Behind the Scenes with Santa (and NORAD General Glen VanHerck)
In the first segment of today's episode of the Adrenaline Zone, Sandra Magnus and Sandy Winnefeld are joined by none other than Santa Claus himself. The holiday icon took some time out of his busy schedule at the North Pole to speak with our hosts about his role in delivering toys to children around the world on Christmas Eve.
Santa shared some fascinating insights into the inner workings of the North Pole Operations Center, including the fact that they track the world's population closely and produce around 2 billion toys each year. He also talked about the challenges his team of elves have faced, including supply chain issues and difficulties with the Elf Union. Despite these challenges, the elves have been working overtime to prepare for Christmas and will receive 60 days of comp time off after the holiday.
Santa also discussed the safety measures he has implemented in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, including wearing a face mask and using hand sanitizer. These measures are important to ensure that he is able to safely deliver toys to all of the children around the world on Christmas Eve.
In addition to discussing his work at the North Pole, Santa also shared some interesting tidbits about the history of his iconic role, his adherence to privacy protocols, and the vital role that data analytics plays in his operation.
After their informative and thoroughly joyful conversation with Santa draws to a close, Sandy and Sandra are joined by General Glen VanHerck, the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command. General VanHerck discusses the important role that NORAD plays in defending North America from aerospace and maritime threats, as well as the responsibilities of the U.S. Northern Command in providing homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities.
One of the most well-known initiatives that NORAD is involved in is the annual tracking of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. General VanHerck shares the history of the “NORAD Tracks Santa" program, which started in 1955 when a phone number for a department store's Santa hotline was accidentally printed in a local advertisement as the number for the Continental Air Defense Command's operations center. Since then, NORAD has continued the tradition of tracking Santa each year and has even developed a website and social media accounts to share updates on his journey with children and families around the world.
General VanHerck also talks about the challenges and opportunities that come with leading a binational command like NORAD and the importance of working closely with allies and partners. He emphasizes the need to stay vigilant and prepared in the face of constantly evolving threats and the role that technology and innovation play in this effort.
Two fascinating and informative conversations make up this festive episode of The Adrenaline Zone - each highlighting both the risks and massive rewards of the important work of these two undeniable experts in their field.
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Transcript:
Dr. Sandra Magnus: It lies somewhere between the pit of your stomach, your racing heart, and your brain; somehow, trying to keep it all together. It's an area we call, The Adrenaline Zone.
I'm retired astronaut Dr. Sandra Magnus.
Sandy Winnefeld: And I'm retired Navy fighter pilot, Admiral Sandy Winnefeld.
We're two adrenaline junkies who love spending time with people who are really passionate about pushing their boundaries as far as possible.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: For thousands of years, Santa Claus has delighted children by delivering toys on Christmas Eve.
Sandy Winnefeld: There's a lot of history here; a number of movies depicting his trials and tribulations, and millions of children who trek the shopping malls each year to tell him what they want for Christmas.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Taking a sleigh around the world in one night would seem to have a lot of different types of risks associated with it. So, we thought it made sense to ask Santa if he would join us for an episode to clue us in.
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Sandy Winnefeld: And many thanks to our sponsor for this episode - Culligan Water.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Everyone leaves milk for Santa. But did it ever occur to you that he might want some nice, clean water during his trip?
Sandy Winnefeld: Or that his reindeer might, as well?
Well, Culligan's drinking water systems deliver the superior filtration, and refreshing hydration you need to fuel your high-performance lifestyle. Learn more at: culligan.com.
[End of Advertisement]
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Santa was kind enough to take time out of his incredibly busy schedule, at the North Pole, to talk to us.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, Santa, welcome to The Adrenaline Zone. We know you're incredibly busy this time of year, so thanks so much for taking time for us, even though it looks like you're unable to appear on camera today.
Santa Claus: Well, thanks to you both. I'm delighted to be with you, and I do apologize for having to be off camera, but I should explain - I'm up here in North Pole Operations Center, and as you can imagine, we track the world's population very closely. Precisely, I mean, we need to know who every little boy and girl is, where they are, you know, what they want - So, our methods are very closely held because this is what the government calls PPI - Personal Professional Privacy Information, and, you know, we get in trouble if we abuse any of that. So, for proprietary reasons, we just can't allow cameras in the Ops Center.
