Kunsan to participate in Courageous Channel exercise mid-November

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  • U.S. Forces Korea Public Affairs
Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea --  U.S. Forces Korea will conduct Courageous Channel (CC) 07-02, a semi-annual noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO) exercise, November 15-18. Courageous Channel is a regularly scheduled exercise and is unrelated to any current or specific world event. 

This exercise will test the command's NEO plans and procedures for a short-notice evacuation from the Republic of Korea.
Kunsan will conduct its NEO exercise at the Fitness Center November 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Although Kunsan is an unaccompanied assignment, there are more than 100 Department of Defense employees, family members and retirees living in the area, according to Technical Sgt. Eric Bruntz, 8th Mission Support Squadron family readiness. 

"The NEO exercise is a way to inform these people of their responsibilities as noncombatants and to prepare them to evacuate, if necessary," he said.
In addition, family members who are visiting Kunsan-assigned Airmen are considered noncombatants, Bruntz said. 

"Even if a spouse is visiting for a month, they should ensure the unit NEO warden is notified," he said 

Each unit has assigned NEO wardens that have a list of noncombatants here, and are responsible for notifying them of a NEO evacuation or exercise, Bruntz said. 

All Department of Defense affiliated noncombatants, to include non-emergency essential U.S. government employees, will participate in the Courageous Channel exercise. The participants will process through the Evacuation Control Centers (ECC) to verify the completeness and accuracy of NEO packets and to become familiar with processing procedures. Additionally, the processing of pets will be exercised during Courageous Channel. 

To be eligible for evacuation assistance, noncombatants must be U.S. citizens, immediate family members of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States. 

Noncombatants will need to carry the appropriate official documents to verify their eligibility. In an actual NEO situation these documents help establish temporary or permanent residence off the Peninsula. Documents may include passports, military or U.S. government identification cards, birth certificates, marriage licenses, naturalization certificates or alien registration cards. 

An actual NEO may require thousands of noncombatants to travel for several days on very short notice. Each family should prepare an NEO kit that contains supplies such as a three-day supply of lightweight, high energy, ready-to-eat food, bottled water, a 30-day supply of prescription medication, a small transistor radio, flashlight with extra batteries, toiletries, and a three-day supply of baby formula, diapers and other items for those with infants. 

Courageous Channel 07-02 will also exercise the NEO tracking system. The purpose of exercising the tracking system is to demonstrate performance improvements in the system's ability to track noncombatants as they move through the evacuation process from Korea to the repatriation sites in the continental United States. 

This is a joint training exercise that will involve the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps personnel. 

For more information, contact your unit's NEO Warden or Sergeant Bruntz at 782-5627 or 782-5644.