US Military command ready to track Santa, everyone can follow

Children worldwide are anxiously anticipating Santa's arrival on Christmas and the military is prepared to monitor him to check if he's utilizing any new technology.

Equipped with radars, sensors, and aircraft, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado vigilantly monitors Santa and his sleigh from the moment he departs the North Pole. Once again, NORAD will provide all these details, allowing everyone to track Santa as he embarks on his global journey starting Christmas Eve.

NORAD, the military command tasked with safeguarding North American airspace, has initiated its noradsanta.org website, social media platforms, and mobile app. These platforms are filled with games, movies, books, and music. Additionally, a countdown clock indicates when the official sleigh tracking will commence.

The military will track Santa with, “the same technology we use every single day to keep North America safe,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Elizabeth Mathias, NORAD’s chief spokesperson. “We’re able to follow the light from Rudolph’s red nose.”

Mathias says while NORAD has a good intelligence assessment of his sleigh’s capabilities, Santa does not file a flight plan and may have some high-tech secrets up his red sleeve this year to help guide his travels — maybe even artificial intelligence.

“I don’t know yet if he’s using AI,” said Mathias. “I’ll be curious to see if our assessment of his flight this year shows us some advanced capabilities.”

The tracking Santa tradition began in 1955, when Air Force Col. Harry Shoup — the commander on duty at the NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command — fielded a call from a child who dialed a misprinted telephone number in a newspaper department store ad, thinking she was calling Santa.

A fast-thinking Shoup quickly assured his caller he was Santa, and as more calls came in, he assigned a duty officer to keep answering. And the tradition began.

NORAD expects some 1,100 volunteers to help answer calls this year in a dedicated operations center at Peterson Space Force Base, in Colorado Springs, ranging from command staff to people from around the world.

“It’s a bit of a bucket list item for some folks,” says Mathias, calling the operations center “definitely the most festive place to be on December 24th.”

The operations center starts up at 4 a.m., MTS, on Christmas Eve and is open until midnight . Anyone can call 1-877 HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk directly to NORAD staff members who will provide updates on Santa’s exact location.

(AP Inputs)