Chat with Elf Roger Star
Elf Roger Star, head elf at North Pole Flight Command, was our guest in North Pole Chat. In this wide ranging conversation Roger discloses some of the work done by North Pole Flight Command that we did not previously know about. Here is the transcript of that conversation:
| Elf Ernest | You should be all set, Frank |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thanks, Elf Ernest |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Folks, we’ll begin our chat with Elf Roger Star at the Top of the Hour. |
| Elf Ulan | Hello, Elf Roger! |
| Elf Ulan | Hello, Elf Ernest! |
| Elf Ulan | Hello, Elf Frank! |
| Roger Star | Greetings! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Hello |
| Elf Ulan | How’s the weather today? |
| Roger Star | It is cold here today |
| Elf Ulan | Cold, is it snowy? |
| Roger Star | Just windy and cold. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Hello everyone, cloaked and uncloaked. My name is Elf Frank Myrrh of North Pole Radio News. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Today we are chatting with Elf Roger Star, new head of North Pole Flight Command. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Elf Roger Star is known to most of you. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | He was recently promoted. Formally he was the International Director of Santa Trackers. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | We will be chatting today about his change of jobs, the search for Santa and news of tracking Santa for Christmas 2023. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | As is our custom, I will open with a brief discussion with Roger before opening up the chat to questions. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Elf Roger, Thank you for being with us today. |
| Roger Star | Thank you, Frank. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Roger, it’s been a big year for you and yet we have not yet heard from you since last Christmas. How are you? |
| Roger Star | I am well. I’m a busier elf, if you can believe that. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I can believe that. How has life changed for you? |
| Roger Star | North Pole Flight Command is the largest department at the North Pole. I am still spending time learning about everything we do. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Any surprises? |
| Roger Star | Oh yes. It is much bigger than I ever thought it to be. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | What do you mean by bigger? |
| Roger Star | There are a lot more elves in a lot more places all around the world. Stuff I never knew about. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Secret stuff? |
| Roger Star | There is some secret stuff I didn’t know about. But mostly things I never thought about before that affect Santa’s flight and, well, the support it takes for him to be Santa |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Is this the kind of thing our site visitors need to know about? |
| Roger Star | Not really. It’s just interesting. I’m enjoying learning about it all. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Roger, we have a question from our email about Santa’s flight plan. How does that come about? |
| Roger Star | It is a process. We take Santa’s notes from last year, and all the data we are collecting from the test flights, and all the wishlist data we get from Elf Hugo’s team, and all the production info we get from Elf Bernard’s team – and stuff really from many departments |
| Roger Star | And we kind of mash it all together based on what we know, then we begin to talk timelines |
| Roger Star | We meet about this several times a month |
| Roger Star | Santa joins the discussions, sometimes he doesn’t |
| Roger Star | By the time Santa flies on Christmas Eve there is a rough plan of where he will go first, and then that is married with current weather data |
| Roger Star | And from that we come up with a plan….which Santa mostly ignores |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | He ignores all that?!!! |
| Roger Star | Well, maybe that’s not the way to put it. |
| Roger Star | He adjusts. Eventually, where Santa goes, when and why, is up to him |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I see. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Folks, if you have questions for Elf Roger, please feel free to speak up! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How are the test flights going and what’s your role in that process? |
| Elf Ulan | (Thank you, Elf Roger, it’s hot and humid here. I hope we could mix them!) |
| Roger Star | The flights are going smoothly. Very smoothly. |
| Roger Star | Elf Ulan, I hope it cools down for you soon. I hear it is warm in many places. |
| Elf Ulan | Elf Roger, what did Santa ignore? Weather reports? |
| Roger Star | Frank, my role in the test flights is kind of supervisory. There are lots of elves involved in it. I kind of let them bring ideas and plans to me and I sign off on them |
| Roger Star | I didn’t mean to say that Santa ignores anything. That’s not really accurate. We were talking about his Christmas Eve flight plan and all those who work on it. Santa ultimately decides where he goes and when he goes there. |
| Elf Ulan | I hope so too, Elf Roger, and it make you warm too! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Last year the test flights had a lot of issues. This year we are hearing very little news about them. |
| Roger Star | The test flights are going so smoothly there is little news to report, Frank. I’d say based on current data the flights are about 3 months ahead of schedule. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | 3 months! Wow. What does that exactly mean? |
| Roger Star | Well, like everything the new sleigh for Santa every year follows a checklist. And it is three months ahead on that list. Where we hoped to be by mid-October is actually where we are right now. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Holy smokes. Does that mean the test flights will end early? |
| Roger Star | I don’t really know the answer to that. That is a call Santa would make after reviewing things. |
| Roger Star | And as you know Santa isn’t around to really do that right now. |
| Elf Ulan | Okay, so Santa going his way means that one of them chose the old sleigh too? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I was going to ask you about the search for Santa. Is his absence affecting you much? |
| Roger Star | Yes, Elf Ulan. Santa was presented with many options and he chose a sleigh last year that surprised a lot of people. |
