Sailors and Marines aboard amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) participated in a Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) exercise Jan. 16, while underway for Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX).

Crew members trained on how to respond in the event the ship would need to provide refuge to U.S. citizens if needed during its upcoming deployment.

Carter Hall Executive Officer, Cmdr. Brian K. Hamel, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, said the training was important because a NEO is a likely scenario for Carter Hall.

"Ultimately our job is to protect U.S. citizens overseas," Hamel said. "We're here to ensure that if something happens we can get them into a relatively safe environment; and we'll get them here and we'll take care of them."

During the NEO exercise, 15 Marines with 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) acted as U.S. citizens who were evacuated from an American embassy and in need of care and assistance. The roles ranged from small children to older citizens.

"We're often in environments where they would need to do evacuations," Hamel said. "As American citizens our job is to bring them on American soil. Carter Hall is 605 feet of U.S. territory at sea."

The evacuee role players began on Carter Hall's flight deck, as though they were delivered via helicopter. Crew members then escorted them to the vehicle stowage area (VSA) where stations were set up for in-processing, medical screenings and assistance.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Matthew R. DeJesus, from Bradenton, Florida, said the medical team performed and communicated well during the exercise. The evacuees simulated illnesses and trauma injuries such as gun shot wounds.

"The importance of having medical personnel available is because a lot of times in these NEOs there are people that have medical conditions or have had trauma," DeJesus said. "They need to be screened as they could have some medical conditions that could affect the people that are on the ship. We need to make sure that we're taking care of them and their needs, while also protecting our ship staff and ship riders from any possible dangers from personnel coming on board."

DeJesus said everyone worked together and learned a lot of valuable information for future NEOs.

Cpl. Jeffery D. Ott, from Farmville, Virginia, acted as an 8-year-old boy during the exercise. He said he could not imagine an 8-year-old coming aboard a ship, but that the crew was very comforting and well organized.

"It was good training," Ott said. "I think we gave them a pretty good picture of what it would be like."

Carter Hall is underway with the Bataan Amphibious Readiness Group participating in COMPTUEX, in preparation of a scheduled upcoming deployment.

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