WEBVTT 00:24.389 --> 00:26.611 I'm Captain Michael McDonald . I am the 00:26.611 --> 00:28.611 inspector instructor for Detachment 00:28.611 --> 00:30.500 Delta Company 4th Law Enforcement 00:30.500 --> 00:32.611 battalion in Anchorage , Alaska . The 00:32.611 --> 00:34.778 Toys for Tots Alaska mission is pretty 00:34.778 --> 00:36.833 unique . Um , every state across the 00:36.833 --> 00:38.833 country does Toys for Tots . It's a 00:38.833 --> 00:41.056 foundation that works specifically with 00:41.056 --> 00:43.278 the Marine Corps , so most Marines have 00:43.278 --> 00:45.333 taken part in a Toys for Tots , uh , 00:45.333 --> 00:47.389 event of donating toys or delivering 00:47.389 --> 00:49.611 toys , but specifically for Alaska . We 00:49.611 --> 00:51.722 actually go up all the way to the far 00:51.722 --> 00:53.833 north in the Arctic Circle to deliver 00:53.833 --> 00:56.000 the toys by hand to the native Alaskan 00:56.000 --> 00:58.111 villages . Uh , we do so with C-130 , 00:58.111 --> 01:00.167 so , uh , Marine Corps heavy airlift 01:00.167 --> 01:02.330 out of Hawaii . We'll fly up from uh 01:02.330 --> 01:04.441 Jaber , the joint base in Anchorage , 01:04.441 --> 01:06.274 Alaska , all the way up into the 01:06.274 --> 01:08.330 different Arctic boroughs across the 01:08.330 --> 01:10.330 Arctic Circle and , uh , travel via 01:10.330 --> 01:12.470 snowmobile to the villages to deliver 01:12.470 --> 01:14.303 the toys . Uh , we'll take turns 01:14.303 --> 01:16.389 dressing up as Santa and go , uh , 01:16.400 --> 01:18.567 school to school and actually pass out 01:18.567 --> 01:20.678 the toys to all the native children . 01:21.199 --> 01:23.477 When the Marines come every every year , 01:23.477 --> 01:25.699 which they've done for the past 20 plus 01:25.699 --> 01:27.866 years , and they bring a brand new toy 01:27.866 --> 01:30.088 to that kid , it absolutely makes their 01:30.088 --> 01:31.921 entire year . We we've seen some 01:31.921 --> 01:33.810 awesome examples of a little girl 01:33.810 --> 01:36.239 getting a brand new stuffed animal or a 01:36.239 --> 01:38.800 young boy getting a Nerf gun , and the 01:38.800 --> 01:40.959 smile on their face , it's hard to 01:40.959 --> 01:43.181 describe . It's just absolutely awesome 01:43.181 --> 01:45.292 to be able to bring . Uh , joy to the 01:45.292 --> 01:47.237 kids , uh , and it's great for the 01:47.237 --> 01:49.459 community as well . The whole community 01:49.459 --> 01:51.681 gets involved . They'll look forward to 01:51.681 --> 01:51.260 it , um , every single year . It's just 01:51.260 --> 01:53.316 a great chance to give back and show 01:53.316 --> 01:55.427 another side of the Marine Corps that 01:55.427 --> 01:57.649 they're , they're not typically used to 01:57.649 --> 02:00.419 seeing . My name is Veronica Ferguson . 02:00.489 --> 02:03.379 I'm a secretary here at June Nelson 02:03.379 --> 02:06.809 Elementary School in Cosby , Alaska . I 02:06.809 --> 02:09.690 feel very grateful for the opportunity 02:09.690 --> 02:12.210 that we get to have the Marines come up 02:12.210 --> 02:14.929 to Cotzebu and to our surrounding 02:14.929 --> 02:17.850 schools . Not a lot of our families are 02:17.850 --> 02:21.289 fortunate , so they have one more thing 02:21.690 --> 02:24.050 for their kids to be able to take a 02:24.050 --> 02:26.330 present home from school and to hear 02:26.330 --> 02:30.250 their child's story about how Santa and 02:30.250 --> 02:32.839 the Marines came to visit their school . 02:36.210 --> 02:40.009 Who's that ? So the 02:40.009 --> 02:41.842 Arctic environment is one of the 02:41.842 --> 02:43.898 harshest in the entire world . We've 02:43.898 --> 02:45.676 still experienced down into the 02:45.676 --> 02:48.770 negatives , -10 to -15 . Uh , when you 02:48.770 --> 02:51.889 factor in anywhere from 25 to 35 mile 02:51.889 --> 02:54.210 an hour winds , it puts the , you know , 02:54.289 --> 02:56.345 the wind chill factor well down into 02:56.345 --> 02:58.456 the negative 30s , negative 40s , and 02:58.456 --> 03:00.729 50s . Because we travel via snowmobile 03:00.729 --> 03:02.840 from village to village , uh , it can 03:02.840 --> 03:04.785 get pretty spicy . This is a great 03:04.785 --> 03:07.062 opportunity from a training standpoint , 03:07.062 --> 03:09.285 you know , torts aside . The logistical 03:09.285 --> 03:10.951 movement , the planning , the 03:10.951 --> 03:12.951 contingency building , uh , the way 03:12.951 --> 03:14.896 that we prep uh and train for this 03:14.896 --> 03:17.007 mission , uh , just brings tremendous 03:17.007 --> 03:19.173 value to the Marine Corps as a whole . 