US-Canadian military tracks Santa's gift-delivery journey

This Christmas, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) 3D interactive website continues to track Santa and his sleigh as they deliver gifts to children around the world. Users can visit the website and explore the different stops Santa makes on his journey.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command website shows Santa Claus on a sleigh. Photo: Norad

In fact, the site dates back to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper printed a phone number connecting children to Santa Claus but mistakenly printed it as the hotline number for the Continental Air Defense Command Center (CADC), the predecessor of NORAD.

To avoid disappointing the children, US Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, NORAD's CEO at the time, personally assigned an officer to answer calls from local children, and asked staff to check the radar to determine a specific location for Santa and update the children on his location. The tradition of tracking Santa Claus began from then on.

NORAD then continued the tradition of setting up a hotline outside its headquarters in Colorado to answer children’s questions about Santa. One year, NORAD received more than 250,000 calls in a 20-hour period.

The center's staff answer the phones, some in uniform while others wear red Santa hats. Photo: AP

“Last year, we got a call from a group of kids in Ukraine who said all they wanted was for Santa to turn the power back on. Moments like that leave us speechless and remind us of the reach of NORAD Track Santa,” said 1st Lt. Sean Carter, head of NORAD’s Santa tracking program.

"We'll be tracking Santa with the same equipment we use every day to keep the North American continent safe. That's aircraft, radar and satellites," said Lt. Sean.

The Santa tracking campaign is a 68-year-old tradition that NORAD inherited from CADC. NORAD's website also features detailed specifications for Santa's sleigh.

Ngoc Anh (according to SCMP, Fox)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/quan-doi-my--canada-thuc-hien-chien-dich-theo-doi-ong-gia-noel-post278222.html