Osan NEO: Ready for flight tonight

Published March 8, 2007
By Master Sgt. Steven Goetsch
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The Tubes in London and the Non-combatant Evacuation Operational Readiness Inspection that took place here Tuesday and Wednesday have a lot in common.

They both have throngs of people in rapid transit, all trying to get to their destinations in an orderly fashion. That type of human traffic flow requires organization, cooperation and intensive planning. Those attributes were on display this week for DoD inspectors while Osan processed 100 percent of its non-combatant's, a Mustang first.

The NEO process gets started by the State Department issuing the evacuation order. The Korean peninsula is broken into several "areas." Osan falls into Area V. That's when the NEO wardens, under the direction of military personnel from the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, makes initial contact with their non-combatant evacuees.

Osan has 120 wardens to manage almost 1,600 non-combatants and the primary responsibility of moving thousands of NCE's, which are not only Osan dependents, but any individuals that qualify to be evacuated off of the Korean peninsula.

Once notified, evacuees bring their appropriate paperwork and make their way to the designated location, which this time was the Challenger Club.

This area, or Evacuation Control Center, becomes a base within a base. Security forces sets up a perimeter, ECP and security checkpoint. The security screening process is similar to what you would experience at any airport.

After screening, you enter the ECC. The 250 volunteers who man the ECC come from organizations throughout the wing and are specifically trained in an evacuation-related task. For this particular inspection, they successfully processed more than 1500 non-combatant evacuees in under 24 hours of operations. To make this possible, the Challenger Club was transformed into a complex maze of stations that included medical, comfort, security, accountability, legal and several others that covered almost every process one would see at regular outprocessing. The only difference is the processing is completed in hours rather than days.

That maze of administrative and logistical stations was made maneuverable with strategically placed marshals who directed traffic and answered questions. Dena Springer, who was traveling with her son, thought the processing line was very organized.

"It went very smooth," said Mrs. Springer. "They say everything has its place, and it seemed everything went into it. We had a very good experience."

Not only is it important to practice this process and do well on this week's inspection, but being efficient and moving non-combatants off the Korean peninsula has a much greater importance.

"We've trained not just for the Operational Readiness Inspection, but we've trained to make sure our NCE's are taken care of," said Master Sgt. Grant Embrey, superintendent of the Evacuation Control Center.

Over the two day period, Team Osan was tested on several key elements such as communication, accountability, security and overall evacuee safety and care. This inspection also gave the opportunity for 30 Osan members to actually "fly away" to a safe haven. In any natural disaster, civil unrest or military conflict, thousands of U.S. citizens and their families could be evacuated to the CONUS or other safe haven locations.

That scenario is becoming increasingly more probable after events such as Hurricane Katrina and the Lebanon conflict. Master Sgt. George Margetanski, who has seen both sides of NEO, first as an evacuee from raging Mount Pinatubo in 1991, and now as an ECC command and control operator, knows how important this process really is.

"The better we prepare our evacuees, the better the processing will go," said Sergeant Margetanski. "This will give you piece of mind and you'll be able to focus on your mission."

While Team Osan waits anxiously for the results of their ORI, their dedication and professionalism have left the non-combatants of Area V knowing they will be "ready for flight tonight."

NEO processing