WEBVTT

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(wind blowing)

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(tense music)

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- [News Announcer] It
has been upgraded back

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to where it was before, category five.

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- The strongest on the scale.

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(all yelling)

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- Take back.

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(all yelling)

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(yelling)

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- No hard feelings guys okay?

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No hard feelings, no hard feelings.

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(tense music)

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I'm Colonel Scott
Hiipakka, Brigade Commander

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of the 177th MP Brigade,
Michigan Army National Guard.

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Now we're really excited
about the opportunity

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to partner with the US Virgin Islands and

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the Air National Guard out of Mississippi

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in support of an EDRE, which
is an emergency deployment

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readiness exercise for the Michigan QRF,

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which is the Quick Reaction Force.

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It's 125+ soldiers who are citizens across

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the state of Michigan
who are coming together

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in support of a simulated category four,

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which is replicating what
happened last year in 2017

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with Hurricane Maria.

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- Hurricane Maria, I have to be honest,

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it's probably the most scared I've been.

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So in the morning, the whole
house was actually shook

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for almost 30 minutes.

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This is in a structure made
to withstand hurricanes.

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I'm Sems Lawson, prior
military person many years ago

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in the 'Nam years.

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I've had the fortune of
being here in paradise,

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and including the hurricane season.

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(sad music)

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(tense music)

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- [Soldier] How you doin' today Miss?

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- Okay.

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- [Soldier] How can I help you out?

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- I just thought the
soldiers were handsome.

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- [Soldier] I'm telling these guys.

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(guys yelling and laughing)

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(women screaming and shouting)

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(crowd shouting)

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(soldiers chanting)

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(crowd yelling)

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(people shouting)

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- Take some water, 10 minutes
we're gonna do the A-A.

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- My name's Lieutenant
Colonel Raymond J Stemitz,

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of the 177th Military Police Brigade, S3.

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At the end of it the
soldiers learned a lot,

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they gained new friends
in the Virgin Islands,

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and they validated as
Michigan's QRF of 2018.

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At the conclusion of Kirby Thunder 18,

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the exercise achieved all
the exercise objectives.

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(upbeat music)