Mission Merry Christmas: Defense and Air Force groups making holiday rounds

Christmas is approaching fast – two more days, to be exact. Before we get caught in the holiday rush, let’s take the time to think of those who keep our starry skies safe. 

From tracking Santa’s whereabouts to air-dropping Christmas goods to far flung locations and giving a holiday cheer to fellow troops, here are some defense organizations making sure everyone gets to celebrate Christmas this year.

NORAD – Tracking Santa for the 69th year

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a bi-national United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America.

However, it’s less well known that NORAD also has a very special mission during the holidays. Every year since 1955, NORAD has been tracking Santa’s whereabouts during Christmas using satellite systems, high-powered radar and jet fighters.

It all began when a department store ran a Christmas marketing promotion and handed out flyers with Santa Claus’ phone number for children to ring.

NORADOne of the numbers, however, was misprinted. One child dialled the wrong number and, astonishingly, got through to the line of Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), NORAD’s predecessor. 

CONAD’s Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup happened to pick up the line, and decided to indulge the child’s simple wish of wanting to know where Santa Claus was.

Shoup instructed his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa Claus making his way south from the North Pole. Since then, NORAD kept up this heartwarming tradition and families all over the world track Santa’s journey every year.

NORADChristmas 2024 is no exception, with NORAD tracking Santa for the 69th year. The NORAD Tracks Santa website was officially opened on December 1, 2024. The site allows families and children to keep track of Santa’s whereabouts. It also has a published phone number (correct, this time), using which children of all ages can call and speak to a designated Santa tracker.

On December 13, 2024, the Canadian NORAD operations reported that it had a “surprise encounter” with Santa Claus in the Canadian airspace, and will escort Santa all the way till Christmas Eve.

Breaking News: Canadian #NORAD Region had a surprise encounter with Santa Claus in the Canadian airspace ! The @NoradSanta team couldn’t be happier and is looking forward to escorting Santa during his trip on December 24. #NORADTracksSanta #WeHaveTheWatch pic.twitter.com/sagu0p2BPr— RCAF Operations (@RCAFOperations) December 12, 2024 On December 24, 2024, trackers around the world can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 0600 to midnight MST. Website visitors will also be able to see Santa’s flight from 04:00 to midnight MST.

In 2023, NORAD published a series of videos about tracking Santa. One of them is a short clip visually demonstrating how the organization tracks him and his sleigh.

Operation Christmas Drop 2024

Operation Christmas Drop is a tradition started by the US Air Force (USAF) in 1952. Currently, it is the US Department of Defense’s longest-running humanitarian airlift operation. 

The drop generally involves the USAF and its allies delivering essential supplies to nearly 60 remote islands in the Indo-Pacific, including the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, where locals often have a hard time accessing necessities.

The tradition began during the Christmas of 1952, when a B-29 Superfortress aircrew from the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was flying a mission to the south of Guam. While in flight, the crew saw islanders waving at them from the island of Kapingamarangi, 3,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.

In the spirit of Christmas, the aircrew dropped a bundle of supplies attached to a parachute to the islanders below, giving the operation its name.In recent years, armed forces from various countries have joined the USAF in joint exercises for collaborative Christmas drops.

First to join were the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 2015, when Japan and Australia provided one C-130 Hercules each to join the USAF’s  three C-130s for the Christmas drop.

On December 14, 2024, for the latest and 73rd Operation Christmas Drop, 77,300 pounds of aid were distributed to Pacific island nations by seven C-130 airlifters from five countries.

This year’s Operation Christmas Drop was led by the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base, Japan, which was joined by aircraft and personnel from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), RAAF, Republic of Korea Air Force (ROK Air Force), and JASDF.The operation, which ran from December 8 – 14, 2024, saw more than 300 personnel assist in dropping the Christmas bundles to more than 58 drop sites over the course of 224 flight hours.

