Marines Build on Vital MEU Mission Set, Completing NEO Course

Photo By Cpl. Kira Ducato | U.S. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit learn how to use the noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) tracking system during a NEO class on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, May 17, 2022. A NEO is an operation evacuating noncombatant individuals from a threatened area abroad, due to potential danger from natural or manmade disaster, civil unrest, imminent or actual terrorist activities, hostilities, and similar circumstances, that is carried out with the assistance of the Department of Defense. The 31st MEU, the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed MEU, provides a flexible and lethal force ready to perform a wide range of military operations as the premiere crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Kira Ducato)  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

05.17.2022

Story by Lance Cpl. Kira Ducato 

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit       

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN— U.S. Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conduct a training to prepare for noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO), May 17, 2022 on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan.
The NEO course consisted of evacuation protocol, safety procedures, and plan of action in case of a crisis.
“The NEO Course was put on by the III Marine Expeditionary Force G-5 Emergency Action Planner, Mr. Christopher White, in order to provide the 31st MEU planners with knowledge, doctrine and resources required to plan for and execute the NEO mission in the event of a potential crisis in Okinawa and our area of operation,” stated 1st Lt. Dalis Houston, 31st MEU Up operations officer.
The NEO Mission is evacuating noncombatant individuals from a threatened area abroad, due to potential danger from natural or manmade disaster, civil unrest, imminent or actual terrorist activities, hostilities, and similar circumstances that is carried out with the assistance of the Department of Defense. This mission set is doctrinally part of the 31st MEU's mission as a crisis response force.
“The NEO mission is the epitome of crisis response, which is our mission as a MEU; to protect non-combatants and assist them in getting out of harm’s way”, said Houston.
The purpose of the NEO Course was to teach Marines with the 31st MEU techniques to maintain and build their mission readiness and hone in their skills as a crisis response force.
“This training helps me because it gives me a better understanding of where the information comes from along with the roles and responsibilities of the command and how the operation works as a whole rather than just my part alone,” states Lance Cpl. Angel Marmolejo, NEO tracking system operator assigned to the 31st MEU.
The NEO mission gives the 31st MEU a prime opportunity to conduct in-depth planning in an effort to solve complex national or international dilemmas. The preparations done by the 31st MEU in relation to NEO create a more proficient and efficient response force that is able to act on and accomplish the mission in a moment’s notice.

• Date Taken: 05.17.2022
• Date Posted: 06.13.2022 20:46
• Story ID: 422229
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP