Tracking Santa: spreading cheer, serving country

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Stan Richister
  • 960th Network Operations Squadron Director of Operations
Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. --  
If you ever get the opportunity to be a Santa Tracker, please do it!

I have heard about Operation NORAD Tracks Santa my whole life. It is something I had always wanted to do, but never actually made the concerted effort to do so until this year - it helped that I am stationed here at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., where the operation is headquartered. It just seemed so exciting to be able to talk with people, and particularly children, while tracking Santa.

So, I signed up for one shift, but I was having such a great time, I actually ended up doing two shifts, taking calls from 8 a.m. until noon! The excitement on the other end from adults and children really is something to experience. 

Some of the calls were from entire families, some from parents calling for their children, and some from just the children themselves. These calls typically lasted about two minutes each, and I could hear other calls on the operations floor - they were coming in from all over the world, and sometimes, even in other languages.

NORAD Tracks Santa is an international program, and while most of my calls came from within the United States, I did receive two calls from children in Europe. The first was from a girl and her father in Lisbon, Portugal.  The other was from Kent, England, where the very polite young man wanted to know, "Where is 'Father Christmas'?"

If this mission doesn't put you in the Christmas spirit, I do not know what will. Like our daily operations and so many other assignments, it is both a way to serve the military and give back to our Nation in quite a unique way.  It is easily one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my career...in part because of the history of the program.

It is both inspiring and fascinating that this was the 60th anniversary of NORAD Tracks Santa, and it all started because of a mistake and by a man who I believe was a true officer and gentlemen and embodied our core values. 

In December of 1955 - ten years after World War II, a couple of years after the Korean War, and the Cold War was in full swing - a Sears store placed an ad in the local newspaper, advertising a phone number for children to call to find out Santa Claus' whereabouts.  The ad mistakenly printed the number to the Continental Air Defense Command, the predecessor to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. 

The phone rang at the desk of the senior officer on duty that night, Col. Harry Shoup, and a little girl asked if Shoup was Santa. He paused, then said, "Yes!"...and the rest is a heart-warming and awesome history that is one of the few links between our military and the world they serve.

As the senior duty officer in CONAD that night, Shoup would have been completely in his right and authority to stop all the calls and focus on the CONAD mission.  Instead, I believe he did focus on the mission...another mission.  He instructed all his staff to take the calls and report Santa's location.

We do what we do for and because of the American people and citizens of the world, and Shoup's decision that night was every bit "Integrity First, Service before Self, and Excellence in all we do". 

I believe the U.S. military can be mysterious to many people, but during NORAD Tracks Santa, that all goes away. I believe that operation is one of the biggest "bridges" between the military and the people around the globe.

Speaking for myself, there is no other way to put it: it is absolutely addictive!  I could not believe I was in uniform and getting to serve in this capacity.  I believe that everyone there realizes they are an ambassador and play a pivotal role between the military and the world...to children. 

And everyone benefits from the program. For the families and kids on the other end, some of them literally scream with excitement and it is contagious. From the military standpoint, people interact with us in a completely different context and really get to know us and see us differently. As service members, we have many permanent and temporary duty assignments to locations around the world under our belts, and that allows us to really connect with the people on the other end.  Some of my favorite calls while I was on duty was speaking to people who lived in places from where I'd previously been assigned, as I could really relate to them.  Once they realized I had really lived there and was not making it up, the phone call and connection went to a completely different level.  It was fantastic, and I wish I could have taken calls during the entire operation!

The holiday season is winding down, but I am already excited for next year.  I hope you get and take the opportunity to be a part of this critical military operation.