Incirlik Airmen, families and pets prepare to exercise

  • Published
  • By By 1st Lt. David Liapis
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Airmen and family members across Incirlik AB are preparing for an upcoming noncombatant evacuation exercise scheduled to take place at the end of this month.

U.S. military installations all over the world practice noncombatant evacuation operations which can be triggered for a variety of reasons such as hurricanes and other natural disasters. NEO can be optional or required based on the situation and are managed by the U.S. State Department in overseas locations.

"An Authorized Departure is voluntary," said Master Sgt. Chris Ingram, 39th Air Base Wing Airman and Family Readiness Center superintendent. "An Ordered Departure is mandatory, and members must evacuate the area until the Department of State deems it safe to return."

A recent example of NEO was the optional authorized departure approved by the U.S. State Department that occurred after the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in Japan in 2011. In that instance, family members and non-essential personnel were authorized to leave Japan for 30 days with entitlements.

Here at Incirlik AB, there are a number of circumstances that could result in NEO such as an earthquake or a situation where regional tensions grow to the point where precautionary steps need to be taken. Regardless of the reason or if a departure is optional or ordered, the expectation is that Incirlik AB, like any other U.S. military installation in the world, will be ready.

"Cultivating a culture of readiness is what we do as a military organization," said Col. Craig Wills, 39th ABW commander. "Since we have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring, we prepare today by exercising a variety of scenarios so we're ready for anything that comes our way."

Family members and pets are encouraged to take part in the upcoming NEO exercise so they can experience the process for themselves and help create a more realistic training environment.

"Mission execution and taking care of Airmen and families are the top priorities for the 39th Air Base Wing, and that's what this exercise is intended to do - prepare Airmen to conduct NEO operations while building confidence in the ability of the wing to take care of our personnel in any situation," said Wills.

In order to make the NEO process "family-friendly," various resources and assistance are available. Each unit has a NEO representative who has been trained and will be able to provide answers to NEO-related questions. There are also brochures that can be obtained from the A&FRC as well as Websites with helpful information such as the U.S. Department of State's NEO FAQs.