WEBVTT

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Assateague Island , a national treasure

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known for its wild horses and pristine

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beaches , recently received a helping

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hand from an unexpected source , the

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Air National Guard . For

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weeks , Air National Guard engineers

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from across the country converged on

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this coastal barrier island , not for a

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traditional military mission , but to

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hone their skills and build critical

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infrastructure for the Fish and

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Wildlife Service . This wasn't just

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about building a road and a parking lot .

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It was about building proficiency . The

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project provided invaluable hands-on

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experience that is typically

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unobtainable at a normal Air National

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Guard installation . Like a traditional

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drill weekend , you might hop in some

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of this equipment you'd start it up ,

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do your your PMCS's and and maybe . Uh ,

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drive it a little bit , but you're not

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really operating the equipment the way

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that it's intended . So this gives an

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opportunity for , uh , specific

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airfields to come out and get necessary

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training on equipment like , you know ,

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dozers and excavators and graders . On

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top of the incredible training

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experience the guardsmen received ,

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this specific deployment for training

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provides a substantial financial relief .

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The fish and wildlife had a , a large

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budget . That um they needed to shrink

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down so by reducing the scope of the

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project , um , what they're adding to

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it and then bringing in the Air

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National Guard , they were able to get

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it down to a manageable level . The

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newly constructed roads will improve

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access for park rangers . Emergency

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services and visitors alike .

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Additionally , this project exemplifies

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the Air National Guard's commitment to

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developing multi-capable airmen ready

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to respond to a variety of challenges

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both at home and abroad . I think BLM

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will just do a project like this state

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side in this kind of area , um , to

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this scope also being able to add in

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our prime beef brothers and sisters ,

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letting them operate equipment that

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they don't get to use , um , is

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invaluable because when we deploy ,

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when you , you fall into that multi

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capable airmen , and when the job's

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gotta get done , it doesn't matter what

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your career field is , it doesn't

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matter what organization you belong to .

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If they need somebody to do something

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they're gonna ask you to do it so this

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provides an opportunity to get training

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in that so that when you do get asked ,

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you're not completely blind to what

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you're about to do . The Assatea Island

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project is a win-win . The Fish and

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Wildlife Service , as well as the

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National Park Service receives much

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needed infrastructure improvements and

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the Air National Guard engineers gain

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invaluable experience . This project

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also had a minimal impact on the

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wildlife refuge and tourism during the

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island's busiest time of the year . 1.4

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million visitors a year come here . Um ,

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they spend for this town of 3000 people ,

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they spend about $45 million . Revenue

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is what this town takes in . Obviously

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we don't want to take away from the

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town as we're constructing all this ,

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so we work different times of the day .

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We minimize our interaction with

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getting people in and out of the park

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here . The original beach access is ,

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is staying open throughout the entirety

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of this project until it's completed .

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Part of the reason they're doing this

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is that beach is moving anywhere from

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between 10 and 15 ft . Mother Nature is

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pushing it inland every year , so it's

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costing fish and wildlife roughly

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$400,000 to maintain a parking area for

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the public . Um , every time a storm

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comes in and knocks it out , they've

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got to shut down the access that

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obviously impacts the town . How many

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people can come here and spend their

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money and enjoy this area . So , uh ,

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minimizing that as much as we can is

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one of the main goals . Reporting from

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Shinkatigue Island , Virginia . I'm

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Senior Master Sergeant Brian Hoover .