Combat Center and local residents will notice increased aircraft activity and noise in the Mainside area of the installation Friday evening, part of a training exercise to prepare Marines for conducting emergency rescues and evacuation of American citizens during disasters and other crises.

The aircraft will be conducting low-altitude flight operations as they land on the Combat Center parade deck and transport 200 notional evacuees to safe haven locations. Roads will be blocked to traffic around the local area between the hours of 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Cars that aren't moved might be susceptible to damage from debris kicked up from aircraft.

The training scenario is for a non-combatant evacuation operation, or NEO, a complex mission primarily conducted to evacuate citizens and other designated personnel when their safety and security can no longer be assured. Real world NEOs have been conducted 16 times since the 1960s, and primarily are conducted in support of the Department of State during hostile situations or in response to a natural or manmade disaster. The most recent operational examples of Marines conducting NEOs include Tunisia, Japan and Libya. NEOs are listed as one of the essential skills for Marine Expeditionary Units and are rehearsed several times a year across the Service.

When Marines are called upon to support the State Department, for example to evacuate an American embassy's staff, the US ambassador becomes the senior authority for the successful execution and completion of the operation. The complexity of the operation and the political and diplomatic factors involved require realistic and thorough rehearsal in order to ensure Marines are prepared if ever tasked to rescue those in harm's way. The mission rehearsal Friday will incorporate role players acting as evacuees, as State Department staff and filling other supporting roles.

As evacuees assemble at the site, a security team will be flown in via MV-22 Osprey, an aircraft whose speed and range are ideally suited for evacuation operations. The security team will ensure the safety of the rest of the mission team as they land and establish an evacuation control center. Evacuees will then be registered, sorted and cared for before they are transported to safety. The Marines involved in the exercise will be transported from Mainside to an alternate landing zone aboard the Combat Center.