5-69. ECC personnel process evacuees through the stations discussed in paragraph 5-68. The following paragraphs discuss each station’s processing procedures.
RECEPTION STATION
5-70. Upon arrival at the reception station, personnel move the evacuees into a holding area. In the holding area, personnel receive and brief the evacuees. Senior officials should give the initial briefing. The briefing should provide enough information to ease fears about the evacuation process. The briefing should include the following:
• