0:00
Hey, this week we're in Alaska, the last
0:03
frontier up here at Fort Wayne Wright.
0:06
We're going to be cooking up some really
0:07
good grub for some soldiers, touring the
0:09
garrison, and getting up close and
0:11
personal with an Apache helicopter.
0:38
in this week's episode. It's a little
0:40
different. Not going to be a recipe that
0:42
we're going to throw out there to you.
0:44
No. But we're up here at Fort Wayne in
0:47
Alaska, and we thought it'd be really
0:49
neat if y'all just followed us around
0:50
the next couple of three or four days
0:52
and see what's going on. Hey, you know,
0:54
this all started way back in January
0:56
when a good friend of ours, Delin,
0:58
reached out to us and said, "Hey, could
1:00
y'all come up here and maybe help me
1:03
boost morale, give these soldiers a
1:05
little recreational activity, but also
1:07
teach them something? Maybe how to cook
1:08
in a Dutch oven, maybe feed them a good
1:10
steak dinner." So, we decided we would
1:12
do that. This is a once-in-a-lifetime
1:14
opportunity for us to get to come up
1:16
here and do this. We hope you enjoy
1:18
because we had a blast. Now, y'all may
1:21
notice as Shan's filming along here,
1:23
you're going to see some camera crews
1:25
there in the background. Hey, this is a
1:27
little different, but hey, we have told
1:28
you big news was coming. They're filming
1:31
episodes for our new series out on the
1:33
Outdoor Channel, Castir Iron Cowboy. We
1:36
want you to be sure you tune in now.
1:38
Aired in September for the premiere.
1:40
This will come later as you're going
1:42
along. It's a little sneak peek behind
1:44
the scenes. First up here in Alaska,
2:00
We got to feed about 12 of them soldiers
2:02
as they're going to come up and do PT.
2:04
This morning, we're going to be making
2:05
mountain man breakfast for these fellas.
2:07
As I got the fire going, looked off
2:09
there in the distance and were having
2:11
company, something I've never had. And
2:13
that is a moose coming off the hill over
2:15
there. They tell me that them things can
2:17
be pretty aggressive. So, hope
2:19
somebody's watching my back. You see, I
2:20
had my watch dog there. He was watching
2:22
the front. Now, if you're talking about
2:24
something that's going to give them
2:25
fellas a lot of calories, we're talking
2:27
about mountain man breakfast. And to
2:29
start that off, I need some pablanos and
2:31
some bell peppers roasted over an open
2:34
fire to get that skin blistered and give
2:36
me a little bit of that charred flavor.
2:44
Time to throw in the bacon. It is. And
2:46
we're going to brown up about 4 lbs of
2:48
bacon to go with this. One fell out. But
2:50
there's the culinary crew. He's going to
2:52
clean it up for me. Mountain man
2:54
breakfast. Got a lot of things in it. It
2:56
does. And Ma's going to make sure they
2:58
all get in the pot. Next, hash brown
3:00
potatoes. Then we'll go to sprinkling in
3:02
all them peppers we charred. Won't be
3:04
long after that. Mix all the sausage,
3:06
the bacon together, and throw in some
3:09
eggs because, hey, we got to have it.
3:29
There it is all put together. Mountain
3:31
man breakfast. Cinnamon rolls with some
3:33
homemade icing. Chow time it is. We're
3:36
going to watch them fellas go through
3:37
the line. Pour them up some coffee
3:39
there. Make sure they still have plenty.
3:41
And it is a great honor for me and Shan
3:43
to be able to feed these troops. It is.
3:45
We are so blessed to be up here at Fort
3:47
Wayne. Now, they no chairs that we
3:49
brought into camp, but they got a lot of
3:52
birchwood and they just saw us up some
3:54
stumps and brought over there so them
3:55
fellas can just have dining at its best
3:58
right here in the frontier of Alaska.
4:17
It was a great day it was and I hope it
4:19
gives them enough energy to get all
4:26
Nestled just east of Fairbanks in the
4:29
interior of Alaska, Fort Wayne began its
4:32
life in 1939 as Lad Field. Established
4:36
as a US Army Airore cold weather test
4:39
station to evaluate aircraft equipment
4:42
and survival gear under extreme Arctic
4:45
conditions. During World War II,
4:47
Ladfield became vital to the Lind lease
4:50
program. Over 7,900 aircraft were
4:53
transferred here to the Soviet pilots
4:56
who would fly them across Alaska into
4:58
Siberia to support the Eastern Front.
