 2006, according to the UPU's 2007 study and survey of national postal operations, France's Postal Service received the most letters for Santa Claus or ""Père Noël"" with 1,220,000"
"Christmas tree (aviation) A ""Christmas tree"" was a type of alert area constructed by the United States Air Force for the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the Cold War. Oftentimes, bombers or tanker aircraft were stationed next to a readiness crew building (RCB), also known as ""mole hole"" facilities. The alert apron, also known as an alert ramp, received the name ""Christmas tree"", because in planform it resembled a tree of the same name. Before the development of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, aircraft such as the Convair B-36 Peacemaker, Boeing B-50 Superfortress and Boeing B-47 Stratojet were parked on alert"
"Claus and included the number ""ME 2-6681"". A call allegedly came through to Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center as one digit was misprinted. In some versions of the story, the calls were coming in to the ""red telephone"" hotline that connected CONAD directly to command authorities at the Strategic Air Command. Colonel Harry Shoup, who was a Crew Commander on duty, answered the first call and supposedly told his staff to give all children who called in later a ""current location"" for Santa Claus. A more accurate description of the events of 1955 appears to be that"
"encourage imagination, and it’s equivalent to bribing your kids for good behavior.” Notes Bibliography Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved (""good"" or ""nice"") children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus grew out of traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas (a fourth-century Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra), the British figure of Father Christmas and the Dutch figure"
"really chivvy people along, long before it became a huge problem."" National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence. The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign and domestic intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority"
"Data Intercept Technology Unit The Data Intercept Technology Unit (DITU, pronounced DEE-too) is a unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, which is responsible for intercepting telephone calls and e-mail messages of terrorists and foreign intelligence targets inside the US. It is not known when DITU was established, but the unit already existed in 1997. DITU is part of the FBI's Operational Technology Division (OTD), which is responsible for all technical intelligence collection, and is located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, which is also the home of the FBI's training academy. In 2010,"
"Defense Courier Service The Defense Courier Service (DCS) is established under the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), and is a global courier network for the expeditious, cost-effective, and secure distribution of highly classified and sensitive material. Operational control of global courier activities is exercised through USTRANSCOM's Defense Courier Division (TCJ3-C). The division oversees and synchronizes activity of 18 courier stations worldwide to service over six thousand accounts. Major accounts include the White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, other federal agencies, authorized government contractors, and allied nations. The DCS directly supports the President, Unified and Specified COCOMs, joint"
"Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS); United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and the Australian Customs Service, Australian Federal Police, and New Zealand Police. The current Director of the Task Force as of 2017 is Rear Admiral Donna L. Cottrell, USCG. Joint Interagency Task Force West executes Department of Defense counterdrug activities on behalf of Commander, U.S. Pacific Command to both defend the Homeland and stabilize the theater by hardening the environment against the growth of transnational crime and"
"The Christmas Channel The Christmas Channel is an American radio network that primarily airs traditional and popular Christmas music to 35 affiliate radio stations across the United States. The Christmas Channel is a property of Cumulus Media Networks (through Cumulus Media) and is active from the day before Thanksgiving Day through Christmas Day. ""The Christmas Channel"" started out as seasonal programming on ABC Radio's ""Memories/Unforgettable Favorites"" satellite format in 1998 under The Walt Disney Company's control. On Thanksgiving Day, ABC Radio would switch programming to Christmas music and the day after Christmas Day, it would switch back to regular programming."
"the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group in the United States, was brought against the state of Washington when it permitted a public display of a holiday tree and a menorah but not a nativity scene. Because of the lawsuit, the decision was made to permit a nativity scene to be displayed in the rotunda of the state Capitol, in Olympia, as long as other symbols of the season were included. In 2013, Gov. Rick Perry signed into Texas law the Merry Christmas bill which would allow school districts in Texas to display nativity scenes. In the United States,"
"Defense Threat Reduction Agency The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is an agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosives). According to the agency's Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2018 to 2022, the DTRA mission ""enables DoD and the U.S. Government to prepare for and combat weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats and to ensure nuclear deterrence."" The agency is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. DTRA was officially established on October 1, 1998, as a result of the"