Hurlburt Field tracks jolly ol' St. Nick

  • Published
  • By 1st Special Operations Wing
  • Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  As Christmas day approaches, children will be on the lookout for jolly ole' St. Nick, aka Santa Claus, beginning Dec. 24 -- and Hurlburt Field is here to help track when he comes to town.

Santa and his nine reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen - with Rudolf leading the pack - will be traveling the world spreading Christmas cheer to little girls and boys.

According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Santa keeps a long list of children who have been good throughout the year. Though his list gets longer every year, Santa still has to deliver all of the presents in the same amount of time. But for those children wanting to wait up for Santa, unfortunately he will only visit while they are asleep.

"I used to visit children's homes while they were still awake and we would talk for hours, but after getting home late a few years in a row, Mrs. Claus firmly suggested that I only come by after the children are asleep," Santa said. "And while I can't tell you exactly how I do what I do, I will say that it is a combination of magic and technology that compresses the space/time continuum. The rest is a closely-guarded secret."

However, no matter how many houses Santa has to visit, he will surely make his way to Hurlburt Field.

"I've been an honorary Air Commando for decades and always make it a point to visit my Special Operations families," Santa said. "They conduct a lot of missions at night like I do, so we sometimes pass each other on our way to our various missions. One of these years I might be able to borrow some of their planes and people to help me with some of my drops!"

For up-to-date information on Santa's whereabouts, more fun facts and games go to: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/