NORAD Santa tracker will still run despite government shutdown |
Fox News The government may be partially shut down, but that won't stop hundreds of volunteers dressed in Christmas hats and military uniforms Monday from taking calls from children around the world who want to know when Santa will be coming.
The military says the NORAD Tracks Santa won't be affected by the government shutdown because it is run by volunteers Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado and is funded by the Department of Defense's budget that was approved earlier this year.
Now in its 63rd year, the Santa tracker became a Christmas Eve tradition after a mistaken phone call to the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1955. CONAD, as it was known, had the serious job of monitoring a far-flung radar network for any sign of a nuclear attack on the United States.
In this Dec. 24, 2014, file photo, NORAD Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey takes a call while volunteering at the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. Hundreds of volunteers will help answer the phones from children around the world calling for Santa when the program resumes on Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, for the 63rd year. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