But let me give you a little sense of scale of North Pole Operations, just some rough numbers. You know, they're a little over 8 billion people in the world, around 1/4 of them are under the age of 15. That means that we have to come up with about 2 billion toys a year - maybe a little bit fewer, because there are a little naughty ones, you know, but that's not such a big number. And so, our elves have been working their little buns off here to get ready - lots of overtime - we give them 60 days of comp time off, after Christmas.
So, if you do the math, that means that we have to produce around 6.7, 6.8 million toys every single day, starting in March. How we do all of that - now, that's a closely-guarded secret, and if you don't have a North Pole security clearance, we can only do audio. So, I apologize - that's why you can't see me.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Well, Santa, you mentioned the elves, and there are labor shortages everywhere, and supply chains are in chaos. So, how are the elves handling it? Have you had any delivery problems in the North Pole?
Santa Claus: Oh, gosh. Yeah. We've had a lot of supply chain issues. You know, in the spring, I said to Melvin Elf-- he's the Chief of Manufacturing, and I said, "Melvin, you know, there's a chip shortage, and we better get on top of that." Well, gosh, in July, a semi-tractor of Pringles shows up. I said, "Melvin, I said, computer chips. - computer chips, not potato chips. Okay, pal?" So, we had problems there, but, you ask about elves; I mean, I'll tell you, you cannot get a good elf these days. I mean, ever since the great elf resignation, it's been tougher than blazes to get elves. And, you know, we thought about moving our manufacturing down to Florida - a lot of elves down in Florida, and-
Sandy Winnefeld: -Texas too.
Santa Claus: - yeah, Texas. We could do that too, but, you know, if we were down there, we'd be up to our butts in elves. But, you know, we can't do that. I mean, you know, all the kids, they expect an authentic North Pole toy, and we just can't betray their confidence in us by offshoring production. So, we go into a lot of overtime, but we get it done. We get done.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, is it classified how many elves you actually have working in the North Pole?
Santa Claus: Yeah. No, I can't get into that. And, you know, some of these elves, when we try to hire them, they even want flex time. I said, "There's no such thing as flex time when you're manufacturing toys. You got to be in here - get your butt in the office." And so-
Sandy Winnefeld: -It's called commitment, right?
Santa Claus: -yeah, it's commitment, but we got a good team. We got a good team.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, Santa, The Adrenaline Zone, is about people who take a risk; and, you know, here you are, you're riding a sleigh pulled by tiny reindeer, you're doing it in the wintertime, you know, cold and fog. How do you handle those risks?
Santa Claus: Oh, gosh. You know, we are a risk manager's nightmare here. I'll tell you; we have a risk oversight committee, and we've got representatives from all the various health departments, and, you know, we got air traffic control risks, we have risks of all those little reindeer hooves damaging roof tiles-- oh, the insurance company is all over us for that - we're working through that. We've got technology risks, you know, the sleigh is a very sophisticated piece of equipment, and so there's a lot of preventive maintenance stuff that we’ve got to do to make sure that it's fully operational.
And then when I have to hop out and walk across an icy roof, that always makes me just a little nervous, and then pop down a chimney, and yeah, sometimes I get stuck - but that's why God made Vaseline, and-- Oh, and then there's the dogs. The dogs are-- but the guys down in the tech department, they created a special treat for dogs - puts them right to sleep. Right to sleep, and so we're okay. We're okay with that. So, we manage our risks. We got a lot of them.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, I have to ask; I keep dancing around these classified topics, but so, how many reindeer do you really need to pull the sleigh?
Santa Claus: Well, yeah, you're right - that is classified. But just a little bit-- Of course, the hardest part is lift off - when we get started, because the sleigh is plumb full, and that's when we need the most energy, but that's when the reindeer are fresh too, you know. And then, of course, we fly all over the United States, and the FAA has pretty strict rules on redundancy in numbers of reindeer in case one of them flames out on us. So, I really can't go into the numbers, but, you know, it's gotten a little bit easier over the years, because toys are getting lighter with electronics - you know, more Xboxes, and fewer ponies - and it's easier to clean up the sleigh the next day, too.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Well, if a reindeer flames out, does it get to ride in the sleigh?
