Santa Claus to have military escort in North American Airspace as he makes his deliveries

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)-For nearly 60 years, NORAD has been tracking Jolly Ol' Saint Nick as he makes his way across the globe making his deliveries.

It's become a tradition that is anticipated by the team at NORAD.

This tradition started when a misprinted ad started having children call the Air Defense Command In Colorado Springs. The Colonel answering the phone quickly realized what was happening and played along.

"An Air Force colonel named Colonel Shoup actually picked up the phone and realizing that it was a young child, he simply went along with it and pretended like he was Santa. And we've been doing it for 68 years since," said Sergeant Major James Porterfield.

Part of why the tradition has been kept alive by NORAD is to help show how they keep us safe.

"We protect North America 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. And we do that through our aerospace morning aerospace control and maritime warning missions. So we use the same things we use to track Santa, our radars, satellites, and fighter jets 24 hours a day," Sergeant Major Porterfield said.

NORAD promises that Santa will not have any issues once he enters into North American Airspace. They say he will be escorted by fighters.

"We have fighters and make sure we escort Santa wherever he's at, and especially throughout North America, where there are some of our Canadian fighters or our American fighters. Santa always has a wingman up there," Sergeant Major Porterfield said.

While NORAD was unsure of when Santa would enter Idaho's airspace, they did have a general idea.

"What I can tell you, you know, based on our intelligence, is the best time for Santa to be there is between 9 p.m. and midnight. And you got to make sure that you're asleep, though. So that's kind of what the intel and history shows," Sergeant Major Porterfield said.

Sergeant Major Porterfield shares that its been a good year for everyone at NORAD, and tracking and keeping Santa safe is always a highlight.