The airdropped bundles included items such as food, water, rice, clothing, diving gear, first-aid kits and toys. Each box is decorated with festive drawings and messages like ‘Merry Christmas’ and the widely recognized tagline, ‘Love from Above’. 

The bundles were deposited through a Low Cost Low Altitude (LCLA) airdrop, a method that is cost-efficient and easy to apply across the global airlift community, utilizing readily available resources and repurposed personnel parachutes. Pallets were dropped at low altitude to ensure better accuracy.

Operation Christmas Drop Facebook page

Videos uploaded on YouTube shows how USAF Airmen and Coast Guardsmen practiced the retrieval of dropped bundles from the ocean in a location near Guam days before Operation Christmas Drop itself.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is with an Airdrop! Hercules crews from are dropping bundles of donated goods to 20,000 people over an area of six million square kilometres.Operation Christmas Drop 24 from above.#AusAirForce@INDOPACOM @PACAF pic.twitter.com/uBJySkYiHx— Royal Australian Air Force (@AusAirForce) December 14, 2024 The RAAF documented how Hercules crews were preparing the Christmas bundles to be dropped – from drawing festive illustrations on the boxes and loading the bundles in the aircraft, to the bundles being dropped at low altitude to the ocean.

A video clip from the 2023 Christmas Drop Operation was uploaded to YouTube, showing how the much-awaited bundles were received by locals from Kosrae Island within the Federated States of Micronesia.

To cap off the successful 2024 operation, the seven C-130 airlifters from different air forces demonstrated an ‘elephant walk’. It was not only to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the operations, but also to celebrate the camaraderie and joint efforts of the various air forces.

A multinational formation of C-130J Super Hercules and C-130H Hercules taxi into position during an “elephant walk” on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Dec. 14, 2024, in support of Operation Christmas Drop 2024. pic.twitter.com/D5MUpLSV7K— fighterlover (@fighterlover9) December 16, 2024 An ‘elephant walk’ is a USAF term for the taxiing of military aircraft right before takeoff, when they are in close formation, named as such because the amassed aircraft resemble a herd of elephants.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines: bringing Christmas cheer to high-tension areas

In the cases above, various Air Force organizations have delivered Christmas goodwill to people. Sometimes though, it’s the Air Force itself that needs cheering up. 

Case in point: the Philippine government troops, which includes the Philippine Air Force (PAF) stationed in the outposts of the West Philippine Sea. 

Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent months over maritime and territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, which China claims is part of the South China Sea.

In its latest show of power and aggression, five Chinese ships, including the Chinese Coast Guard, engaged in what the Philippine Coast Guard described as “reckless maneuvers” against Philippine vessels in early December 2024. These actions included firing a water cannon, “intentionally sideswiping” one of the Philippine vessels, and coming at the vessels dangerously close. 

As tensions and encounters mount, the USAF have been conducting regular drills and training with the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to develop operational readiness in the area.

The latest joint training took place on December 12, 2024 and involved the PAF’s A-29 Super Tucanos and the USAF’s A-10 Thunderbolt II.

A predominantly Catholic country, the Philippines is known to have the longest Christmas celebrations in the world, starting festivities when ‘ber’ months hit (ie September). 

In order to boost morale among troops stationed in the contested West Philippine Sea, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has delivered Christmas packages to all troops, including those from the PAF, stationed in the area.

The delivery took place between December 3-14, 2024, and the Christmas packages were delivered along with the completion of the AFP’s rotation and resupply (RORE) mission to nine island features in the West Philippine Sea.

Armed Forces of the Philippines“The AFP remains steadfast in carrying out its mandate in full accordance with international law and the rules-based international order,” AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr said in a social media statement.

“Likewise, we will not forget the sacrifices of our troops deployed in these remote stations, far from their family, this Christmas season. They are our inspiration,” Brawner Jr added.

AeroTime wishes everyone in service, whether in the air or ground, a happy holiday season!The post Mission Merry Christmas: Defense and Air Force groups making holiday rounds appeared first on AeroTime.

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