| Roger Star | Santa’s absence has so far not affected us much. He customarily is not involved a ton in the test flights of the sleigh, Frank. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How deep is Flight Command in the search for Santa? |
| Roger Star | Well, we have been charged, like many other departments, in the exercise of trying to find him. |
| Roger Star | And it makes sense. |
| Elf Ulan | Yeah, we were surprised about that too. And his flight made the fastest flight then! |
| Roger Star | We are the lead tracker of Santa and in case of an emergency on Christmas Eve we would be the first responder in case of an emergency. |
| Roger Star | Yes, Elf Ulan. Last year we learned a lot of important lessons. At the end of the day, Santa can pilot any kind of sleigh under any kind of circumstances and still get the job done. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So what exactly is flight command doing right now to find Santa? |
| Elf Ulan | I thought the test flight live map is related to Santa’s walkabout so far. What do you think? |
| Roger Star | Elf Ulan, we don’t have any clear intelligence right now about Santa’s present location. So we are following a set plan for the test flights. If we receive direction from Elf Agent X and other leading authorities based on known information about Santa’s location we might move the activity of the test flights. |
| Roger Star | Our role right now in the search for Santa is to help respond to those who are leading the search – sending sleighs and resources to places around the world to aid in the search. We do gather information world wide from elves and believers who think they have seen Santa |
| Roger Star | We work with Elf Agent X to direct resources helping in the search |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | We have heard that the North Pole Navy has been engaged in this effort too. Do you or Flight Command have anything to do with the navy? |
| Roger Star | Yes, the North Pole Navy, funny as it sounds, is a sub-department of North Pole Flight Command. They have a council of Admirals, and they report to me. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Yes, that’s weird – how does a naval fleet fall under the direction of a Flight Operational group? |
| Roger Star | Their job, like ours, is ultimately to support the mission of Santa. |
| Elf Ulan | Okay, Elf Buck said the pilot can pick Santa up within 30 minutes of where he is. So I thought that he is safe. |
| Roger Star | Much of what we do in that effort, especially on Christmas Eve, is to support Santa’s flight. |
| Roger Star | Yes, Elf Ulan. Santa is safe. We have the North Pole Navy, as well as sleigh port bases around the world, at the ready for a call at any time to pick up Santa if he is found. |
| Roger Star | That’s part of this search for Santa thing. It is a test of our readiness. |
| Elf Ulan | That’s amazing system! |
| Roger Star | We are charged with handling that part of training. Elf Agent X leads the investigation and he would tell us GO if we need to head somewhere to get Santa |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | It must take a lot of planning to put sleighs and elves in place to be able to do that. |
| Roger Star | Yes, Frank. That is part of the reason why North Pole Flight Command is such a large department. |
| Elf Ulan | I understand it! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Roger, when the outside world looks at the North Pole I think they tend to look at Santa’s Workshop or maybe Santa’s Reindeer first. Does it bother you that Flight Command doesn’t get much attention? |
| Roger Star | Goodness, no. We have a job to do. I kind of feel bad for departments like Reindeer Operations some times. They are so famous and get so much attention that I think it puts a lot of pressure on them. We don’t have time for that. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Pressure? What do you mean? |
| Elf Ulan | I have another question |
| Roger Star | Well, think of Rudolph. The guy was made famous through a story, then a song, then countless movies. Everyone wants to meet Rudolph. Then, on Christmas Eve, Reindeer Operations has to get him and the other reindeer ready |
| Roger Star | They have to perform at a high level, they can’t make mistakes. |
| Roger Star | Everything they do is reported by you and the other news elves. |
| Roger Star | Then you mix in the fact that he gets letters, and people have questions. Those Reindeer Operations elves have to deal with all that. |
| Roger Star | Nobody knows who we are in flight command. We operate without all that stuff. |
| Roger Star | Go ahead Elf Ulan. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Yes, Elf Ulan, what’s your question? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | We’ll wrap up with that as we’re about out of time. |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you! The capital city in my country was Sector 2 in the FC last christmas |
| Roger Star | Japan is right on the line between Sector 1 and Sector 2. |
| Elf Ulan | So they said go to bed to Sector 2, but Santa already left at least my area tgan |
| Roger Star | This actually gets talked about a lot in Flight Command |
| Roger Star | Getting people to focus on time zones within each sector is always a challenge. |
| Roger Star | Santa usually directs us to set 10pm local time as a target for bedtime. This can shift based on local customs |
| Roger Star | So it might be earlier or later, depending on a variety of factors. |
| Roger Star | We will try to make Japan and the direction for that country a little more clear and accurate this year |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Max wants to know if you’ll be up for a chat at SantaTrackers.net some time |
| Elf Ulan | Yeah, Santa was so fast last Christmas, it was easier than 10 pm |
| Roger Star | Sure, Frank. We can swing that. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thank you, Elf Roger, for being with us today and answering our questions |
| Roger Star | Always a pleasure, Frank. Elf Ulan, thank you for being here too |
| Roger Star | Goodbye everyone! |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Roger and Elf Frank! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thank you Elf Ulan! |
| Elf Ulan | Goodbye and see you soon! |
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Thank you, Elf Winslow! Thank you, Elf Roger! I learned how much the North Pole Flight Command is huge and how much he manages each department well. He’s wonderful and thoughtful to us! I’m happy to learn about how the elves work for Santa, and also I’m delighted to work together as a tracker elf. I wish I could help more for Santa like you all in the future! XD