Members of North American Aerospace Defense Command are gearing up to track Santa Claus’ travels on Christmas Eve, providing detailed information about his whereabouts on the command’s Web site and through a toll-free telephone line.

When Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor, first took notice of this flight in the 1950s, their concern was rapidly eased when they discovered that Santa brings good everywhere he goes. NORAD’s system to track Santa has evolved over the years, refined through the use of radar systems, satellite sensors and communications and interactive information technologies in order to precisely, at any time along his flight, identify his location.

The NORAD elves are looking forward to tracking Santa again this year from 4 a.m. Christmas Eve through 4 a.m. Christmas Day. Details of his progress will be posted on the command’s Web site at www.noradsanta.org so that at any time in this process, anyone can find out where Santa is and when he should arrive in their area. In addition, children can call the NORAD hotline toll-free at (877) HI-NORAD to check up on Santa in six different languages.

The Santa-tracking public relations mission dates back to 1955, after an ad in a local newspaper printed an incorrect number for Santa Claus that sent callers to Continental Air Defense Command’s operations center. Its commander, Col. Harry Shoup, started the tradition of tracking Santa, a mission NORAD assumed in 1958. Last year, the command’s Santa-tracking Web site received more than 941-million page views from 210 countries and territories, NORAD officials reported. In addition, 756 volunteers answered more than 65,000 calls to the toll-free phone line.

Claims delays spur suit

Two veterans groups, the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Veterans of Modern Warfare, are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over what they call unacceptable delays in processing veterans’ claims.

The lawsuit demands that the VA provide an initial decision on every claim for disability benefits within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days, and seeks relief to provide a lifeline of interim benefits if the VA delays last beyond the limit.

For more information, visit the Veterans of Modern Warfare Web site at www.modernveterans.com/vmw.html and the Vietnam Veterans of America Web site www.vva.org.

Meanwhile, in an move unrelated to the lawsuit, the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs have announced the expansion of the Disability Evaluation System (DES) pilot program at 19 military installations across the country, representing all military departments, which will include one medical examination and a single-sourced disability rating.

The pilot program will eliminate the duplicative, time-consuming and often confusing elements of the two current disability processes of the two departments. The pilot has been activated at Fort Meade, Md., and Fort Belvoir, Va., and the remaining 17 installations will initiate the process during a seven-month period through May 2009.

Free survival guide

Veterans for America has released its free American Veterans and Servicemembers Survival Guide. The 28-chapter guide, in pdf format, is available for download at www.veteransforamerica.org/survival-guide/survival-guide-download.

The new Survival Guide is a follow-up to the 1985 national bestseller, The Viet Vet Survival Guide, and covers the benefits, assistance and resources available as well as giving step-by-step directions for navigating the government agencies that serve our troops and veterans.

My HealtheVet

The My HealtheVet program on the VA Web site — www.myhealth.va.gov — is a gateway to VA benefits and resources that helps veterans understand and manage all aspects of their health. It provides reliable information, many links to health information to build the quality of a veteran’s life, and other tools, such as online medication refill requests and links to health-care providers and treatment facilities.

• Italian American War Veterans

The department’s monthly meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in conference room 1 of the VA Medical Center at 830 Chalkstone Ave. in Providence.

• Veterans of Foreign Wars

At 8 a.m. on Christmas, the department will visit the patients at the VA Medical Center.

Send meeting notices and veterans’ news items to George W. Reilly at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or write to The Veterans’ Journal Column at The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.