Santa Claus: Well, we've got a special recovery operation that would take care of that.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Okay.
Sandy Winnefeld: Okay. That's good. You know, you mentioned earlier, going down chimneys is a bit risky. Why do you do that, anyway?
Santa Claus: Well, because it suits me. Do you get it? Yeah, I know. Mrs. Claus ain't keen on my humor, either. So, sorry.
Sandy Winnefeld: Yeah, there we go. Well, what if there's actually no chimney for you to go down? You pass the kids by? Or, you know, what if somebody left a fire burning in a fireplace?
Santa Claus: No, that's simple - I just go right through the front door. You know, don't ask me why I-- I could do that all over, but, you know, I'm a kind of a traditionalist, and well, I stay with the plan - and pop down the chimney is the way I do it.
Sandy Winnefeld: 1, 2, 3.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, you have to be pretty good at locks then, Santa?
Santa Claus: Oh, no. I can pick through anything.
Sandy Winnefeld: Well, you know, you eat a lot of cookies, and drink a lot of milk, right? I'm assuming - you know that people leave that stuff, and, you know, is there any risk there? And do you have a favorite cookie?
Santa Claus: Well, yeah - snickerdoodles. I mean, when the good Lord ended the week of creation on the seventh day, he didn't rest; he made snickerdoodles - I just love them things. I'll tell you; I've had about as many chocolate cookies as I can stand. I mean, I'm just up to here with chocolate chip cookies, but I still eat them - I don't want to offend family, they went through some trouble for me, and you asked about, is there a risk. Well, yeah - my cardiologist, he's getting a little bit worried about all the cookies, and I tell him, "Hey, doc, it's just one day a year. Give me a little slack here." I mean, we get through it - I don't tell him I eat cookies during work days, too. But that's another story..
Sandy Winnefeld: But, an important safety tip, though, for our listeners - snickerdoodles might get you a little extra toy, you know, something like that.
Santa Claus: Well, tell them snickerdoodles-- you give me snickerdoodles, there's a little something special there.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Okay, good to know. You know, part of your job is, of course, interacting with the kids at the shopping malls around the world, and collecting information on what they're looking for. So, there's a little bit of risk these days, with COVID. So, did you get all your vaccinations and everything, to do that safely?
Santa Claus: I am my own herd immunity - I've caught everything; all those little drippy noses, yeah. You know, I've caught it all, and so, now I'm immune to everything. But let me just reassure all your listeners; they won't catch anything from me - I'm a super spreader of joy, not disease. So, nobody has anything to worry about fro me.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: That's good too.
Sandy Winnefeld: And you probably have some pretty good "elf care".
Santa Claus: Yeah. No, we got top-of-the-line "elf care". We're good there.
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So, every now and then, you know, at the shopping mall, you might run across a kid who, you know, just doesn't believe in Santa Claus, gives you a hard time, what do you do about that? What do you call them?
Santa Claus: Oh, those, the elves call them ‘rebels without a Claus’-
Sandy Winnefeld: -Yeah. There you go.
Santa Claus: -yeah. Just I always say, "Remember, if you don't believe, you don't receive." Pretty straightforward.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Oh, harsh.
Sandy Winnefeld: And the name, Old Saint Nick, how did you get that name? And by the way, how old are you, Santa Claus?
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Oh, you can't ask a classified question.
Santa Claus: Well, no, I can answer that. You know, it started off in-- I started off as a young kid, as a Catholic monk, and my name was Nicholas, and I focused on giving things to needy people, and that was a big hit with the church, so they made me a saint. And so, that's how that got started. But now, how old? Well, I'm 1,751 years old this year. But as they say, you know, today's 1,700s, is yesterday's 1,500s.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Well, you're looking great, Santa. You're wearing it well. But have you picked up any other nicknames over the years?
