US Military to Conduct Civilian Evacuation Drill in South Korea

Read this last night, posted about it in another thread.


amp.timeinc.net...

(Sorry for crude link, a bit beyond my skill level, especially when I'm rushed!)


Not to raise any panic, but I find the timing of this Drill, especially since a similar excerise was conducted last November, to be "interesting".

The article states that there are approximately 230,000 Americans in South Korea, 20 - 30,000 of them service members.

Shout out to Zaphod and the rest of our military experts:

What kind of logistics would we looking at (or should we be looking for) to facilitate a rapid Evacuation of this scale?

One have to wonder
Why do they keep calling these things a "drill"
Things have been pretty serious for some time now
Are they fooling anyone..

I hope they open up a base in Thailand to house these dependents. The fact is, North Korea hasn't and won't do anything major, yes, they killed and did some bombing and blew up a ship. Yet South Korea did nothing, why, well, when you have over 10000 missiles pointed at you that are less then 18 minutes away, you put up with this bullshiittte. Take it or leave, but that is the way it is. Now Japan, on the news the other day has shown people going out and buying gas mask. Not sure what is going on, but for you here that don't know it, North Korea came to Japan and kidnapped some Japanese people and 30 years later Japan didn't even attack North Korea for doing it, why, well, for one reason, when you got over 30000 missiles pointed at Okinawa and Japan, well you know the story...

North Korea is a threat, wake up people, it is real, they have missiles with chems and bio weapons yet America is all talk and afraid to do jack # about it. Yeah, America only goes after the weak, point is that North Korea is not weak. Peace is better than war.

Wish they would get this war over with. Kim Jong Un needs to die. Stalling the inevitable is stupid.

a reply to: Spacespider

It's the frequency, and, in particular, the timing, of this Drill that caught my attention.

That and the on-going CT meme concerning "drills"
that suddenly become not-a-drill incidents.

originally posted by: Bhadhidar
a reply to: Spacespider

It's the frequency, and, in particular, the timing, of this Drill that caught my attention.

That and the on-going CT meme concerning "drills"
that suddenly become not-a-drill incidents.

Strange they keep thinking a show of force will calm the great leader
If anything, he will just get more aggressive
I think the time to strike NK is now, remove the great leader
dismantle his military, and nuke programs.
Remove North Korea, and just make one big Korea.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Why do you find it odd that they're practicing an evacuation from an area where an outbreak of hostilities is a distinct possibility?

That's sorta like finding it odd that the fire department practices cutting people out of wrecked vehicles. It's possible that they'll need to do it so they might want to consider y'know...making sure they can actually do it.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Bhadhidar

Why do you find it odd that they're practicing an evacuation from an area where an outbreak of hostilities is a distinct possibility?

That's sorta like finding it odd that the fire department practices cutting people out of wrecked vehicles. It's possible that they'll need to do it so they might want to consider y'know...making sure they can actually do it.

As I stated before, it is the frequency, and with this particular drill, the timing, coinciding with the arrival of the Vinson CBG, that piqued my interest.

The article states that this same drill was conducted just six months ago. We're talking about Evacuating 230K people. That is a large, expensive exercise to conduct every 6-9 months, especially since the parameters and logistics are not likely to have changed much in the intervening months.

It doesn't make much sense, unless the intel suggests it might be prudent under the, undisclosed, circumstances, perhaps?

a reply to: Bhadhidar

And the last time they did the drill was right after NK announced they had conducted another nuclear test, and they evacuated a few dozen people

At the time, the USFK transported dozens of their family members from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to Daegu by Chinook helicopter, and then to a base of U.S. Forces Japan by C-130 transport plane.

They didn't evacuate a quarter million people last time, and they won't this time. They do the drill every year, some times physically and some times via computer simulation.

So...no, "we" are not talking about evacuating 230k people after doing so six months ago. You are, but nobody else is.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

All it is, is gathering people together at the evacuation points and making sure everyone knows what to do.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Bhadhidar

They do the drill every year, some times physically and some times via computer simulation.

From the article:

"The U.S. military’s last evacuation exercise in South Korea took place in October and November last year, after Pyongyang successfully conducted its fifth underground nuclear test in September. It was the first such drill in seven years."

Emphasis added.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Which is why they'll hold them a little more frequently. Something didn't go well last time, and it took a little while to sort out and figure out the changes. So they're trying it again.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Courageous Channel is a regularly scheduled exercise. It is unrelated to any current or specific event. Noncombatant readiness exercises called "Courageous Channel" are conducted semi-annually, usually during the spring and fall each year. During these exercises, a full dress rehearsal of NEO is conducted. The purpose of this exercise is to train all participants in the procedures to follow during the alert and assembly phases to instill realistic expectations. In order for any plan to work, it is essential that the participants fully understand all aspects and stages of the plan. To make the whole process work successfully requires practice.

Courageous Channel explanation

The last one was the first time in seven years that they physically moved civilians rather than run a simulation.

I added some emphasis too, but I'm beginning to suspect that no matter how many times it's explained you're going to ignore it. Courageous Channel is done year in and year out. The fact that it's continuing to be done now means dick all.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Thank you for the additional information.

You'll note that the "Courageous Channel" excercise is never mentioned in the Time article, as is the fact that the excercise is conducted semi-annually.

Kind of takes a lot of the "zing" out of the Time piece, doesn't it?

Now why would Time want to, shall we say, enhance, the immediacy of their article?

Hmmmm!

And that is why ATS is privileged to have contributors like you and Zaph, especially at tense times like these.