Instructions from Flight Command

Elves, Trackers and Believers Worldwide:

No doubt you have heard the news of challenges we have had this past week with Operation Airlift. The news coming out of Flight Command in recent hours has not been any better.

While I am unable to give you an estimate of exactly how far behind we are I can provide you with information of how we are going to deal with this problem. As elves, working together around the world, we are confident we can help Santa deliver on time and safely, regardless of the weather.

Here is the challenge: Operation Airlift is 100% to Sectors 1, 2 and 3. We have deliberately distributed what Santa needs to those sectors first.

That does not mean we can have trackers and support personnel in Sectors 1,2 and 3 rest easy, however. We need you more than ever.

Why?

Because Elf Buck Sanchez and his team in flight operations at the North Pole are changing tactics in their struggle to get sleighs out. We have expanded sleigh launches from the Sleigh Barn and the Reindeer Barn, in addition to what you have heard about the Field House at North Pole High School. We are also working still to free a runway at the Sleigh Port to launch sleighs as well.

That multi-front operation means sleighs are leaving the North Pole under challenging storm conditions in every direction. That means those sleighs, as the surface above the storm, are headed into every sector. This will be true for the next 18 hours at least.

This is not our preferred method of doing this. We are working the sleigh traffic controllers at Flight Command, in every Regional Tracking Center, and on every ship of the North Pole Navy, at a highly complex level.

There are, as of right now, more sleighs in the skies than there ever have been in history. That number will increase and peak in the hours ahead.

Bearing all that in mind, please make it a REGULAR habit today to watch the skies where you are, day and night. If you see what you think is a sleigh, take photos or videos and submit it.

But more important than sleighs, and this is very unusual, is your observance of  ALL AIR TRAFFIC.

I want all elves in each sector, where possible, to submit an AIR TRAFFIC report every six hours. I know this is asking a lot.

In addition, please keep weather reports coming every six hours as well. In fact, do both reports and submit them at the same time.

We’re not just trying to help Santa here: we’re trying to help every sleigh pilot up there in every area as well as every sleigh traffic controller.

I hope this instruction is clear.

If you have questions, please use the comment area below.

Thanks!

Trackers in North and Central America Check In

At last! We can now check in in Sector 5!

Spotlight on Sector 5

I just got out of a long meeting with Elf Roger Star, Elf Buck Sanchez and Elf Crash Murphy at North Pole Flight Command.

I was up there at the North Pole to more fully understand what the next five days will be like. I have not been at the North Pole for several weeks and let me tell you I was shocked by what I saw. The snow is just incredible. I don’t know how those people are EVER going to dig out.

What I learned is important for you to understand: we are Sector 5, Santa’s last stop. That means a lot of things.

Operation Airlift, as Elf Ed Zachary explained, is complex. Normally they have a plan for each sector and they overlap. On Christmas Eve, in any given hour, sleighs launch from the North Pole to every sector.

With the weather this week they changed their strategy. They have been sending out all sleighs according to location. In other words, everything that will be needed, for now, in Sector 1, has been dispatched and delivered. If Santa left the North Pole right now, he’s be ready to deliver to Sector 1 just fine. Everything needed for Sector 1 is now where it needs to be, just as if today were Christmas Eve.

For Sector 5 – NOTHING has yet to be set up with Operation Airlift. That’s because Flight Command decided to re-order the shipment of things according to location.

As of this morning, all of Sector 1 and most of Sector 2 has been delivered. They hope to have everything for Sector 2 done late tonight.

That leaves Sectors 3 and 4 ahead of us. And then we’re last.

That makes me really nervous.

But, as I look at the countdown we will have Friday, Saturday, Sunday AND Monday to get everything set for Sectors 3,4, and 5. We SHOULD be okay.

Ok, that’s Operation Airlift. But what does all this mean for us?

Well, where I’m coming from I totally agree with Elf Crash moving up the check-in process. It gives us more time to help.

I spoke with Elf Buck specifically about needs outside of the North Pole and he was very direct. Any and all information we send them is useful for EVERY sleigh being sent from the North Pole, not just Santa. From Sunday forward nearly every sleigh will be dedicated to Sector 5.

