US Marines rehearse non-combatant evacuation operations

Photo By Sgt. Lucas Hopkins | Sergeant Patrick Harger, a platoon sergeant assigned to Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa, processes Marines acting as role players through a non-combatant evacuation operation tracking system during a simulated evacuation aboard Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, May 27, 2015. Harger was one of more than 10 Marines assisting in processing about 15 role players through an improvised evacuation control center, which helped improve the Marines’ evacuation control center skills. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lucas Hopkins/Released)  

SIGONELLA, ITALY

05.27.2015

Story by Cpl. Lucas Hopkins 

U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa     

SIGONELLA, Italy - Approximately 15 Marines assigned to Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa conducted evacuation control center refresher training aboard Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, May 27, 2015.

The Marines set up an improvised ECC at the station’s air terminal and processed 15 role players for a simulated evacuation. The training simulated real-world situations where American citizens would be evacuated from a foreign country.

“The main focus is security and accountability of the evacuees,” said 1st Lt. Brian Way, the Headquarters and Service Company executive officer, SPMAGTF-CR-AF.

For this particular reason, the whole process was broken into four main sections. First, the role players received a brief on what was going to happen. Following the brief was security, where personal belongings, bags, and evacuees are checked for dangerous or illegal items. Next was registration, which ensured all individuals were properly catalogued into the tracking system.

“It’s just like if you were to have a boarding pass to check into an airport, instead, we use passports to run people through the system,” said Sgt. Stephen Gallery, a watch chief with SPMAGTF-CR-AF.

Finally, evacuees move to the embarking stage, where they await transportation to their follow-on destination.

Throughout the exercise, the Marines worked each area of the ECC, allowing them to learn and train in case those skills would be needed for a real-world scenario.

“This training helped refresh the skills the Marines learned prior to deploying,” said Way. “I’m confident that everybody who has done the training knows how to run an ECC.”

• Date Taken: 05.27.2015
• Date Posted: 06.01.2015 14:40
• Story ID: 165122
• Location: SIGONELLA, IT
• Hometown: GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK, US
• Hometown: WEYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS, US