Marines execute Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation in Twentynine Palms
A major military training exercise took place at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms on Friday afternoon. It happened between 5:00 p.m. and wrapped up around eight. The Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation is an exercise that takes place every year, and during the operation thousands of Marines will learn how to evacuate civilians and dignitaries safely from combat zones.
Katrina Lamsa, a Major in the U.S.M.C. helped plan and execute the training. She says the practice is vital for future missions.
“Over the past, like 30 years, the United States has executed about 400, different evacuation operations, and 35 of those have been involved the US military. So to train for these things, we have about sixty role players who come out and work people through different scenarios," said Maj. Lamsa. "These get planned and executed multiple times a year, all over the world. So it's a very important opportunity for us to be able to train to it before we actually have to go out and do it for real.”
The training is a massive joint effort between Marines on base, the U.S. Department of State, and Marines based out of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Throughout the operation, officials will create fake environments, that simulate real life scenarios, including situations where people need to be removed from hostile situations.
"Hostile is where we don't have the consent of the country to necessarily be there," explained Lamsa. "And its a situation where we're expecting that we're going to have to potentially fight our way in or fight our way out.”
From there, Marines will practice dozens of aircraft landings using CH-53 helicopters. Lamsa says holding the exercise in Twentynine Palms provides unique opportunity for pilots, without affecting the daily lives of folks around town.
“It's a chance for us to be able to practice landing in an urban environment, which provides some different challenges to them as pilots without being disturbing to a city or civilian population," said Lamsa.
Both the Department of Defense, along with the Department of State say these types of exercises more than prepare service members for what could one day become a reality. Tiffany Murphy is a Senior Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State. Murphy was also at the training on Friday, helping to facilitate and overlook the different scenarios created throughout the afternoon. It's something she says is an honor to be a part of.
"Non-combatant evacuations are critical operations," said Murphy. "And for everyone they have to be done absolutely perfectly. And that is why we have to practice these so often to ensure that we have optimal performance when the need arises. And the need will arise in the future, and we will be ready."