Santa Claus: Well, some people call me Kris Kringle, but I don't really like that - it kind of sounds like a fast-food donut shop. You know, others call me Papa Noel- I kind of like that. That's got a nice ring to it, but my wife calls me something else, but we're just not going to go there.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Okay. That's probably better.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, how do you know if a little boy or girl has actually been naughty or nice?
Santa Claus: Data analytics - we do all of that down at the EDAC; that's the Elf Data Analytics Center. Elvin is the chief number cruncher down there - clever little guy. He's got a big brain, and he is just wired for that. He's worked out all of these algorithms. You know, I can't go into that because a lot of it is classified, but to be honest, frankly, I don't understand it. You know, I was an English Lit major, you know, I don't-- Now, where do we get all the data? We've got a lot of sources for data - the internet is just replete, and we're able to get pretty good read on it. And the EDAC does a great job through their data analytics. So, we're, we're pretty confident about it. Now, I do want to reassure everybody - we follow the law, and, you know, the European Union put in something called the General Data Protection Regulation; it's a privacy thing. But we've worked out a waiver with EU, so I can track all the kids, and they know we won't misuse the data. I mean, we’ve got a good heart.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, I guess it's, "Be careful what you post if you're a kid," right? Because Santa is watching.
Santa Claus: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Be very careful. Boy, there's a lot of little naughty stuff those kids put on Facebook. I don't understand that, you know.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Yeah, I know it.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, another question, and I hope this isn't classified, either; but, how do you know when the kids are sleeping? Because aren't they supposed to be sleeping when you come whipping down the chimney and drop stuff off?
Santa Claus: Well, occasionally, you know, some kids pop awake. We use advanced technology for that now. Kevin is the lead elf down in the development lab, and he found a good solution. What we do is, we mount antennas on the reindeer's antlers, and that gives you a wider aperture because they stretch out over-- So, we get good aperture, and good gain on the antennas, then that's all connected by WIFI to the sled. So, I can see the brain waves of the children, and we can tell when they're asleep, and, you know, if they're hanging on, we'll just go on to the next house, and we'll kind of loop back and pick up on them - they all fall asleep eventually.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: But you mentioned earlier that sometimes they're not asleep. So, what happens if they catch you while you're dropping off the presents? What do you do?
Santa Claus: Kevin and his team found a solution to that. I know you've all seen that movie, Men in Black, you know, and they use that little flashy thing - the neuralyzer.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Oh yeah.
Santa Claus: Well, one of Kevin's guys came up with that a couple of years ago - he won Elf of the Year award for inventing that - very advanced physics in that thing; I think his name was Mervin. You know, we had a little accident lab, and I can't remember right now; but I did get them to figure out a reverse function for it, and I use that on old Mrs. Claus when she's been in the eggnog a little bit and she needs to recognize me when I come home.
Sandy Winnefeld: Maybe the elves use it on you, too, you never know .
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Yeah, that could be dangerous.
Santa Claus: That could be dangerous - I watch out for that.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, you go to shopping malls, and you learn what children want for Christmas there, which keeps you really busy, but you also get all these letters as well, from children all over the world. How do you have time to read all those letters?
Santa Claus: Well, data analytics, again. You know, Kevin and his team have worked out a way to digitize all the incoming mail, and we use machine learning and natural language processing to get it all down with-- you know, with millions of kids, we just had to use technology to keep up with it. I kind of miss reading the letters myself, but, you know, it's just too much now, and I just can't do that. So, it's all pretty automated at this stage.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, I know you've got a lot of reindeer, and you've got your favorites that go around every year with you. And I love their names, and I love the rhythm of, you know, now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, and Blitzen, and also Rudolph. Of course, what a story.
Santa Claus: Well, now don't forget Olive.
Sandy Winnefeld: Olive?
Santa Claus: You know, "Olive, the other reindeer."
Sandy Winnefeld: Oh, my God.
Santa Claus: Oh, yeah. Mrs. Claus gets a kick out of that; let me tell you.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, speaking of Rudolph, you know, I've been trying to follow the stories about his life, but I can't figure out his parents. Who are Rudolph's parents? Can you illuminate us on that?
