WEBVTT

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>> Welcome to Warroad Minnesota where the cold

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does not stop training or operations along the northern border.

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>> This morning I came to work at 5:30 in the morning and it was 32 below,

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and that was without a wind chill.

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That was the right out temperature.

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>> On tap for today, snowmobile training

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for agents assigned to the Grand Fork sector.

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>> We're doing a counter steering

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and set your track like we've been doing all week.

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And what you're gonna do,

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turn away from the hill and you're using that uphill, ski the back.

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That ski's a rudder to keep yourself...

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you're gonna make corrections at the throttle of the steering

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to keep yourself on the face of the hill and keep your line.

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>> The sled program for the Warroad Station

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and then really throughout the Grand Fork sectors is big.

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It allows us to get out and reach areas

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that we just can't with vehicles or other track machines.

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So our sled program is pretty vital to us.

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>> Today's training finds us a few miles offshore

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on Lake of the Woods along Buffalo Point.

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The ice below us is at 5-1/2 feet deep

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which allows these agents to test their skills at riding on ice

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which is the preferred method in the winter months along the northern border.

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>> So Lake of the Woods, it's a big lake.

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It borders Minnesota, Manitoba and Ontario

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so it's a vast area that can be hard to cover at times.

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But the sleds really, they really help out.

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>> With 861 miles of international border with Canada,

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snowmobiles are vital for mission accomplishment for agents in Grand Fork sector.

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During this training agents patrol the cut along the border

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which quickly changes from frozen lakes to the middle of a forest

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that can be used as cover for cross-border activities.

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>> So this cut runs along the U.S./Canada border.

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We check the fresh powder here for foot sign

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or there's a snowmobile trail right up here

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that comes and joins the cut from the Canadian side,

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anything out of the norm, human or snowmobile or ATV or what have you.

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>> The training that these agents are going through this week encompasses

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a lot of riding time and classroom work and even how to repair sleds in the field

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if one was to break down while on patrol.

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>> Compiling training into what we do, it's critical because the sleds are;

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the sleds are a huge vehicle that we use in winter.

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We're on them constantly.

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And this training just allows us to safely do it.

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>> After 8 hours of training and temperatures well below zero,

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these agents were more than happy to head back to the station today.

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Tomorrow's forecast calls for much of the same,

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below zero temperatures with a 100% chance of patrolling

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the northern border on a snowmobile.

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For CBP, I'm Christ Grogan in Warroad, Minnesota.