Perhaps, but the photographs of those "veterans' show a motley crew clothed in Aloha shirts and sneakers milling around outdoors in the snow and winds near wood fires.  Perhaps they all served in the 25th Infantry Tropic Lightning Division and as a result are unfamiliar with the white stuff.  
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Deploy them to Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa for acclimation.  Snow began falling last Thursday on the Big Island's volcanic summits and continued over the weekend. The snow prompted officials to close a section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
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The "water protectors" could morph into Snow Protectors to protect the Sacred Snow Flakes.