MARINE CORPS TRAINING AREA BELLOWS, Hawaii -- With capabilities and proficiency in sea, air and land-based operations, the Marine Corps is an indomitable crisis response force. Competence, however, doesn’t come without practice and experience.
Hawaii-based U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and Canadian soldiers with Company G, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, temporarily assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force 3 during the multi-national Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2010, performed a noncombatant evacuation operation at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, July 26.
The NEO, typically a specialty of the Marine Expeditionary Unit, provided a valuable training opportunity for Marines not versed in the operation while allowing Company G, 2 RCR, tasked as Canada’s NEO company, to take the lead on the operation.
Utilized under circumstances of war, civil unrest or natural disaster, the NEO is an emergency evacuation involving the use of military forces and capabilities in order to provide aid, assistance and movement to safety of American citizens overseas, said Jim Cole, a foreign policy advisor with the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Leading up to the NEO, the coalition forces collaborated on amphibious assaults, helicopter inserts and raids and extensive live fire training on Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii.
This successful integration and interoperability better enables the Marines and coalition forces to perform complex operations like the NEO both now and in the future, said Maj. Craig Himel, 2/3’s executive officer.
“Executing the NEO allows us to have and perfect the capability to evacuate citizens of the United States, and in this case, citizens of the RIMPAC nations, in an efficient and professional manner,” said Himel, of New Orleans. “This is our bread and butter as America’s 911 force.”
After creating a scenario focused on accuracy, realism and widespread participation among the combined force, Cole said SPMAGTF-3’s forward command element worked to establish communication with the embassy, creating an avenue for information exchange.
Cole, a native of Pittsford, New York, described the NEO as a flexible, all-around operation which allowed the combined force valuable practice in moving food, supplies and equipment, and setting up medical aid stations and support facilities. During the NEO, he acted as the U.S. ambassador of the mock embassy out of which the operation was conducted.
“What you’re seeing here is an exchange of different specialized skills and experiences,” Cole said. “Militaries that work together begin to respect each other professionally and understand each other’s tactics and capabilities.”
As the scenario unfolded, helicopters, amphibious assault vehicles, and landing craft, air cushioned vehicles arrived at MCTAB with the coalition forces, who in turn established a secure perimeter around the embassy. Role-playing American citizens and local nationals converged on the embassy and the combined force dealt with flexibility in execution, Cole said, or the ability to adapt to a fast-changing and often unpredictable situation.
Cole and the SPMAGTF-3 leadership consulted one another as the citizens began checking in at the embassy in order to be evacuated. They worked together to describe the situation to higher authorities and develop appropriate and legal responses to the developing situation. Quickly established were clear-cut goals centered on evacuating all American citizens as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible. “The ideal is to provide aid, get on helicopters and evacuate them all with no casualties,” Cole said.
As the first NEO for many of the Marines involved, the operation was another valuable learning experience gained to diversify and further their capabilities. Cole said practicing a NEO helps the participants become comfortable with the situation, bettering their ability to perform in a real situation.
“When they aren’t tensed up about their surroundings, they can better focus on their primary jobs,” Cole said. “The NEO gives those involved the experience to expect the unpredictable situation and give them the ability to adapt and react.”
This experience was one especially embraced by the Canadian infantrymen with Company G.
“The NEO is our main reason to be here — everything we’ve done on RIMPAC culminates with this,” said Cpl. Tony Bahadur, an infantryman with Company G, 2 RCR, and a native of Oromocto, New Brunswick, Canada. “Our troops get to see how the NEO mechanism works to extract foreign nationals and can start to understand how working with our coalition nations is beneficial to both commanders and junior soldiers.”
During RIMPAC, the coalition forces have worked together to hone their skills as a force in readiness to a broad spectrum of crises, enhancing regional security and the force’s projection capabilities. During the NEO, Marines relied on Canadian soldiers to provide security and coordination for much of the operation, while learning from their experiences.
“Being involved in RIMPAC has given the Marines an opportunity to see and participate in the amphibious capabilities of a Marine Air Ground Task Force, which most have not been able to do due to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom,” Himel said. “Those who’ve previously seen the (counterinsurgency operations) side of the Marine Corps have now had the opportunity to see the amphibious side.”