MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Installation Personnel Administration Center Marines took part in the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation exercise here March 31.
The exercise has taken on particular significance after the 9.0 earthquake rocked northen Japan, ultimately rising the possibility of evacuees being transported here.
The exercise tested the station’s preparedness to evacuate nonessential personnel from the air station.
IPAC Marines set up shop in a hangar near the harbor at 8 a.m. to stage and prep their laptops before the first wave of simulated evacuees arrived.
The evacuees arrived at 9 a.m. They entered critical information into the NEO tracking system once checked in.
“We took their passports and other information so we could track them in the system if they have to be evacuated,” said Lance Cpl. Brian Alldis, a Marine with the Information Management Branch of IPAC.
Efficiency was a key component of the exercise.
“Our purpose today was to establish a timeline,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bradley J. Goode, IPAC director and NEO tracking system officer-in-charge. “We wanted to see how long it would take us to in-process and out-process 100 people,” said Goode.
In less than an hour, 114 evacuees were inprocessed with only two processing stations in place.
The process involved putting vital information into the tracking system. From that point, the evacuees were directed to submit personal belongings for search to make sure no dangerous items were being brought onto the station.
The next step involved the evacuees being set up in temporary lodging.
The final portion of the exercise had the evacuees out-processed at the station terminal to fly to a safe location.
As fast as simulated evacuees piled into the terminal to fly out from the station, they were quickly out-proceseed by IPAC and the Provost Marshal’s Office Marines, who were helping with the out-processing as they would in an actual NEO.
“We had heard it took 40 minutes to process 15 people, so we wanted to make sure we established hard numbers in case we had to receive 1,200-2,800 people coming through this area and we had to process them. We’re just validating the system,” said Goode.
To help streamline the process in case the NEO went from an exercise to an actual evacuation, is for evacuees to have a NEO packet.
“(The NEO packet) seems to scare people,” said Goode.
Goode said the packets are similar to filling out paperwork for the Traffic Management Office when changing duty stations.
Passports, birth certificates and other important documents would be needed in the event of an evacuation.
“These things won’t hold you back on getting out of country, but it helps you process through to your safe haven,” said Goode.
Another avenue Marines could use in case of evacuation is contacting their Family Readiness Officer, said Alldis.
Another challenge highlighted by the exercise was the importance of being able to reach evacuees when seating on the aircraft becomes available.
“That was the only real stickler I saw,” said Goode. “If we’ve got to evacuate 1,200 people and only 300 seats are available at the moment, we need to find a way to let those people know.”
Marines and station residents involved in the exercise witnessed firsthand the effectiveness and efficiency of the station’s ability to get residents in and out of the system in case of a crisis.
The annual training guarantees that in the case of an event that does require evacuation, the station will do so as quickly and painlessly as possible.