So…..

We’re going to flood them with information and I’m going to be very direct with you come Saturday and Sunday about what we can do. I’ll likely be more specific than I have ever been in giving you our needs.

We don’t need canned weather reports or links. We will need you to actually go outside and LOOK on the weather. Take pictures. Share what you see. Weather will be far be the most important.

Sleighs might be really visible come late Saturday and into Sunday. Keep an eye out.

We’re last, guys. That means the spotlight is on us. Let’s show them all what we can do.

Submit Questions for Elf Crash

Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, has informed me that a lot of effort will be made before Santa launches to answer your questions.

There will be the North Pole Chat on Sunday at 10AM EST as well as late news being posted on all official North Pole websites all weekend. Crash also says he and Frank will do a podcast that focuses on the current needs Santa has as well as the questions you might have.

Please respond to this post below with questions you want to submit. You can alternatively send them to me via Private Message (for North Pole Elves part of the Elf Community).

We want to take questions from ALL tracker elves tracking Santa for Santa, so please use the comment area below to ask.

I think Elf Frank and Elf Crash plan to release that podcast sometime on Saturday, so you’ve got plenty of time to ask your questions.

Thanks!

Schedule Change Announcement

Due to circumstances related to Operation Airlift we have decided to move up the check-in process worldwide.

Check-ins will be announced via your Elf Supervisor beginning on Saturday, December 21st instead of our original plan of the 22nd.

Tracker Check-in is a process that tells your Elf Supervisor that you are or are not available to work tracking Santa for Santa.

We remind you that Santa is very concerned for your time with your family during this important season. As such, do not feel bad if you cannot be available all the time between the 21st and when Santa arrives at your home.

We appreciate what time you can dedicate to the cause of tracking Santa for Santa.

It is anticipated that this weekend will be filled with news and direction from the Elf Supervisors.

We invite you to participate, if your schedule allows, in the scheduled North Pole chat set for Sunday, December 22nd. I will be hosting that chat and will be able to share and answer questions about the latest in the status of Operation Merry Christmas.

Operation Airlift is off schedule. North Pole Flight Command has had to modify their original plans due to difficulties in getting sleighs launched from the North Pole.

As such, we anticipate this weekend will be filled with a lot of breaking news. We may be asking for reports or observations from local areas that go beyond the norm.

If time allows, Elf Frank and I will likely release a new SantaTrackers.net Podcast to discuss issues this weekend as well.

I encourage you all to read what Elf Ed Zachary posted earlier today. It may help you understand the challenges we are facing as a team in helping Santa get around the world.

As for Santa, he is well aware of the situation and is monitoring things. He plans to continue his visits with believers. At this time, he does not plan a return to the North Pole at a different time than scheduled. He continues to check in with Elf Roger Star on the status of Operation Airlift.

Santa has instructed me to check in with him every 12 hours. Those quick check-ins are by phone and I remain ready to not only forward our questions and concerns to Santa but also to receive his direction.

I will be posting as needed over the next several days so that you know what is going on and how you can help during this time.

Thank you.

Weather Becoming a Focus

As you can see from the news out of Santa Update today the weather is becoming more and more of a focus. I know it may seem boring and tedious to some of you but we really need some regular weather updates from every area. Here’s the link to the weather report.

The frequency of weather reports, due more to Operation Air Lift than Santa’s flight right now, should be about three days or whenever there is a shift in your local forecast.

If you listened to Elves Frank and Crash today you can tell they are concerned. The concern is 10x at Flight Command and next week is going to be super busy in the skies, if they can get the sleighs off the ground.

To me, after years of experience doing this, I sense they are going to need more from us than normal.

You can expect calls for landing zone reports, transit reports and air traffic reports. It’s coming I can feel it.

For those elves who are new and have not done it, please get your roof reports and chimney reports in first thing.

It’s crunch time, elves.

Important: Local Christmas Report Needed

North Pole Flight Command has issued an urgent request for a Local Christmas Report from all areas. You can fill out the report right here.

I’ll just tell you straight up that they are very concerned about the Christmas Spirit. This comes straight from the top, from Santa himself.

