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Tracking Santa: A Holiday Troop Tradition

Dec. 23, 2019
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The North American Aerospace Defense Command is responsible for tracking everything that flies over and around North America.

This means that come Dec. 24, NORAD has eyes on Santa.

An airman smiles for a photo.
An airman smiles for a photo.
Col. Harry Shoup
Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the operations officer at North American Aerospace Defense Command’s precursor organization, answered a wrong-number call on Dec. 24, 1955, and began the tradition of NORAD tracking Santa.
Download: Full Size (798.72 KB)
Credit: DOD courtesy photo
VIRIN: 131219-F-FC540-002Y
An airman wearing a Santa hat answers phone calls.
An airman wearing a Santa hat answers phone calls.
Santa Tracker
Volunteer tracker Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Roderick Schwald, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command first sergeant, answers calls from children and parents across the globe while at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center on Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Dec. 24, 2013.
Download: Full Size (819.2 KB)
Credit: Master Sgt. Charles Marsh
VIRIN: 131224-F-UN972-012

In fact, command personnel have tracked Santa, his reindeer and his magical sleigh and have answered calls from children for more than 60 years. Children also can follow Santa's Christmas Eve journey with them online at NORADSanta.org.

Tracking Santa is just one of the traditions U.S. service members engage in this time of year. You can learn more about holiday-related military missions and customs on a special interactive page:

Experience: Celebrating Holiday Troop Traditions Experience: Celebrating Holiday Troop Traditions: https://www.defense.gov/Experience/Holiday-Troop-Traditions

A soldier in a Santa hat inspects the parachute of a solider standing in front of him in a field as helicopters hover above.
A soldier in a Santa hat inspects the parachute of a solider standing in front of him in a field as helicopters hover above.
Soaring Holiday Spirit
An Army paratrooper conducts a jumpmaster personnel inspection during the inaugural All American Presents from Paratroopers event at Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 3, 2019. Paratroopers participating in the event donated toys for a chance to jump from a helicopter and earn foreign jump wings.
Download: Full Size (1.83 MB)
Credit: Army Spc. Justin W. Stafford
VIRIN: 191203-A-JM925-1018Y
A bulldog sits by a white Toys for Tots box in a carpeted room.
A bulldog sits by a white Toys for Tots box in a carpeted room.
Mascot Moment
Lance Cpl. Chesty XV, the official Marine Corps mascot, attends a Toys for Tots event at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, Dec. 4, 2019.
Download: Full Size (2.54 MB)
Credit: Marine Corps Sgt. Robert Knapp
VIRIN: 191205-M-RU248-031Y
A package attached to a parachute drops out of an open aircraft over an island as an airman watches.
A package attached to a parachute drops out of an open aircraft over an island as an airman watches.
Island Delivery
Air Force Staff Sgt. Sarah Meadows prepares to release an Operation Christmas Drop bundle over Nomwin, Micronesia, Dec. 13, 2019. Christmas Drop, the longest-running Defense Department humanitarian airlift operation, provides donated goods to islanders throughout Micronesia.
Download: Full Size (2.09 MB)
Credit: Air Force Senior Airman Matthew Gilmore
VIRIN: 191213-F-GA541-0629P
Two lighted ships sit at a pier.
Two lighted ships sit at a pier.
Norfolk View
Christmas lights and decorations adorn the battleship USS Iowa and the guided missile destroyer USS Scott in Norfolk, Va., circa 1986.
Download: Full Size (2.35 MB)
Credit: National Archives
VIRIN: 861228-O-ZZ999-102

Christmas holidays NORAD

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