WEBVTT

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- [Narrator] Welcome to St. Thomas, where this barge

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is an artery for much needed assets, supplies and personnel,

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who sail to the island of St. John daily.

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^- It's so far away, but close to us.

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- [Narrator] For over a month Gibson and a team

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of Virgin Islands National Guard Soldiers

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have witnessed the destruction left

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by hurricanes Irma and Maria,

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on two different Caribbean islands,

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the physical and the emotional.

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^- So we're all adapting, adapting is the word, you know.

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- Gibson and her team navigate to one of two points

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of distribution, where line of

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over 400 people need help adapting.

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^- We have no choice, what we get, we, we eat.

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^We satisfied.

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- [Narrator] Guard members distribute multiple conex's

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worth of tarps for homes, non-perishables,

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boxed water, and other rations.

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They also have time to raise hopes.

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- Hello! I know one bridge, one umbrella.

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- [Narrator] Meanwhile, back on the island

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of St. Thomas a creek has formed in this roadway.

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It's deemed unsafe, just like a number of structures.

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^- Over here, it's hills falling down.

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- Out here on the island of St. Thomas

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some drivers are literally hitting a cross road.

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While some roadways are passable,

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other drivers are being stopped in their tracks.

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- So much vegetation, and the large pieces really needed

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^to be cut down, because that was the only way

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^that we could actually move them, to get them

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^into the trucks, to get them out and cleared from the area.

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- [Narrator] While power crews work from above,

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National Guard engineers and carpenters clear road ways

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alongside civilian counterparts down below.

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And not too far away are National Guard MP's,

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ensuring no one gets hurt.

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^- If we wasn't here, there'd probably be a lot more wrecks.

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- [Narrator] It's all part of a daily joint effort,

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civilians and military personnel working for the same goal.

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- Now I'm seeing a lotta men.

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- [Narrator] Reporting on assignment in the Virgin Islands,

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I'm technical sergeant Arthur Montel Ray, DC National Guard.