Courageous Channel Exercise to Begin Next Week

Courageous Channel is a routine biannual exercise, but I am willing to bet that families are taking it a little bit more seriously this time:

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday it will conduct a regular contingency response exercise next week for its service members and their families, including how to evacuate them in the event of a war on the peninsula.

The annual Courageous Channel training will be held from Monday till Friday in cooperation with South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. State Department, said the USFK.

“Courageous Channel prepares service members and their families to respond to a wide range of crisis management events such as non-combatant evacuation (NEO) and natural or man-made disasters,” it said.

Participants in the exercise perform tasks that include readiness briefings, document and passport inspection, roster updates, and limited rehearsals.

The USFK stressed that the upcoming practice is a routine one, not directly related to recently heightened military tensions on the peninsula attributable to North Korea’s nuclear test and missile launches.  [Yonhap]

Here is more about the Courageous Channel exercise from the Stars & Stripes:

The exercise known as Courageous Channel, which will be held from Oct. 23-27, is basically a dress rehearsal to make sure everybody’s ready to get out in a hurry in case of war or another emergency.

Military spouses, children and others wearing backpacks and pulling suitcases will file through assembly points on U.S. bases where wardens will make sure documents are updated and procedures are explained.

Information also will be provided about power of attorney, financial concerns, pets — which are considered family members — and other issues.

The military also has recently selected groups to be transported all the way to Japan, which would be a likely first stop in a real emergency.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.