NORAD in Full Deployment to Track Santa

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NORAD in Full Deployment to Track Santa

by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media

On Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has a very serious responsibility: tracking Santa Claus' whereabouts.

In addition to its primary duty - safeguarding Canadian and North American airspace from missile and air attacks - Norad has been on Santa-watch.
"We don't know exactly where Santa is going to be but we have all our resources in place to track him as he delivers presents to boys and girls around the world," said the U.S. Navy's Lt.-Cmdr. Gary Ross.
Over 900 volunteers are manning 100 phone lines and 20 computers at the Santa Tracking Operations Centre at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., answering phone calls and e-mails from kids worldwide, said Ross. "We also get a few adults too, curious to know Santa's whereabouts. "
Last year, almost 500,000 phone calls came in to the center, although only about 70,000 were answered.
The Santa tracking began on Christmas Eve in 1955 after a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa on a special hotline was misprinted.
Col. Harry Shoup of the Continental Air Defense Command, Norad's predecessor, got a phone call from a six-year old boy asking where Santa was. Instead of hanging up, Shoup asked his staff to check the radar for Santa's location, and a tradition was born.
To track Santa's journey, go to http://www.noradsan ta.org or call 1-877-HI-NORAD.