WEBVTT 00:06.409 --> 00:08.576 It's very rewarding to be able to come 00:08.576 --> 00:10.798 up here . Flexibility is definitely the 00:10.798 --> 00:13.020 name of the game . But once you make it 00:13.020 --> 00:12.619 to a school and you're able to actually 00:12.630 --> 00:14.890 hand that toy over to that child who 00:15.109 --> 00:17.276 given this the conditions up here , it 00:17.276 --> 00:19.498 just , it makes a huge difference to be 00:19.498 --> 00:21.553 able to hand that toy to a child and 00:21.553 --> 00:23.665 see their face light up . Nothing can 00:23.665 --> 00:25.720 really describe it . So the hardship 00:25.720 --> 00:27.887 being in the cold and operating in the 00:27.887 --> 00:29.998 Arctic completely is made up once you 00:29.998 --> 00:33.580 see that kid's face light up . Yes . 00:34.729 --> 00:36.951 My name is Captain Michael mcdonald , a 00:36.951 --> 00:39.409 military police officer and the current 00:39.419 --> 00:41.490 inspector , instructor for Anchorage 00:41.500 --> 00:43.611 Alaska . We are the Alaskan Marines , 00:43.611 --> 00:45.778 the only Marine Corps unit in Alaska . 00:48.189 --> 00:50.356 So for the past two weeks , we flew up 00:50.360 --> 00:52.582 from Anchorage Alaska into Coats View , 00:52.720 --> 00:54.776 which is within the Arctic Circle in 00:54.776 --> 00:56.664 northern Alaska called the Arctic 00:56.664 --> 00:58.664 borough . And there's about a dozen 00:58.664 --> 01:00.831 villages spread across the borough and 01:00.831 --> 01:02.831 we've been traveling via snowmobile 01:02.831 --> 01:04.831 delivering toys for toys for Tots . 01:04.831 --> 01:07.300 This is the 76 year for the Toys for 01:07.309 --> 01:09.830 Tots program for the Arctic remote 01:09.839 --> 01:11.783 delivery for Alaska . It's been in 01:11.783 --> 01:12.783 about 20 years . 01:18.220 --> 01:20.053 So the logistical challenges for 01:20.053 --> 01:22.220 delivery to toys , especially out here 01:22.220 --> 01:24.164 in Alaska are pretty significant . 01:24.164 --> 01:25.998 Kosher Tots happens all over the 01:25.998 --> 01:28.109 country in most major cities in every 01:28.109 --> 01:30.331 state . But unique to Alaska is that we 01:30.331 --> 01:32.989 fly over 500 miles up north from 01:33.000 --> 01:35.529 Anchorage into the Arctic . So as you 01:35.540 --> 01:38.080 can imagine any challenges in an Arctic 01:38.089 --> 01:40.529 environment , extreme cold weather down 01:40.540 --> 01:42.596 to a negative 20 negative 30 degrees 01:42.596 --> 01:44.809 high winds , snow . It just makes it 01:44.819 --> 01:46.949 very challenging to push supplies up 01:46.959 --> 01:49.070 here . And then we go from village to 01:49.070 --> 01:50.959 village via the snow machine . So 01:50.959 --> 01:53.070 there's a lot of planning that has to 01:53.070 --> 01:52.169 go into that . 01:56.980 --> 01:58.980 Hey , so tempting to go through the 01:58.980 --> 02:01.147 overflow right here and up this hill , 02:01.800 --> 02:03.967 we need a lot of momentum to get these 02:03.967 --> 02:06.379 heavier sleds up . Uh There just wasn't 02:06.389 --> 02:08.556 enough momentum with the way the , the 02:08.556 --> 02:11.720 trail had been groomed and it's just , 02:11.729 --> 02:14.380 it's proving difficult to uh to get it 02:14.389 --> 02:15.389 going . 02:18.419 --> 02:20.530 Some of the challenges with traveling 02:20.530 --> 02:22.419 via snow machine , exposed to the 02:22.419 --> 02:24.419 elements , with the wind , the high 02:24.419 --> 02:26.530 rate of speed , the the terrain . One 02:26.530 --> 02:28.752 of the biggest things that we've had to 02:28.752 --> 02:30.863 work to plan towards is getting local 02:30.863 --> 02:33.030 guides to , to lead us from village to 02:33.030 --> 02:34.975 village . Nothing can replace that 02:34.975 --> 02:37.252 person who's lived here . Grew up here , 02:37.252 --> 02:37.199 knows the terrain regardless of the 02:37.210 --> 02:39.043 snow and , and different weather 02:39.043 --> 02:40.766 conditions to lead us around . 02:44.470 --> 02:46.526 I think one of the biggest takeaways 02:46.526 --> 02:48.637 from this mission overall is just the 02:48.637 --> 02:50.637 logistical challenge . And that's I 02:50.637 --> 02:52.692 think one of the biggest values from 02:52.692 --> 02:54.581 this mission going forward is the 02:54.581 --> 02:56.748 mobilization of Gideon Marines up into 02:56.748 --> 02:58.692 the Arctic , being able to network 02:58.692 --> 03:00.748 cross the dod and operate truly as a 03:00.748 --> 03:02.803 joint force . This is more than just 03:02.803 --> 03:04.914 the Alaskan Marines . This is a whole 03:04.914 --> 03:07.248 Marine Corps effort to make this happen . 03:07.248 --> 03:06.850 There's just a ton of value for 03:06.860 --> 03:08.089 continuing this year to year .