03:21.580 --> 03:23.358 My name is Tanner Baird . I'm a 03:23.358 --> 03:25.580 technical sergeant in the United States 03:25.580 --> 03:27.524 Air Force . I'm security forces by 03:27.524 --> 03:29.636 trade , uh , but through training and 03:29.636 --> 03:31.858 stuff like that , I currently work with 03:31.858 --> 03:31.699 the 11th Air Force Arch Resiliency 03:31.699 --> 03:33.866 Training as a non-commissioned officer 03:33.866 --> 03:36.088 in charge of the training program . The 03:36.088 --> 03:38.255 initial conversation happened with two 03:38.255 --> 03:40.477 of our other defenders , Staff Sergeant 03:40.477 --> 03:42.532 Smith and Cron Fuller , they started 03:42.532 --> 03:44.643 linking those together . Uh , through 03:44.643 --> 03:46.810 talks and conversations with Catherine 03:46.810 --> 03:49.032 McDonald , they , uh , said , well , we 03:49.032 --> 03:51.088 actually have a guy who works in the 03:51.088 --> 03:53.310 Arctic environment and teaches survival 03:53.310 --> 03:55.366 skills . Uh , they reached out to me 03:55.366 --> 03:57.255 via email . I said , would you be 03:57.255 --> 03:57.059 interested ? I said , Well , when , 03:57.229 --> 03:59.285 when do you guys have a meeting ? We 03:59.285 --> 04:01.396 had a meeting coming up here in a few 04:01.396 --> 04:01.270 days . Uh , you should be there . I 04:01.270 --> 04:03.789 said , OK . So I showed up , uh , just 04:03.789 --> 04:06.011 kind of listening to the conversation , 04:06.011 --> 04:08.122 and they said , How would you feel to 04:08.122 --> 04:10.289 join us for this joint Toys for Tots ? 04:10.289 --> 04:09.860 I was sold the moment I heard we're 04:09.860 --> 04:12.138 going in the Arctic Circle . They said , 04:12.138 --> 04:14.193 This is what I do for a living . I'm 04:14.193 --> 04:13.750 excited . And , uh , we were able to 04:13.750 --> 04:15.917 work out through all the kinks to have 04:15.917 --> 04:17.583 us come along , and it's been 04:17.583 --> 04:18.750 absolutely amazing . 04:21.940 --> 04:23.718 The reason that we were able to 04:23.718 --> 04:26.500 accomplish um this mission up here so 04:26.500 --> 04:28.444 successfully is because we had all 04:28.444 --> 04:30.609 those outside entities that just made 04:30.609 --> 04:32.820 us better as a whole , you know , like 04:32.820 --> 04:35.320 we have take Sergeant Bur that is also , 04:35.450 --> 04:37.617 you know , in the Air Force , but he's 04:37.617 --> 04:39.920 all he does Monday to Friday is teach 04:39.920 --> 04:41.976 how to survive in the cold weather , 04:41.976 --> 04:43.920 having that knowledge , you know , 04:43.920 --> 04:45.920 passed down to us so when you split 04:45.920 --> 04:47.642 into your small teams to go to 04:47.642 --> 04:49.809 different villages . You know you have 04:49.809 --> 04:51.976 the basic uh understanding of what you 04:51.976 --> 04:53.976 need to do to survive out here so I 04:53.976 --> 04:53.809 think having that level of knowledge , 04:54.019 --> 04:56.690 the level of extra external support , 04:56.940 --> 04:59.459 uh , what they bring to the table and 04:59.459 --> 05:01.737 what we are able to do because of that , 05:01.737 --> 05:03.626 it just elevates our game for the 05:03.626 --> 05:05.959 villages and for everyone else's safety . 05:06.250 --> 05:08.472 Overall this was a great mission . Very 05:08.472 --> 05:10.528 proud of each one of the Marines and 05:10.528 --> 05:12.694 the airmen that we had along with us , 05:12.694 --> 05:14.750 just performed exceptionally well in 05:14.750 --> 05:16.917 this austere environment . It it tests 05:16.917 --> 05:19.028 you , myself included . Every time we 05:19.028 --> 05:21.194 come up here , it really forces you to 05:21.194 --> 05:23.361 reach deep inside yourself to pull out 05:23.361 --> 05:25.417 that courage and that resiliency and 05:25.417 --> 05:27.472 that grit to make it through . These 05:27.472 --> 05:26.855 these tough conditions . It's the first 05:26.855 --> 05:29.077 time in a long time that we've actually 05:29.077 --> 05:31.022 had a joint operation of Air Force 05:31.022 --> 05:33.133 medics and security forces along with 05:33.133 --> 05:35.188 us , and they performed great and it 05:35.188 --> 05:37.434 was a great joint training exercise in 05:37.434 --> 05:39.545 operation , great opportunity for the 05:39.545 --> 05:41.767 Marines to learn , to test themselves , 05:41.767 --> 05:43.990 and also just to bring that value added 05:43.990 --> 05:43.674 training back to the Marine Corps as a 05:43.674 --> 05:43.994 whole .