MANA — Social and security conditions deteriorated over the weekend in Orange Country, prompting the Department of State to issue an advisory to the U.S. embassy there about the possible evacuation of American citizens in the embattled country. On Wednesday
MANA — Social and security conditions deteriorated over the weekend in Orange Country, prompting the Department of State to issue an advisory to the U.S. embassy there about the possible evacuation of American citizens in the embattled country.
On Wednesday afternoon, conditions further deteriorated, prompting the issuance of an order of evacuation by Ambassador Edward Marks, a real-life retired ambassador who is with the Joint Interagency Coordinator Group for Counterterrorism. The exercise started Tuesday evening as the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) started at the embassy, actually a building inside the gates of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility here.
For the purposes of the NEO exercise that was part of the ongoing Rim of the Pacific, multi-national military readiness exercises, the embassy was the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154 Air Control Squadron compound on base.
Col. James E. Harbison, commanding officer from Combat Service Support Group 3 at the Kane‘ohe Marine Corps Air Station, was on hand to supervise the exercise that involved Marines from Kane‘ohe as well as role-players from Australia, and a pair of observers from Korea.
The Orange Country embassy had a staff of five and an American population of about 150 people that needed to be evacuated in the face of escalating danger to Americans as well as members of the Green Country allies.
Along with Marks, the embassy staff included Denis Reynolds, supervisory special agent from the Diplomatic Security Service, and Lt. Col. Barney, who is the inspector general for Kane‘ohe and whose role was to act as the pulse of the affected country as well as an interface with the government.
Harbison explained that all Americans report to the entry control center, which has a list from the State Department of people authorized to evacuate.
These people were shepherded to the receiving and briefing section, where they were given instructions on the evacuation process and procedure they would be undergoing in the NEO.
A rattling at the gate punctuated by verbal outbursts from anti-American protesters provided a respite from the routine as Marine sentries tried to quell the unrest.
Unsuccessful, the group of about a dozen protesters surged through the gate, and upon confrontation with special riot-control Marines, a brief scuffle ensued, resulting in at least three protesters being detained for further questioning while the remainder of the group was pushed back outside the embassy perimeter.
A search for contraband followed, and once completed, Harbison said, “They (evacuees) essentially become FedEx packages.”
Second Lt. Pam Marshall, the public affairs officer for the operation, explained that should an evacuee be on prescription medication, those medications are “bounced” against a list to see if they are allowed. Any item that doesn’t meet the criteria is taken at this point, and attempts to try to reunite the items with their owners is done once the evacuees reach safe haven.
Using a specially-designed NEO tracking system, every evacuee from that point has a status that relatives, families, or even personnel at the State Department can access through the Internet.
The evacuee is issued a UPC bar code which is strapped to his body, and that information is uploaded to a satellite via a special cell phone hooked up to the self-contained unit located at the entry and exit point to a holding area that keeps the evacuees until a suitable mode of transportation can take them to a departure area and, eventually, to a safe haven.
The information-transfer process is almost immediate, as each evacuee’s status is transmitted following his processing. As a young mother was processed, separate UPC tags were issued to the mother as well as the infant. Using the NEO tracking system, the evacuee’s progress in the NEO can be tracked from anywhere Internet access can be obtained.
This process continues even after the evacuee is out of the jurisdiction of the Marines once they reach the departure area, as a similar process occurs once the evacuees reach the ship, or another safe-haven destination.
While waiting on his helicopter to arrive, Marks pulled a fold-up cell phone from his pocket and said eventually the NEO tracking system will be that size as compared to the bulky container that was set up at the processing center. The contingent commanded by Harbison covers about 38 nations in the Pacific area, and his unit would be activated should there be a need to evacuate Americans in any of these countries.
“It’s a great opportunity to work with coalition allies to develop and bond at all levels,” Harbison said of their role in the RIMPAC exercises.
“Young American Marines are able to meet their counterparts from other countries and work together.”
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
