Concerns are flying high after it was revealed St. Nick would get new company in the air.
Child advocates are upset that Santa Claus is getting an armed fighter jet escort, claiming it is associated with violence.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a U.S. and Canadian organization that tracks anything that flies in or around North America, has been tracking Santa’s whereabouts for nearly 60 years.
The kerfuffle erupted two weeks ago over a 39-second video on noradsanta.org called “NORAD Tracks Santa Trailer Video 2013.”
A five-second segment of the video – which is also available on youtube.com – shows two fighter jets flanking Santa.
“We’re concerned about the inclusion of the fighter jets in the Santa Tracker this year. While adults might find that funny, it sends a troubling message to the young children who believe in Santa that he is danger from ‘bad guys’ — and that Santa may have to shoot back. It’s also a backdoor way of promoting the military to young children,” said Josh Golin, Associate Director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a NORAD spokesman, said the fighter escort is nothing new. NORAD began depicting jets accompanying Santa and his reindeer in the 1960s, he said.
And he insisted the fighters in the video are unarmed: They’re Canadian Air Force CF-18s, with a large external fuel tank under the belly that might look like a bomb. The wing racks that would carry bombs or missiles are empty, he explained.
The tracking tradition was created after a newspaper gave out the wrong number for children to get in touch with Santa and instead redirected calls to the predecessor of NORAD, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD).
Colonel Harry Shoup, the Director of Operations at the time, had his staff give updates on Santa’s location to any children who called in.
Now, volunteers are getting into the holiday spirit at NORAD and pitching in to respond to phone calls and emails from children around the world.
NORAD also has a Santa tracker online. The NORAD Tracks Santa website which includes activities, videos and music has been up and flying since 1997 and will be available in eight languages this year.
Last year it attracted a record 22.3 million unique visitors from around the world to its website.
“Nobody in my organization was out there protesting,” said Davis. He said he understands the critics’ point of view but disagrees.
“We really do feel strongly that it’s something that is safe and non-threatening, and not something that would negatively impact children,” he said. “In fact, we think that it’s a lot of fun.”
-With files from the Associated Press
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