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By Chuck N. Baker
(Nevada, USA) Thousands of local veterans and their families already know Santa Claus managed to arrive safely throughout the Silver State on Christmas Eve. But did you know every year Santa gets a little safety help from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)? For the past 62 years, NORAD has kept its “electronic eye” on Santa’s sleigh to ensure he does not encounter any wayward meteors or run into any pieces of metallic “space junk” orbiting the earth!

Marine Colonel Bob Brodie of the 601st Air Operations Center winked and smiled as he explained, “Fighter jets always fly alongside Santa’s wing in a close escort. Each year we also monitor him using NORAD satellites and infrared trackers to follow Rudolph!”

The NORAD tracking indicates Santa entered the airspace over a portion of the Nevada-Arizona border with his first Nevada stop in Laughlin. There he visited Richard Springston American Legion Post 60. Santa dropped off bottles of tarter sauce for the members to use for their Fish Fry on Friday nights and he left boxes of North Pole frozen shrimp in the fridge for good measure.

Next, the tracking shows he stopped in Searchlight and other small towns before heading straight for Matthew A. Commons Post 36 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Post 31 of the American Legion in Boulder City. Santa also dropped off gifts to the Nevada State Veterans Home. Vanilla pudding, bags of caffeine free coffee and bars of sugar-free candies were left in the lobby. Administrator Linda Gellinger said she had written Santa ahead of time to let him know the side door would be left open because the facility has no chimney. Before he left town, radar indicated Santa took the time to place a few American Flags at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery and said a silent prayer before heading to Las Vegas.

NORAD’s equipment picked up Santa dashing across town visiting homes and veterans offices — DAV, VFW, American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans, MOPH, Vietnam Veterans of America and Coast Guard Auxiliary. He also stopped off at active duty posts including Nellis AFB, its Marine Corps contingent, as well as the Army Reserve on East Sahara Boulevard, Creech AFB and many dozens of other locations. Witnesses said Santa wrangled his way past security at the Grant Sawyer building where he left gifts for the Nevada Department of Veterans Services. Deputy Director Fred Wagar said he and his staff were surprised when they returned to work!

Each year after a long night and with his work behind him, Santa always talks to himself as he heads back to the North Pole. We know that because of the sophisticated military audio equipment that “listens in.” Santa always says a prayer for the military men and women who are away from their homes because they are serving their country. He also thanks NORAD for its assistance each year in keeping him and our country safe.
Correction/Clarification: When July 2018 Newsletter  was first issued it contained two editing errors, putting a comma after Richard Springston and Matthew A. Commons. The story now reads Richard Springston American Legion Post  60 and Matthew A. Commons Post 36 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Post 31 of the American Legion in Boulder City. NDVS regrets the errors.