5:01
After the war, it transitioned into Lad
5:03
Air Force Base. remaining active through
5:05
the early Cold War years, focusing on
5:08
strategic Arctic reconnaissance and
5:10
defense missions. On January 1st, 1961,
5:15
control returned to the US Army, and the
5:17
installation was renamed Fort Jonathan
5:20
M. Waywright, honoring General Wayright,
5:23
the recipient of the Medal of Honor for
5:25
his brave defense of the Philippines
5:27
during World War II. Today, Fort Wayne
5:31
spans over 1.6 6 million acres, making
5:33
it the largest US military installation
5:36
outside the contiguous United States and
5:39
remains the Army's premier Arctic
5:46
I'm Elizabeth Cook and I am the cultural
5:48
resource manager for US Army Garrison,
5:51
Alaska. Ladfield and Fort Wayne were
5:54
founded in keeping um soldiers and
5:58
aviators safe because of our extreme
6:00
cold conditions here that can be
6:02
present. uh we were able to support the
6:06
military, the national defense by making
6:09
sure that aviators wouldn't freeze to
6:10
death in the beginnings of aviation
6:12
history and making sure that all of the
6:15
planes and the MREs that military
6:17
personnel used would actually work and
6:20
keep them warm while they were
6:21
operating. I think Alaska presents a
6:25
unique package in that you have the
6:29
access to natural beauty. You have the
6:32
testing of your metal in extreme
6:34
climate. The capacity to learn things
6:38
that a lot of soldiers wouldn't get to
6:39
learn any place else. They can hunt and
6:42
they can fish. They can um learn to be
6:45
an outdoorsman. They can hike in remote
6:48
areas. Being at the end of the road is
6:50
kind of nice. It's easy to approach some
6:53
place like Fort Wayne and say, "Oh,
6:55
we're going to learn how to survive."
6:57
But you don't. You're really learning
6:58
how to thrive. That's probably the most
7:00
unique thing about here is people see
7:02
from the outside see it as a survival
7:05
exercise and it's really not. It's an
7:07
expansion expansion thrive exercise.
7:26
Tonight is a big night up here. We uh
7:29
going to feed about 250
7:32
and the good folks at Lazy Tea Ranch
7:34
furnish the beef. Now, these folks do a
7:37
lot for veterans uh and servicemen and
7:39
women. They always have. But it's no
7:41
simple task to get 250 steaks shipped
7:45
from Wyoming up here to Alaska. So these
7:50
folks, hey, we need to tip our hat to
7:52
them big time. Be sure and check them
7:53
out on their website. They have premium
7:56
beef. They do. I've got Clay and Sam
7:58
helping me today. And uh one of them is
8:02
unwrapping. One of them giving a little
8:04
lime juice cuz you know what that does?
8:06
The citric acid in there breaks down
8:08
connective tissue which is going to make
8:12
And then I'll put a little of this
8:14
original seasoning on them. We'll let
8:16
them sit over there in the ice box for
8:19
I'd say 3 and 1 half to four hours. Let
8:22
this soak in really well and then we'll
8:24
bring them out about an hour and a half
8:26
before cooking time. Let them warm up.
8:28
Then we're going to throw them on the
8:29
grill, cook them. That's the way it's
8:32
supposed to be. Beef in Alaska for the
8:59
We have three grills going and they're
9:02
gas. So, we added some soaked mosquite
9:05
chunks to this to try to up the game and
9:07
give it a little flavor. So, me and Sam
9:10
Clay, we fighting fire and turning meat.
9:13
You know, they've got some warming boxes
9:15
here that we'll hold these steaks on.
9:17
So, most of them are going to be cooked
9:18
to the high end of rare and then we'll
9:20
hold them. But if you don't have that,
9:22
preheat you a good Yeti ice chest, dump
9:24
the water out of it, and then put these
9:26
in there cuz they will continue to cook
9:28
a little, I promise you, in an ice
9:29
chest. But try to have a one cool end of
9:32
the grill when you're doing so many of
9:34
them to where you can have Hey, that
9:36
fell there's pretty fast. I'm going to
9:38
slow him down a little. Put him down
9:39
here on the cool end. So, we'll keep at
9:41
it. One of these days we'll get
9:58
The highlight of the trip for me, and it
10:00
don't get no better than this, climbing
10:03
inside an Apache helicopter. And this
10:05
all it wouldn't have been possible
10:07
without Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Hayes
10:10
who set this up. And also a special
10:12
thanks to Sergeant Pelquin for walking
10:14
me through the Apache.
10:17
I've put on a lot of things and seen a
10:19
lot of things at the Chuck Wagon, but
10:21
never in my life have I walked into a
10:24
locker room like this, put on a flight
10:26
vest, and got a helmet. I'm gonna trade
10:28
in my cowboy helmet for one of these
10:30
Apache helicopter helmets.
