Santa requests, gets fighter escort from NORAD

Newsmax ^ | 16-Nov-01

[cschroe]

Friday, Nov. 16, 2001

Santa Claus Requests, and Gets, Fighter Escort

North American Aerospace Defense Command, lately burdened with the grim orders to shoot down hijacked civilian airliners, is returning to a more welcome job: tracking Santa Claus via radar.

United Press International reported today that the annual tradition kicked off when the Cheyenne Mountain, Colo., base received this e-mail from Santa:

"I realize how busy you have been lately, but would you kindly track me again this year. I find it so convenient because the children know they have to go to sleep before I arrive."

NORAD agreed, and Santa e-mailed another request - and a wise one, given the new rules of engagement for suspicious flights over New York City and Washington.

"I'd really like to link up with your NORAD fighters when I get to New York and Washington, D.C. I'd like a chance to fly together with them for a while," the jolly old elf wrote. He also asked for a Canadian fighter escort to Reindeer Lake in northern Manitoba.

NORAD, despite its busy docket flying constant combat air patrols over New York and Washington, agreed.

"No problem, Santa. As our radar picks you up as you approach those cities or regions, we'll radio our pilots to tell them you are coming to town."

Santa's flight can be tracked at www.noradsanta.org on Christmas Eve.

No word yet on whether so-called American Civil Liberties Union will denounce NORAD's assistance to St. Nick as a violation of what ACLU describes as "separation of church and state."

[cschroe]

Hope Santa has a safe flight!

[Ruth A.]

Maybe Santa could deliver some "presents" to the Taliban from us.

[Not now, Not ever!]

The follwing flight plan is Approved, for a flight of 9 1M+8R, with the following stipulations:

Absolutely no aerobatic maneuvers allowed, (no barrel rolls)!

FLIGHT START DATE 24 DEC 2001

FLIGHT END DATE: 24 DEC 2001

STARTING LOCATION: NORTH POLE

LANDING LOCATION: NORTH POLE (Natch)

FLIGHT ROUTE: COMPLEX MULTI-PHASE EXTENDED HYPER MOBIUS ZIG ZAG, see attachments 1-24,374

EN-ROUTE STOPS: UN-LIMITED, AS REQUIRED FOR MISSION COMPLETION

TIME EN-ROUTE: 24 HOURS

MAXIMUM SPEED DURING FLIGHT: UN-LIMITED AS REQUIRED FOR MISSION COMPLETION

FLIGHT MAX ALTITUDE: UN-RESTRICTED

CALL SIGN: SANTA 1

Additional notes/Warnings: It is highly recommended that YELLOW wrapping paper NOT BE USED for any presents bound for Afghanistan as serious confusion may result on the ground.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Wow...it's that time again. My daughter and I sat and watched this website last year and tracked him. She's 8 now, and still believes...and I hope she believes for a long time yet to come.

I remember when dad was stationed at Cheyenne Mountain (NORAD HQ). I was 7, 8 years old. The local television stations would break in with a news report that NORAD was tracking an object, and showed footage of Delta Darts/Daggers being launched to intercept. They broke in a little later to show the intercept and that they were escorting the sleigh to American airspace...and that it was time for us to go to bed.

Later...much later, when I was enlisted in the Air Force, I used to volunteer to work the Christmas shift so the married (I was blissfully single) guys could spend Christmas Eve with their families. We got called to the flight line to launch a Santa intercept....there were families down on the flight line watching...the pilots sprinted out to their F-15's and started up. We pulled chocks and they rolled out and took off. I remember the tears rolling down my face as I gave the pilot the salute and thumbs up as they rolled out to launch. Why? Because we were carrying on a tradition, and because I got to be part of a tradition.

[Not now, Not ever!]

Bump, bttt

[VOA]

Santa requests, gets fighter escort from NORAD

(laughing sarcasm engaged:)
Dang it, this sort of story is shouldn't be running until after Thanksgiving!
Here you've got me getting a bit drippy over fond childhood memories
of watching the weatherman on television (even in the days of B&W television!)
tracking the progress of Santa and his sleigh on Christmas Eve with primative
weather radar.
Especially watching my younger (and slightly more gullible) brother being
entranced by this event.

Oh well, I suppose after being drippy over 9-11 and the danger of our personnel in
the Afghanistan theater (and the rescue of the two young ladies)...it's a good time to
get a bit drippy over good, happy memories.

[LibKill]

When I was a little boy the local weather guys would report Santa's movements on radar.

It was a real fun thing for me and my brothers.

[janus]

We better check out his bags and sleigh for any white powder residue. I don't trust those gnomes. They look like little Taliban members.

[DainBramage]

On Donner, On Blitzen.....On Flight leader First Lt. Thomas "Cooter" Brown.

[bootless]

Lump-in-the-throat bump!