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NORAD crews prepare for Santa tracking mission

'We use radar, jets, satellites and the Santa Cam’s and all of these are different ways we find out where he is going to come in from and how he is going to get into Canada. So we usually know at least relatively where he is going to be when he is coming in'  
santa tracking 2017 pic
The Charlie Flight Crew goes through training in preparation for tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Photo by Lindsay Sarazin.

It may be a mock exercise but with the focus and determination, this special training mission seems so very real.  

Today, inside the high-security Sgt. David L. Pitcher Building at CFB North Bay, the crews are training for arguably the most important mission of the year.  

That’s tracking Santa Claus when he comes into Canadian Air Space on Christmas Eve.   

“We have a lot of pre-briefings that go into it, a lot of intelligence we get from different agencies all around the world so as different people find out about it we get that kind of stuff right,” said Sgt. Patrick Bisigni, a U.S. Air Force Technician who works at the NORAD facility that is literally the eyes and ears over the northern hemisphere.  

“We use radar, jets, satellites and the Santa Cam’s and all of these are different ways we find out where he is going to come in from and how he is going to get into Canada. So we usually know at least relatively where he is going to be when he is coming in.”  

The Charlie Flight crew will be working on Christmas eve where crews like this one have been tracking Santa Clauses journey into North American Air Space for more than 60 years.   

Through experience they know he traditionally enters Canada from the East Coast and when they notice his track on radar, fighters are scrambled from a northeastern Canadian Air Base, likely CFB Gander to guide St. Nick through Canadian airspace.  

“Santa doesn’t file a flight plan but we do know based on time zones he is more likely to visit Canada first but we are a BiNational command here, we are working as a team so there are definitely no hard feelings but he makes his way across the Eastern seaboard before heading West,” stated Major Kathleen Leaton, who will be in command of this mission on Christmas Eve.  

The NORAD Tracks Santa website, which launched Dec. 1, features Santa’s North Pole Village and includes a holiday countdown, games, activities, and more. The website is available in eight languages.

 

Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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