SANTA MEETS STARGATE COMMAND

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 11, 2008 | by PAM ZUBECK,

During its 50 years, NORAD has captured the imagination of filmmakers and starry-eyed children.

One phone call in 1955 remade a top-secret national security mission into a whimsical vigil for travels of a jolly old soul with the power of flight.

Since a department store's "Santa hot line" misprinted phone number appeared in the local newspaper, NORAD's Santa tracking Web site has grown to be one of the most visited on the planet.

Last year, it had 8 million visitors and 28 million views from 212 countries and territories. A thousand volunteers answered 94,000 calls.

NORAD also is the stuff scifi is made of. The "Stargate" TV series sets Stargate Command beneath NORAD and featured at least three Air Force chiefs of staff.

In the 1983 film "WarGames," a teen hacks NORAD's main computer and nearly starts a "global thermonuclear war."

At home, NORAD's radar has played havoc intermittently with garage door openers in the Broadmoor area near Cheyenne Mountain since 1999.

For years, buses of people chugged up the hill for public tours inside Cheyenne Mountain.

In 1998, colonels became frustrated because the command center had to remain unclassified to accommodate tours of people whose backgrounds weren't checked.

"They all got together and said, 'We got to end this, because this is a security issue,'" said public affairs officer Army Maj. Tom Veale.

After that, only civilians sponsored by one of the four commands in the mountain were allowed on tours. That policy was "pinched down" further after Sept. 11, 2001, Veale said, although occasional tours are allowed.