UNCLAS SEOUL 000975


DEPT FOR S/ES-O/CMS, CA/OCS, EAP/K, EAP/J, DS/IP, DS/IP/EAP, DS/OSAC


E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: CASC AEMR MARR XE JA KS

SUBJECT: Courageous Channel Evacuation Exercise and Related Events
in South Korea, May 14-16, 2009

CORRECTED CABLE - ADDRESSEES ADDED; REPLACES SEOUL 0900


1. SUMMARY: Embassy Seoul continues to expand its role in
evacuation planning for South Korea. During the first three weeks
of May 2009, post was heavily involved in Noncombatant Evacuation
Operation (NEO) events and exercises in conjunction with U.S. Forces
Korea (USFK) and third-country embassies. The activities allowed
post to improve linkages and communication with these groups and
create a deeper understanding of the NEO exercise for third
countries likely to seek our assistance in the event of a real
evacuation. End summary.

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COURAGEOUS CHANNEL EXERCISE
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2. U.S. Forces Korea conducted its countrywide, semi-annual
evacuation exercise known as Courageous Channel on May 14-16. In
addition to processing all military families through their nearest
Evacuation Control Center (ECC) and checking their required packets
of evacuation and personal documents, USFK staged a mock "fly-away"
evacuation of nearly 50 volunteers to Japan.


3. Our Consular staff trained Entry-Level Officers on how to screen
potential evacuees in a real NEO. The officers then worked shifts
May 14-16 at the ECC on Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul, screening
military families who are required to pass through the ECC during
Courageous Channel exercises. The Embassy checkpoint is the first
station that real evacuees would encounter after a security check
and is the stage where eligibility for evacuation is determined.


4. On the fly-away exercise, Embassy Seoul sent three
Embassy-sponsored observers, including a U.S. Embassy consular
officer and the political counselor and the military attach from
the Embassy of Japan to Korea. All travelers were entered into the
NEO Tracking System (NTS) database that DOD would employ during a
NEO. The evacuees were issued NTS bar-coded wristbands that were
scanned at numerous screening stations and checkpoints in Korea and
Japan in order to track their movement.


5. The 49 fly-away volunteers included nine military escorts and 37
volunteer noncombatants (EFMs and civilian employees) from all

regions of South Korea. The volunteers passed through ECCs on
various U.S. military installations throughout the peninsula in
order to be cleared for evacuation, as they would be in a real NEO.


6. The travelers were all processed successfully with the exception
of a Filipina national who did not have a proper visa for Japan and
was denied entry there. This traveler was required to remain on
Yokota Air Base for the duration of the weekend, under escort.
(Note: This individual was not screened at the ECC staffed by
Embassy personnel at Yongsan Garrison.) While unfortunate for the
individual, this was a valuable learning experience for both USFK
and Embassy Seoul as it reinforced the requirement and the
difficulty of ensuring that evacuees have valid travel documents to
enter third-country fly away points or the United States.


7. The next Courageous Channel will be held in late October/early
November 2009. We are working with USFK on plans to have all, or at
least as many as possible, of our Embassy dependents participate in
the registration and screening process at the Yongsan ECC. Post
also hopes to expand our capabilities to staff additional ECCs
around the Korean peninsula and will participate in the planned
"sail-away" exercise.

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COORDINATION WITH JAPANESE EMBASSY
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8. Separate from the fly-away exercise, on May 15 our ACS Chief and
RSO escorted two Japanese Embassy officers on a walk-through tour of
the ECC on Yongsan Garrison, beginning at the Embassy eligibility
screening station. A U.S. Army major from the division that would
run the ECC in a real NEO led the group through the other stations
of the ECC, including security screening, NEO Tracking System (NTS)
processing, and the staging area for evacuees waiting to be moved
out on buses. The group was given an in-depth explanation of the
capabilities of NTS, which will be used to track evacuees via a
"FedEx"-type bar-coded wristband that can be read by USFK and USFJ
personnel at downstream processing points for staging, embarkation,
and reception, and can be used to produce manifests.


9. Because Courageous Channel is a USFK exercise and the Yongsan
Garrison ECC will be used only for processing USFK and USG evacuees
during a real NEO, many of the stations at the ECC were for use only
by USFK evacuees, such as the pet drop-off, personnel protective
equipment demonstration, and screening of the document binders that
USFK requires its dependents to carry. The Japanese understood
that these stations would not be set up at other ECCs used by
private Amcits and TCNs, and that USFK offers certain benefits only
to its own potential evacuees.

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FURTHER COORDINATION NEEDED WITH USFK
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10. Given the year-long gap between this and the last Courageous
Channel Exercise in May 2008, most participants from USFK, the U.S.
Embassy, and the Japanese Embassy were experiencing this exercise
for the first time. The reassignment of the theater NEO planners in
USFK and USFJ created an additional challenge as these were the
officers who typically understood and monitored all the many pieces
of the NEO and the Courageous Channel puzzle on both sides of the
operation.


11. While post regularly participates in the planning and execution
of NEO exercises, questions persist at the working level about the
distinction between a NEO and an ordered departure, the NEO
authorities of our Ambassador vs. the USFK Commander (a four-star
General), and other issues such as the evacuation of pets. Post has
communicated Department guidelines on these issues in the past, but
with heavy turnover among USFK participants at the working level, we
continue to have to address these questions. Post will continue to
coordinate with USFK on NEO exercises and planning, and we look
forward to expanding our participation and that of the American
private sector in the next Courageous Channel.

STANTON