Holloman personnel prepare for Operation Assist Santa

  • Published
  • By 49th Wing Public Affairs
  • 49th Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Team Holloman members are busy preparing for one of their most rewarding missions of the year later this week - "Operation Assist Santa."

This year marks the third anniversary of aircraft from the base serving as special escorts as the jolly old elf makes his way through New Mexico.

"We are Santa's favorite wing in the Air Force. All the aircraft tails assigned to the 49th Wing are marked with the two letter designation 'H-O'," said Col. David Krumm, 49th Wing commander. "From the moment Santa and his reindeer take off from the North Pole, you can hear him calling for our escort ... 'HO, HO, HO'."

The F-22 Raptor will serve as an escort, or wingman, while the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper will provide Santa with "special intelligence" through naughty and nice sensors and sleep detectors installed on the two aircraft. The remotely piloted aircraft will also ensure Santa has safe landing zones in the Tularosa Basin and Sacramento Mountain areas.

"The details of the mission are classified at this time. However, I can say there have been pilots in all three aircraft who have completed special training to make sure Santa and his reindeer are as safe as possible during their flight and ground operations," said a major with the 29th Attack Squadron, who operates the MQ-9 at Holloman.

All of the members of Team Holloman taking part in "Operation Assist Santa" have volunteered their time both during the important training required to complete the mission and during the operations on Christmas Eve.

The "special" mission will serve as a thank you to the residents of the Tularosa Basin and Sacramento Mountains who have supported Team Holloman during 2010. In addition, the mission will serve as a preview of what 2011 will bring.

"With the tremendous amount of support we've received over the past year from the residents of the area, we wanted to ensure this special visitor completes his mission on time and on target," Colonel Krumm said. "As everyone knows it is always a good idea to have a wingman when accomplishing any tasks ... especially one as important as a world-wide trip. We work closely with Team Santa at the North Pole and the North American Aerospace Defense Command to make sure his mission is a complete and total success."

In addition to Holloman's support, Santa will be tracked by NORAD not only for his security, but to ensure that no enemy of the United State will pose as Santa Claus and cause harm to the citizens of this great country. You can follow Santa's progress on NORAD radar at www.noradsanta.com.

According to the NORAD web site, more than 1,200 American and Canadian uniformed personnel and Department of Defense civilians volunteer their time on December 24th to assist with Santa's mission.

For additional information and photos, please visit the Holloman web site at www.holloman.af.mil or the Holloman Facebook page at www.facebook.com/HollomanonFB.