MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Iwakuni participated in U.S. Forces Korea's noncombatant evacuation operation exercise dubbed Courageous Channel March 28-31.
Iwakuni played the role of a safe haven for the 132 American or allied forces evacuees during the simulated NEO training exercise conducted out of Camp Casey in Seoul, South Korea.
"Iwakuni participated in the exercise in order to evaluate our NEO capabilities in case of a natural disaster or any type of political unrest," said Capt. Thomas Holley, Station NEO coordinator and assistant operations officer. "The exercise also gave us an opportunity to utilize the NEO tracking system."
The NEO tracking system is similar to those used by commercial parcel companies to track packages.
"When people are evacuated this is a way we can track their progress and location throughout the entire process," said Holley.
The participants arrived aboard the Station March 28 on a C-130 and March 29 on a High Speed Vessel dubbed WestPac Express. After they were scanned with the NEO tracking system and received their brief on the weekend's events, they began making their way through the eight different processing stations.
"We provided the participants with food, financial aid, medical and spiritual assistance if needed," said Holley. "We wanted the evacuees to feel as comfortable as possible during their short stay in Iwakuni."
The IronWorks Gym was converted into a living area for the participants equipped with cots, showers, a TV room and even a fire watch to keep the area secure.
The participants were also given the opportunity to go out and experience Japan. They could choose between a trip to Miyajima Island or shopping at Alpark Mall on Saturday.
"They really went out of their way to make us feel comfortable, and the trip to Miyajima Island was very interesting. It was good to be able to get out and see some of the country while we were here," said Jerome Hicks, NEO exercise participant. "The trip was exciting but we knew that we were here for a reason."
"The exercise went extremely well and we were able to see some things that we needed to improve on. I think that these types of exercises give the people who would be evacuated a sense of relaxation knowing that not only themselves but also their families would be taken care of," said Holley.
Hicks said that he couldn't agree more.
"It is good to know that our government would take care of us if something were to happen and we had to leave our homes."