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. military dependents, contractors, retirees in Area 4 participate in the Courageous Channel exercise at the Kelly Fitness Center on Camp Walker, South Korea, in May 2012.
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]
This photo taken from the website of the 8th Army of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) on Nov. 7, 2016, shows families of U.S. troops boarding a C-130 transport plane during the recent Courageous Channel noncombatant evacuation exercise at an undisclosed military base here. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed here as a deterrent against North Korea, while there are more than 150,000 civilians with the USFK, including U.S. government noncombatants, and private American citizens and their families. (Yonhap)
For US military members in Korea with dependents be advised that the Courageous Channel exercise is coming up:
Military family members and a number of civilian employees in South Korea soon will take part in the annual Courageous Channel evacuation drill, essentially a dress rehearsal in case of war or natural disaster on the Korean peninsula.
The noncombatant evacuation exercise, frequently called NEO, will be from Sept. 15-Oct. 5 at various installations on the peninsula, U.S. Forces Korea announced Tuesday.
During the exercise, participants will undergo a walkthrough of a potential evacuation that will include NEO binder checks, briefings and practicing assembly and registration procedures at on-post NEO centers. All Department of Defense-affiliated noncombatants with a date eligible for return from overseas of Nov. 1, 2014 or later, including nonemergency essential U.S. government employees, are required to participate. [Stars & Stripes]