Santa Claus: Well, it was a dark night that night, and there's a little ambiguity about that. According to the Rankin/Bass Holiday Special, his father is Donner, and his mother is a nice doe, who's named Evelyn Donner. In the GoodTimes retelling, Rudolph's father is Blitzen, and his mother's name is Mitzi, though we call her Vixen. So, you know, it rhymes with Blitzen and Blitzen and Vixen. Get it? I mean, I just love that. It's just a lot of fun. But to be honest with you, we really don't know, we really don't care. But we do know Rudolph had a girlfriend - cute little filly named Clarice - nice couple. Nice couple.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, you think there'll be some more red-nose reindeers in the future, then?
Santa Claus: Well, that's why we give them a little comp time.
Sandy Winnefeld: Got to take a break now and then. So, you mentioned Mrs. Claus; you know, how does she feel about the fact that you know, you only work one day a year? Is she employed? And if so, is she like the major breadwinner for the family?
Santa Claus: She doesn't think I do anything. But let me just say Mrs. Claus-- I mean, she works harder than I do, and, you know, she is the head cookie baker for the elves, as you can imagine. I mean these little guys, they love their cookies, and because there's an elf shortage, they're even demanding, and brownies. I mean, we have Friday afternoon brownies to keep them happy - it's something to look forward to.
Sandy Winnefeld: Trying to get them to come to the office and not work from, you know-
Santa Claus: - Well, that's right. You’ve just got to lean forward when you're looking for help. And, you know, she's in charge also of the review committee that decides who's naughty and who's nice, and I have to keep it away from the eggnog when we get to the adjudication phase of that process.
Sandy Winnefeld: I can imagine.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Yeah. I bet that's hard. I have to ask; are the elves snickerdoodle fans, too?
Santa Claus: Oh, you know, they still are having fondness for chocolate. But thank goodness, because there would be no snickerdoodles left for me.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Ah, yeah. So, I have to ask maybe another classified question, but I've always been curious about how you manage to make it around the world in 24 hours - that's a busy, busy night, and the world is a big, big place.
Santa Claus: Yeah. Well, we do all of that planning down at the EFO.
Sandy Winnefeld: The EFO?
Santa Claus: Yeah - Elf Flight Ops.
Sandy Winnefeld: Of course.
Santa Claus: Now, Elvin is in charge of Flight Ops down there. He's a retired Command Sergeant Major - you want an enlisted guy to run your Flight Ops. I mean, you don't want an officer-- I mean, you put them in the PR department, but you want a good NCO down in the Flight Ops because there's so much work down there-- He and his team are down there, they're filing flight plans with the FAA, and all around. You know, they got a lot of work to do, but let me tell you; they do a good job. But I should say that I don't experience time the same way you do - I mean, I mentioned earlier how old I am - I don't feel old; well, on Christmas day, I do, but it’s one of the reasons is that time is different for Santa. You know, it's one of the reasons it's so hard to track the sleigh because we kind of operate in a different dimension - physicists don't yet understand it, you know, it's something similar to what they mistakenly think of as dark matter and dark energy, but it's really different. It's different from that. Someday, humans will figure it out, but no, they don't get it right now, and I just can't tell you what that all is.
But if I can just use an analogy, it's kind of a-- you know, think about it; how do I get all those toys, world toys, 2 billion toys into a single sleigh? And it's really enormous inside? - you just can't experience it when you're on the outside. So, you have to kind of think of it, it must be kind of like a black hole event horizon. I mean, that's the closest I can come up to. But anyway, I find it pretty amazing that NORAD is able to keep any track of us at all. Them boys have got big, powerful computers, I think.
Sandy Winnefeld: You know, I had never thought of the high-tech involved with getting around the world in 24 hours and carrying all those toys - it must be really special. How much did that thing cost?
Santa Claus: Oh, nothing. It was on the house.
Sandy Winnefeld: Oh, I get it. Oh, that's on the house.
Santa Claus: Yeah. Okay. You got it now.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Santa, you have a great sense of humor, and it's really been great talking with you. We really appreciate you spending some time with our listeners, especially during such a busy time of the year.
Christmas is coming up, and we hope that you have a safe flight this week. And I'd like to go offline and tell you what I want for Christmas, because I haven't done that yet. So, if you can spare a moment as we sign off, that would be awesome.
