WEBVTT

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(lively music)

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(upbeat music)

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- [Narrator] Off the Florida coast,

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an F-18 Hornet launches from a carrier.

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(jet whooshes)

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The pilot flies a training mission

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to the Navy's Pinecastle Bombing Range.

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This realistic training
ensures pilots and sailors

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will be ready when our nation needs them.

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- Aircrew can't develop
proficiency solely in a simulator.

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It's essential that they have experience

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with a fully-loaded aircraft,

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flying at different speeds
in various conditions.

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- We actually get all the
gear on, get in the jet.

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Things are loud.

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Things are happening fast.

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There's nothing that can
substitute that training.

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- We work up from dropping practice bombs

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to build that skill.

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Then we finally build up
to that live ordinance

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which really gives our pilots
confidence and competence.

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(ordinance explodes)

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- [Narrator] Training at the
Navy's Operational Ranges

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(jet whooshes)
tests and hones

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every aspect of readiness
aboard the carrier.

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- Checking the entire system

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from bomb-building to bomb-loading,

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to launching the aircraft
(jet whooshes)

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impacting the target
that they intended to hit

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at the exact time that
they wanted to hit it.

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(jet whooshes)
(ordinance explodes)

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(upbeat music)

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- [Narrator] To ensure pilots have access

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to this essential training,

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the Navy has made Range
Sustainment a top priority.

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- The goal of Range Sustainment

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is to ensure that military
training operations

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do not affect the
environment or our neighbors.

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- [Narrator] This includes
maintaining the targets

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and removing spent munitions.

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- Once the ordinance is delivered,

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we go onto the range,

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and we recover that ordinance
to be reclaimed and recycled.

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- [Narrator] Experts,

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trained in handling unexploded ordinance,

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examine each item.

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- The people that go out
and assess these munitions

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are highly trained.

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Many are ex-military.

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They know exactly what they're doing

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and how to do it properly.

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(ordinance thuds)

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- [Expert] Fire in the hole.

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Fire in the hole.

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Fire in the hole.

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- [Narrator] If any spent
munitions are determined

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to possibly contain an explosive hazard,

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the unexploded ordinance
personnel use small charges

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to neutralize the threat.

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(ordinance explodes)

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The clearance efforts include
extracting ordinance deployed

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decades before the Range
Sustainment effort began.

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- [Interviewee] Since the
inception of this program,

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the Navy has recycled millions
of pounds of material.

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- We process until they're safe.

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We even process 'em to the point

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that they don't even
look like a munitions.

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- [Narrator] Range Sustainment efforts

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at the Navy Dare Range

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include widening gravel
pads around the targets,

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making munitions easier to recover,

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and deploying new targets

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that are environmentally
friendly and easy to recycle.

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- So, when we're providing
target sets, target pads,

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everything's gotta be mitigated.

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And the first and foremost thing

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that we take into consideration

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is the environment itself

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and how this is gonna
affect the environment.

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- [Narrator] At the Pinecastle Range,

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located within the Ocala National Forest,

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the US Forest Service

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has been an essential
Range Sustainment partner.

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- Ocala National Forest holds the largest

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and one of the last
remaining contiguous pieces

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of a habitat called sand pine scrub.

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And it's a fire-adapted habitat,

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which really makes it align well

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with what the Navy's doing out there.

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- [Narrator] Munitions
dropped on the range

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have the potential to start a fire.

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If that happens,

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the fire is controlled
by the Forest Service,

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as part of ongoing forest management.

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These controlled fires, and
additional prescribed burns,

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have reduced large stands
of pine trees and underbrush

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to help prevent larger
fires from occurring.

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- Through a lot of years of
making that process work,

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we've eliminated the risk of
wildfire spread on the range.

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- [Narrator] These efforts
have actually created a haven

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for species like the
endangered Florida scrub jay

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which require fire-controlled scrub.

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- A lot of people would be quite shocked

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to find out that the
bombing range is, in fact,

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one of the best habitats

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for threatened and endange species.

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- We have a lot of good stuff going on,

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both on the training side
and also on the environmental

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and making sure we're
taking care of the land

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that we're entrusted to take care of.

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- [Narrator] Together, these efforts

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are sustaining operational ranges

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that serve both the essential
training needs of the Navy

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and the species that rely on
the habitats they contain.

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(calm music)
- I come out in the morning.

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We haven't started training yet.

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It's calm.

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It's beautiful.

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The wildlife is incredible.

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By being good stewards of the environment,

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we're able to continue
to keep this range open

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and support our war fighters

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in the short-term and the long-term.

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- [Narrator] Range sustainment,
ongoing monitoring,

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and regular assessments

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ensure the Navy continues to
have the least possible impact

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on these ranges

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and the large buffer areas
maintained around them.

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The actual impact areas are small.

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But what happens in those impact areas

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is essential to maintaining
the readiness of the Navy

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and the other military
branches that use the ranges

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(weapon rapidly fires)

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to defend America, our allies,

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and interests at home and abroad.

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- When it comes to actually
training like we fight,

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really have to get in the
aircraft and use our local ranges.

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- [Narrator] The majority
of training can take place

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with inert practice bombs,

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but pilots still need
to drop live ordinance

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to build confidence
and maintain readiness.

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- There is no substitute for live training

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in a realistic environment
to develop talent.

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- They need to be able
to face any challenge

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that they come across
in those combat zones.

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And if we do our job here

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and they can train like they fight,

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then they will train,
and they will come home.

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- One day, you get to learn how to do that

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from the aircraft carrier and
put all the pieces together,

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take off from the carrier,

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go strike a target on land,
(ordinance explodes)

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and then return to the aircraft carrier.

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So, that's the pinnacle of
what we aim to train for

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in naval aviation.
(jet whooshes)

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(upbeat music)