Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Levesque | Operations Specialist 2nd Class Gaileann Leatham (left), Fleet Activities Chinhae...... read more read more
War. Political instability. Civil instability. Natural disaster. Any of these scenarios poses risk to U.S. personnel and their families stationed overseas, and when it happens, evacuations can occur for these noncombatant evacuees (NCEs).
That is why U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK) recently conducted two noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO) exercises in August at the assembly point (AP) aboard Fleet Activities Chinhae (CFAC) and at the relocation center (RC) Daegu on Camp Walker.
“These two exercises are the first of many in a series of similar evolutions to practice NEO, which is CNFK’s top priority,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Walker, CNFK NEO node manager. “The reason is simple: For our Sailors to continue the mission in time of crisis and emergency, we need to move their families safely out of harm’s way through the NEO process.”
This process involves CFAC, Busan and reservist fly-away NEO teams of wardens and representatives. NEO wardens, particularly, assume an important role in facilitating this process. “This exercise gives CNRK, CNFK, and CFAC NEO wardens the opportunity to interact with actual families, including dependents of all ages and family pets,” said Walker.
They liaise between a unit and a noncombatant and assist noncombatants in preparing their NEO kit, serve as an initial point of contact for noncombatants with NEO questions or concerns, and are responsible to ensure noncombatants receive notification and instructions for NEO events such as exercises or actual contingencies.
“Understandably, it will be chaotic and confusing because the evacuees will endure changes in their environment within a short amount of time and have to deal with many issues, from transportation arrangements to information flow,” said Operations Specialist 2nd Class Gaileann Leatham, CFAC NEO lead warden. “My advice for our Navy families is to be patient and flexible throughout this process. We will do our best to make their stay with us as easy and comfortable as possible while also helping them understand the next steps in the evacuation process.”
CFAC serves as the AP for NCEs residing in Busan and Chinhae within Navy Region Korea (CNRK) to embark on their journey to safety. NCEs arrive at CFAC for the stages in the NEO process: screening, weighing baggage, briefing, registering, receiving information and equipment, staging for subsequent movement to RCs, such as Camp Walker, and ultimately evacuated to the United States via air or sea point of embarkation (APOE or SPOE).
NEO exercises reinforce important mindset of being prepared for the worst-case scenario. To that end, NCEs – defined as persons who have been, or are about to be, moved out of the Republic of Korea under emergency conditions by U.S. military forces – need to know the evacuation process, have a complete NEO book, pack an evacuation kit under the allowable weight limit, register their pets (if any), familiarize themselves with protective masks, and practice the evacuation procedure by participating in exercises like this.
These mini-exercises aim to “increase understanding and awareness of the Region’s unique evacuation of NCEs scattered throughout the southern coast of the Korean peninsula while improving the NEO program,” said Walker.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2024 20:10 |
| Story ID: | 481584 |
| Location: | KR |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy Region Korea Practices Evacuating Families during Exercise, by LCDR Hien Vu, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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