(CNN) The US Air Force shattered the magic of Christmas for millions of children Wednesday by publicly denying the existence of Santa Claus on its official Twitter account, before eventually retracting the controversial statement.

A full two months ahead of the winter holiday, the Air Force invoked Santa Claus -- a magical figure who runs a toy factory from the North Pole -- in an attempt to mediate a Twitter feud between two of its bases.

Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota had been trading barbs over the merits of their respective fleets when the official Air Force Twitter account stepped in with a stern warning.

"We didn't want to have to do this, but if you 2 can't get along we must...Santa will bring you nothing this year...becuase [sic] he isn't real!" the Air Force tweeted.

We didn't want to have to do this, but if you 2 can't get along we must...Santa will bring you nothing this year...becuase he isn't real! — U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) October 25, 2017

The Air Force also threatened to take away the bases' television privileges for a week.