Santa Claus: Well, I wish you all, a very, very merry Christmas, and hope that we all bring peace to the world here.
Sandy Winnefeld: We could use it. Thank you so much Santa, and again, have a safe flight.
Santa Claus: Thank you much. Glad to be with you.
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Wow. What a great discussion with Santa Claus.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: You know, I had no idea he, or actually, the elves, were so technically sophisticated.
Sandy Winnefeld: Well, and of course, as Santa mentioned, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, actually tracks Santa on his journey each year.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: So, we thought it made sense to talk to the person who leads that effort - General Glen VanHerck, who is NORAD's Commander.
Sandy Winnefeld: We caught up with the general at his headquarters, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
So, it was great talking with Santa Claus, but now we're privileged to speak with the person whose job it is to track Santa while he is on his journey. That's right - General Glen VanHerck, who's the Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD, as well as US Northern Command, is with us to kind of follow up and let us know how this whole thing works.
General VanHerck, welcome to The Adrenaline Zone. We're delighted to have you on the show.
General Glen VanHerck: Well, Admiral, it's an honor to be here with you, and I look forward to talking about Santa, and NORAD Tracks Santa, and the missions we do, both at NORAD, and United States Northern Command.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: You know, let's start with that - you've got a big job as both the Commander of the US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Can you tell us a little bit about what those two commands do?
General Glen VanHerck: Absolutely, Dr. Magnus. So, in my NORAD hat, first, I'm privileged to be the 26th Commander of NORAD. NORAD stood up in 1958, here we are, gosh, 64+ years later, in the NORAD hat, a bi-national command with the Canadians, defending North America. First, is aerospace warning. If it emanates from space, it's a threat to North America, we identify that threat. Or, it may not be a threat - both military and civilian. If it is a threat, then we do aerospace control as the Commander of NORAD. And we have fighters on alert each and every day to respond.
The other mission we do at NORAD is maritime warning - we track vessels all around the globe that could potentially present a threat to North America. But we don't prosecute those - we would pass that off if it's a threat in the maritime domain to the government of Canada, and if it's a threat to the U.S., I would execute that in my NorthCom hat.
So, as the NorthCom commander, we do homeland defense. And so, that could be maritime homeland defense, just as I alluded to, ballistic missile defense. We also have the crucial role of providing defense support of civil authorities; so, hurricane response, Operation Allies Welcome, which we did, where we built eight small cities, and we do theater security cooperation with our allies and partners in the region - Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Never a dull moment here - plenty of challenges of defending the homeland in both of my hats.
Sandy Winnefeld: That's a bigger job, I think, than most people really appreciate, with quite a span of control. And in fact, you do have that important job as NorthCom Commander, and NORAD commander. But amid all those impressive responsibilities, you somehow find time to track Santa's progress each year. Can you tell our listeners how NORAD Tracks Santa got started, in the first place?
General Glen VanHerck: Absolutely. Well, first of all, I had no idea how big this was, Admiral, when I got here. It is a major effort and something that is incredibly rewarding to be a part of. It started in 1955 with the Continental Air Defense Command, at that time, in the Operations Center, when Colonel Harry Shoup was the Director of Operations that night. In a local advertisement, a phone number was printed, that happened to be the phone number to the Operations Center. It was supposed to be to a department store where they were going to answer calls by Santa Claus.
Well, Colonel Shoup realized right away, the little girl on the other end was looking to talk to Santa Claus. And so, he played Santa, and he talked to the young lady, but he realized that there were going to be many, many more calls over the course of that day and evening. And so, he set up the Command Center to provide support to everybody that called in. And here we are, now 67 years later, still executing NORAD Tracks Santa.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, it's all because of a typo?
General Glen VanHerck: That's correct. It was an incorrect phone number.
Sandy Winnefeld: I love it.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: That's how missions get expanded, I guess.
So, let's get behind the scenes a little bit. Can you tell us how you really track Santa? Because he flies all over the world in a sleigh, and he's a very busy guy.