This report relies on your opinion. Don’t be shy is sharing it. Tell us about the Christmas spirit in the area where you are.

I’m not sure why this is important right now but this was asked of all elves in every sector.

Let’s get to work on this report.

Thanks.

Use the Sleigh Sighting Report

Elves, as a reminder, if you see something in the sky you think might be a sleigh – please use the Sleigh Sighting report.

We are getting a higher level of possible sightings these days, powered by Operation Airlift, the test flights of Santa’s sleigh, and all the purported UFO activity out there. Elves are seeing things but they are not sure what they are.

That’s fine. If it’s a sleigh or you think it is a sleigh, please use the Slight Sighting Report found at this link. We can try to chase it down for you to confirm it or not.

Just like every other sector we have yet to have a confirmed sighting this year. But the possibility of sighting a sleigh goes up every day between now and Christmas. It’s going to happen eventually.

Freelance elves, please use your standard report.

Any report that provides photos or videos get a BIG bonus!

Drones in Sector 5

Hello Elves of Sector 5,

Elf Rolf posted about UFOs in Sector 3 yesterday and no sooner did he do that than new reports started to come in from elves in our Sector. The activity in New Jersey has especially resulted in a lot of reports. Here is one image that was sent us of what is being seen in New Jersey:

Drones

One tracker elf we talked to who personally has witnessed these drones says that they are there in the skies all night, moving back and forth. They hover a lot. They do move some but largely just sit in one spot.

He described them as having a propeller noise or some kind of engine. They could be as big as a car, he said.

With these reports have come a lot of questions to North Pole Flight Command and to the Regional Tracking Center here in St. Nicholas.

Does the North Pole have drones? Yes, we do. But, they are not this size and they do NOT have these colors of lights. The North Pole has not dispatched any drones outside of North Pole air space since last Christmas and currently does not have any drones deployed anywhere in the world.

Does Santa’s sleigh look like these drones so many are seeing? NO. Lights on ALL North Pole sleighs are larger and brighter. Typically they are all white lights. They front from front to back of the sleigh, and along the bridle lines to the reindeer. So a North Pole sleigh in the sky will appear as a long floating string of lights.

So far, nothing that has been captured of these drones could ever be confused with a genuine North Pole sleigh.

We are monitoring events with the drones/UFOs in North America. We are seeing reports from California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, New Jersey and spot locations up in Canada. There is no pattern and no air activity related to the North Pole in any of these sightings.

Please continue to report what you see. We will do our best to confirm whether or not what you are seeing is North Pole connected. So far this week, none of what is being reported can by confirmed by North Pole Flight Command.

Elfie Selfies Wanted

Hello Sector 5,

I’ve been doing some research here, just comparing where we are now to this same date a year ago.

We are actually ahead in our elf count – more elves this year than last year by about 2%. We have an increase of 16% in freelance elves and a drop, actually, of North Pole tracker elves of about 3%.

I’m not worried about that. We’ll top out better than 30 million total elves by the time Santa takes off.

What I’m a little concerned about is that we are down on roof reports by about 8%. I know we’ll see a rush over the next few weeks, so I’ll just keep an eye on it for now. But if you’re new and have not yet sent in a roof report, please do so.

By the way, a shout out to all those great elves on the Elf Wall helping all the new elves out. You’re doing a great job and I thank  you!

Also, I’m working on putting up photos of as many of our Sector 5 elves as we can. I have a big wall inside the Tracking Center here in Minnesota that I’m putting Elfie Selfies on so our team here knows what you all look like.

If you haven’t done so already, can you please send in a selfie so we can add your smiling face to our wall? Here’s the form to send it in.

Thanks!

Santa is on the Move

Elf Rolf beat me to it! I was on the call with Elf Crash as well. He’s asking elves in Sectors 3 and 5 to be on alert and to send in a weather report ASAP.

We don’t know the hour of Santa’s flight back to the North Pole. But we do know that Flight Command is going all kinds of crazy trying to get things lined up for his return.

This storm is dangerous. The landing will be the most important part of this trip.

We don’t know exactly where Santa is today. Have you seen him?