10:42
But this is pretty tight quarters as
10:44
they show me how you're going to get up
10:45
in this thing, crawl over everything in
10:48
there, and try not to break nothing. So,
10:50
well, after I get set down in there,
10:52
figure out sort of what's going on here
10:54
in my mind a little bit, Sergeant
10:56
Pelican, go ahead and get that helmet on
10:58
me and get everything hooked up to where
11:00
I got sound and he can communicate back
11:02
and forth to me. Like I say, this is
11:04
very tight quarters in here. Ain't a
11:06
whole lot of room to move around. So,
11:09
I'm telling you, these pilots that fly
11:11
these things, hey, I'll tip my hat to
11:14
them because there's not a lot of room
11:15
in here to get comfortable. So, we
11:17
finally get a little help to get
11:18
everything hooked up where we got sound,
11:20
but we also got vision. And folks, it
11:24
was a I've been to an eye doctor, but
11:26
this I didn't even know what was going
11:28
on for sure. And then I started seeing
11:30
the little circles and stuff, so it made
11:31
a little more sense. So, it is a great
11:33
thing. It is something I've never got to
11:35
do and something I'll never forget.
11:37
This this helicopter just for one thing,
11:39
that's to find, detect, identify, and
11:41
destroy enemy armored formations. So,
11:43
you can see on the left we got a large
11:45
rocket pod. If you ever played with
11:46
bottle rockets as a kid,
11:48
that's that's the coolest bottle rockets
11:50
there is. This isn't going to do you a
11:52
whole lot of good at 30 below. This is
11:54
the bare minimum in your vest. So, we
11:56
have a cargo pod full of extreme cold
11:58
weather. It's got a shelter. It's got
11:59
additional cold weather food. It's got
12:01
fire starting. It's got a titanium stove
12:03
in it. And anytime we're leaving the
12:05
local flying area, that's the kit that
12:07
we take. So, we take off the weapon
12:09
system and we put on the extra survival
12:11
gear while we're training here in
12:31
Great job, sir. I want you to have this.
12:34
We flew this in an Apache for you on a
12:35
flight out on the out in the Alaska
12:37
hinterlands here. This says, "The
12:39
accompanying flag was proudly flown on
12:40
board H64D Apache number 0885565
12:44
by an air crew of 125 attack Frontier.
12:47
This flag was flown over the wilderness
12:49
of the great state of Alaska and
12:50
symbolizes the unshakable resolve and
12:52
dedication of United States of America
12:54
to defend freedom wherever it's
12:55
threatened. Presented to Kent Shen Rolls
12:58
in appreciation for the honor you show
12:59
to our servicemen and women every day,
13:01
we'll keep that old flag of flying."
13:04
Sir, it's been a great pleasure.
13:06
It has been my pleasure. You're welcome
13:09
Yes, sir. Thank you, family, sir.
13:11
And thank you, Miss Shan. I appreciate
13:14
Thank you. This means the world.
13:42
And these fellas right here, all these
13:43
men and women, they are taking great
13:48
And to top it all off and end up, hey,
13:52
we going to do us a little Dutch oven
13:53
cooking clinic here. Now, we fed these
13:56
soldiers, but it's time they learn to
13:58
cook. We hosted this little cooking
14:00
clinic for the soldiers and their
14:02
spouses. Now, not only are we going to
14:04
teach them how to make biscuits, but
14:06
we're going to teach them how to cook
14:07
biscuits. I think everybody should know
14:09
this. It's a little wilderness survival
14:12
cowboy style. You know, this was a very,
14:15
very special episode. We have filmed
14:17
videos all across the United States,
14:19
ranches so remote, so beautiful. But
14:22
folks, here at Fort Wayne, the home of
14:24
the Arctic Angels, this may have been
14:26
the number one spot for me because I got
14:29
to meet soldiers, men and women who put
14:32
their life on the line, but also are
14:34
protecting our great nation. I got to
14:36
get right up close and personal so deep
14:38
in an Apache helicopter. And to hear
14:40
some of the stories from the pilots, it
14:43
don't get no better than this. Y'all
14:44
know how we always support our military,
14:47
but folks, stand behind them, stand
14:49
proud, because this is a great nation
14:51
and a great group of people. So, make
14:53
sure that you always remember Alaska and
14:55
these great men and women that are up
14:57
here defending our country. But it is
14:59
with great pride, privilege, and honor
15:01
that I tip my hat to all the servicemen
15:03
and women and all the veterans and all
15:05
the soldiers up here and all our bases
15:07
that have kept that old flag of flying.
15:09
We commend them all.