Governor calls out Air National Guard to escort Santa

Helping Santa navigate through Badger State is goal of operation

Gov. Scott Walker on Monday directed the Wisconsin National Guard and Wisconsin Emergency Management to assist with a very important mission Tuesday night – to help Santa as he makes his way through the Badger State on Christmas Eve.

“I want to make sure that Santa has everything he needs – from food for the reindeer to the latest weather reports,” Walker said. “The Wisconsin National Guard and Wisconsin Emergency Management are ready to respond to ensure Santa is able to deliver presents to all the good boys and girls across Wisconsin.”

“Santa Claus’s mission is a no-fail mission, and the Wisconsin National Guard and Wisconsin Emergency Management are ready to assist,” said Maj. Gen. Donald Dunbar, the Adjutant General of Wisconsin. “We’ve been helping Santa ever since we were established, and we remain ready for this important mission.”

A KC-135 Stratotanker from Milwaukee’s 128th Air Refueling Wing will meet up with Santa and his team of reindeer in the sky over Lake Superior and will provide carrots and water for the reindeer and power bars and cocoa for Santa.

As a precaution, the 147th Aviation Battalion of Blackhawk helicopters have been tasked to pre-position critical supplies such as reindeer feed and provide extra lift support should the reindeer have problems pulling the heavy sleigh.   The 120th Field Artillery Battalion will be providing illumination support if Santa encounters bad weather and needs help landing to deliver his toys.

Wisconsin Emergency Management will keep a close eye on the weather and will provide Santa with updated storm reports.

In addition, “ReadyWisconsin” will post updates on Twitter and Facebook about Santa’s location as he travels across the state.  Go to ReadyWisconsin facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/ReadyWisconsin?ref=hl  and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ReadyWisconsin  Use the hashtags #SantaAlert and #OperationSanta to track the Tweets and interact on Twitter.

The Wisconsin National Guard will also coordinate their efforts with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).  NORAD tracks Santa’s route across the United States and posts updates at their “Santa Tracker” website, http://www.noradsanta.org .