General Glen VanHerck: Yeah, Dr. Magnus. So, we utilize the same systems we utilize each and every day to track various objects around the globe. And it starts off with our North warning system - a series of 47 radars, very powerful radars that extend across the Northern part of Canada and Alaska that are focused towards the North Pole, where Santa Claus is going to come from. As Santa Claus comes out of the North Pole on Christmas Eve, typically, he'll go towards the International Dateline, and work his way West. Once Rudolph's nose is visible-- we have a series of satellites - not only the radars but satellites that detect the infrared signature of Rudolph's nose. Believe it or not, Rudolph's nose has a very powerful infrared signature. Then we have sensors and radars around the globe with our allies and partners, my fellow commanders.
And finally, when, Santa Claus approaches North America, we have NORAD fighters; our F-15s, F-16s, F-22s, and the Canadian CF-18s, who respond and intercept Santa Claus, and ensure his safe journey through North America.
Sandy Winnefeld: So, even though Santa is taking a certain amount of risk, it sounds like he's-- if it flies you track it, and then, if necessary, you can come to his assistance.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Well, you know, we all learned when we were younger how important Rudolph was for Santa being able to deliver the presents. Now it sounds like Rudolph is a major safety factor, too, since he allows you guys to keep Santa safe as he is moving around. Who knew?
Sandy Winnefeld: So, how does a-- if I'm a young person and I want to track Santa, how do I get onto your system to do that?
General Glen VanHerck: Well, we have multiple ways to track and follow NORAD Tracks Santa, even in the days leading up to NORAD Tracks Santa on Christmas Eve. You can follow on Alexa by asking about Santa's location, OnStar has a capability, our social media platforms here at NORAD as well. But we have, noradsanta.org, which is a website where you can log onto and interact - it's an interactive, social media capability to track Santa Claus, along with calling in to, 1-877-446 6723, that's 877-HI-NORAD, as well.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: And so, you have people manning the phones when they call into this number, what exactly are they doing? Are they just answering general questions? Are they providing direct tracking information? What do those people do?
General Glen VanHerck: You'd be amazed what they do, Dr. Magnus. So, it is a privilege, and it is hilarious sometimes, to answer the calls. But the bottom line is, it takes a large amount of people to execute this - we have on order of 1,500 volunteers that answer about 150,000 calls. We have 2 million followers, and about 14 million people check into our social media platforms to do this. As far as the questions, we get everything, and the most likely question you're going to get is, "Where is Santa right now?" And so, we track Santa, and you'll be able to see that if you log on. But we'll answer those. We often get questions such as, "How fast is Santa? How many presents has he delivered?" Et cetera. So, it's really fun, and my wife and I really, really enjoy the opportunity to spend a few hours on Christmas Eve answering those questions.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Has Santa ever called in as a listener?
General Glen VanHerck: I've not personally taken a call from Santa Claus.
Sandy Winnefeld: I think he's pretty busy during that time, Sandra. I mean, good heavens. Maybe Mrs. Claus?
Dr. Sandra Magnus: He's flying over the ocean; he might have a little free time to say hello.
Sandy Winnefeld: I'll bet Mrs. Claus is tracking where Santa's gone. You know, just the way things work.
Well, Glen, can you give us a sense for whether and how COVID affected NORAD's ability to do what it does on Christmas Eve?
General Glen VanHerck: Well, Admiral, I'm really proud to say that we continued NORAD Tracks Santa through COVID. When I first got here, in August of 2020, I was approached with the option of canceling potentially NORAD Tracks Santa, and I said, "I'm not going to be the guy that cancels Christmas."
So, through innovative leadership of the team here, multiple people with great partners-- We have multiple commercial partners, we were able to transition to a more social media-driven. And also, we were able to provide telecommunications where people could stay at home actually, and field and answer calls from their home, instead of coming together in a large room that could have potentially presented health concerns. So, we continued on with NORAD Tracks Santa, and I'm really proud of the team. This year, we'll get back to more of a normal NORAD Tracks Santa, and expect the numbers to even continue to grow, but I'm really proud that we were able to do that for the past two years.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: That's some major logistics, actually, and equal to Santa delivering presents all over the world in a single night. So, I have to come back to these calls - the fact that you've got 1,500 volunteers tackling hundreds of thousands of calls is amazing. And so, do you keep track of maybe what celebrities or VIPs call in, or keep track of some of the more unusual questions that you get at all, from year to year?
