just about 30 miles out from here is big diomede island. that is russian territory. >> to the east of that is little diomede. that is u.s. territory. when the water freezes in the winter, you can literally walk to russia, which is why this area is so critical to our national defense. >> colonel matthew tucker says the military's ability to operate here shouldn't be taken as a threat. >> we have a series of operations that we conduct throughout the year focused on demonstrating our ability to rapidly deploy, gaining domain awareness, ensure we know and understand what our adversaries are doing in the region or our competitors are doing in the region, and then preparing our capabilities. >> these troops are working day and night, not only to protect the nation, but also to provide critical oversight on those russian and chinese forces. as all three countries look to exploit the opportunities in the arctic. stephanie ramos, abc news, new york. >> fascinating story, stephanie. thank you. baseball star shohei ohtani's, former interpreter, is fac