ROME, ONEIDA COUNTY (AP) -- The New York Air National Guard will be on duty tonight, helping NORAD "track" Santa Claus as he dashes around the world delivering gifts.
NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The Air National Guard's Northeast Air Defense Sector based at Rome in Central New York is a unit of NORAD, and its troops stay on duty around-the-clock. They'll use their high-tech radars to track Santa's journey around the globe.
NORAD's Santa-tracking tradition began in 1955. Three years later, NORAD was created.
Since then, NORAD personnel have volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and e-mails from children.
The Internet is also used to track Santa. Last year, millions of people who wanted to know Santa's whereabouts visited the NORAD Tracks Santa Web site.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
