Osan gears up for Courageous Channel exercise May 20, 21 Published May 16, 2011 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The annual Courageous Channel exercise is scheduled for May 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. and May 21 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. here at the Osan High School. Held every spring, the exercise enables U.S. military dependents, non-emergency essential civilians and contractors to walk through the process that would be employed during a noncombatant evacuation. "Courageous Channel is a [U.S. Forces Korea] exercise conducted annually in order to increase the readiness of [service members] and U.S. government-affiliated noncombatants in noncombatant evacuation operations," said Andrew Kim, Eighth Army's NEO planner. Mr. Kim said Courageous Channel allows participants to practice every part of the evacuation process short of departing the peninsula. "The goal of this exercise is to train our [service members] in the execution of NEO and also to familiarize 100 percent of our military dependents and other U.S. government-affiliated noncombatants on registration and evacuation processes," Mr. Kim said. As demonstrated by the recent voluntary evacuation following the devastating triple disaster in Japan where an earthquake-driven tsunami crippled a nuclear power plant, Mr. Kim said that evacuations can be conducted for a variety of reasons. "This increased readiness will ensure the rapid and safe evacuation of our family members and other U.S. government-affiliated noncombatants in the case of a contingency, crisis or hostilities," Mr. Kim said. Editor's Note: For more information on Osan's Courageous Channel exercise contact your NEO wardens or Tech. Sgt. Matthew Toenniges or David Brett at 784-5440.