General Glen VanHerck: We normally don't track who calls in by name - we don't ask names. We do end up with some interesting questions, and sometimes it's funny to talk about those after the fact. But normally, when you're answering the calls, literally, it's pick up one, answer that call, and when you're done with that call and you hang up the phone, the phone immediately rings. So, there's not a lot of time to have that discussion while you're taking calls.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: That's amazing.
Sandy Winnefeld: I remember in my interactions, obviously years ago, we got a call, it would just bring tears to your eyes. It was a young girl who called and said, you know, "All I want from Santa is for my little brother to get well." And he had some kind of disease that, you know, that's what she wanted from Santa Claus. It was just like so touching. And you get a few of those calls; it's pretty amazing.
General Glen VanHerck: Yeah, absolutely, we do. Well, those are the ones that make it truly special - the ones that it's clear they're firm believers, they understand the power of Santa Claus, and they're expecting to get that message delivered. So, it's really an honor to have those conversations.
Sandy Winnefeld: If you don't believe, you don't receive. Right? One thing I've always wondered is whether Santa, you know, flies over places. You know, there's little tension with, you know, like Moscow or Pyongyang, who are not exactly, you know, friendly with the U.S. And Canada. Any insights there, General?
General Glen VanHerck: Well, what I'm tracking is, if you're a believer, and you're in bed in the hours that Santa Claus approaches your location, that Santa Claus visits all those boys and girls. I think it's key that you're in bed, he normally comes between about 9:00 PM and midnight. And so, I would tell all the youngsters listening right now, that make sure that you're in bed. But as far as I know, he goes all over the world to those believers and those folks that are in bed.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: You know, you mentioned that this year you're going to have everybody sort of located in one spot, just like pre-COVID. So, do you have anything special lined up for this Christmas, now that everybody is able to get back together in one room?
General Glen VanHerck: Well, just, the event itself is special. But as far as-- Not really anything that I would say geared towards NORAD Tracks Santa, specifically, just executing the event is a major, major effort for our team. And I would say thanks to all those that put it together. It's amazing to make it happen.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: What a wonderful event. It sounds like a lot of fun; a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun.
Sandy Winnefeld: It's pretty exhausting, I think, for the volunteers and the people who run it.
Well, General VanHerck, we really thank you for spending some time with us today, in the wake of being able to talk to Santa Claus. Thank you for what you and your team do every day - protecting our country, and also Canada. Thank you for, NORAD Tracks Santa Claus. I mean, it's such a wonderful event that hundreds of thousands of people look forward to every year.
And we wish you, and your team, and all of your families, a peaceful and prosperous Christmas season.
So, thank you so much for joining us.
General Glen VanHerck: Well, Admiral Winnefeld, Dr. Magnus, thank you. I get up every day, very humbled to have the job to defend our homelands, knowing that this is the most noble job that anybody could have when you serve. And so, it's really an honor and privilege to talk to you today and to lead the men and women of both NORAD, and United States Northern Command.
Sandy Winnefeld: All right, Merry Christmas.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Merry Christmas.
Sandy Winnefeld: Ho ho ho.
General Glen VanHerck: Ho ho ho.
Sandy Winnefeld: What a great discussion with Santa Claus, and General Glen VanHerck, the Commander of NORAD, which tracks Santa, annually, on Christmas Eve.
You can follow Santa's Christmas Eve journey at: noradsanta.org.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: And many thanks to Dr. John Hamre, for assisting us with this episode.
I'm Sandra Magnus.
Sandy Winnefeld: And I'm Sandy Winnefeld.
Thanks again, to Culligan Water, for sponsoring this episode.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: A high-performance lifestyle like Santa's, deserves high-performance water. Learn more, at: culligan.com.
Sandy Winnefeld: We hope you, and your families, and friends, enjoy a peaceful and safe holiday season.
Dr. Sandra Magnus: Don't forget to check us out on social media, and we'll see you next week.
