A giant teddy bear attempted to breach the gate at Sheppard Air Force Base as part of an exercise.

A giant teddy bear attempted to breach the gate at Sheppard Air Force Base, leaving a trail of stuffing behind.

The spectacle was part of an exercise at the base in Wichita Falls, Texas, said George Woodward, a spokesman for the 82nd Training Wing, in a statement to Task and Purpose.

A video posted on the Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco shows the incident, during which the bear waddles toward the gate, performs a few dance moves and then makes a break for it. A call of "gate runner, gate runner" goes out on the radio and the bear is tackled.

Sure, the video is funny, but the meaning behind the exercise was serious.

"Think about what we ask of our military and civilian security forces airmen," Woodward said in the statement. "They spend long hours in the heat of the day and the dark of the night defending our bases. We expect them to be aware and ready every moment to respond to any imaginable situation, and possibly make a split-second, life-and-death decision on the use of force."

Even if that force is against an adorable plush bear.

So far, more than 341,000 people have viewed the video of the bear's rush in the direction of the bright lights of the Sheppard Express store. Someone even designed mugs and shirts online to commemorate the occasion.