It’s clear, however, that his return flight to the North Pole later tonight will go through either Sector 3 or Sector 5.

Let’s support the effort to get him home safely.

Stand by for additional news or instruction today.  Anything could happen.

Thanks.

What All Elves Should Be Doing Right Now

Hi Elves!

Crash here – if you are new and you don’t know me, my name is Elf Crash Murphy and I’m the International Director of Santa Trackers. We makes me, more or less, the Head Elf, YOUR Head Elf, your boss’ boss. In my humble way, I’m here to tell ya what to do.

Now, if you follow along at SantaUpdate.com – and you should – then you likely know me from my North Pole Radio News reports as that guy who follows Santa every Christmas Eve and gives out news reports. That’s my Christmas Eve job, and it makes me, well, some people like to call me, the Ultimate Santa Tracker.

Anyway, if you’re new and don’t know what to do, relax. We’ll get you trained. There are lots of elves here to help you.

Right now and for the next five weeks or so we will be getting lots of new elves. There’s always mass confusion because a new elf wants to do everything. They want to tell other elves what to do, they want every elf job out there and they want to ride with Santa on his sleigh.

Well, again, relax. Ain’t none of that is going to happen because you are a new elf. And you have to learn to be the tracker elf you are before you get to do any of that stuff.

So, relax! We’ve all been there. Once upon a time we were all new elves.

So what should you be doing? Glad you asked!

I got together with all the Elf Supervisors and made this list. I’m banning the posting of news until at least the first part of next week (Monday, November 25th), so that you can catch up with the following things:

  1. If you are a freelance elf, READ EVERYTHING. Then send in your first freelance elf reportIn that first report I want you to just give us a status on yourself and your availability to track Santa for Santa up until Christmas Eve.
  2. If you are a North Pole elf and a member here of the Elf Community here at SantaTrackers.net, I want you to first get your profile set. You should put the word “Elf” in front of your name on your profile. You should have an avatar that represents YOU. And you should have a cover photo, which is placed behind your avatar on your profile. There are lots of elves and tutorials on the site to help you get this done.
  3. Then, no matter what kind of elf you are, I want you to go read everything at Elf University. Learn your Sector. Figure out who your Elf Supervisor is. You are tracking Santa for Santa – that means you will be communicating with the North Pole through your tracker reports. Take all this really seriously and learn how to do it FAST.
  4. Find the page to Santa Tracker Radio – and listen to it. It’s great. On December 23rd you’re all going to be listening to it because that’s when North Pole Radio News broadcasts the Tracking Santa around the World radio show. It’s very famous and you’ll hear me on there now and then.
  5. Then go listen to a few past episodes of the Santa Tracker Podcast. New episodes will be coming out soon and you will need to know where to find them. The older episodes all have great information about how to be a tracker elf.

Now let me give you some stuff NOT to do:

  1. Don’t tell others what to do. Elf Moe is just itching to ban elves who don’t belong here because they get a big head because they’re an elf. We don’t do that. BE NICE.
  2. If you’re new, don’t even think of trying to get an additional elf job unless Elf Sandy Claus in Elf Resources says you can apply for something. Most jobs require a lot of points and at least one year of service. So if you’re new, you won’t get any of the jobs being posted.
  3. Don’t give up. Being an elf is not easy. Lots of other elves here will help you. You will get it and Santa needs you.

Ok, now let me just ask our veteran elves who have been here more than a year to do a few things:

  1. If there are new jobs posted by Elf Sandy Claus, please consider applying for them.
  2. Please help the new elves in everyway you can.
  3. Please help new elves you know to sign up at SantaTrackers.net. We need more GOOD elves.
  4. Participate in the Elf Parade next week by submitting pictures of your costume and how you dress up your bike, trike, scooter, etc.
  5. Make sure you are up to date on your reports.
  6. Watch the skies for flying sleighs. There are LOTS of them out there right now (watch the News at NorthPoleFlightCommand.com and SantaUpdate.com for more on that)
  7. Elf Supes are going to ask for pictures of your Christmas trees soon. Just a heads up.

Ok, you got questions? Ask them in the comments below.

Thank you, Elves.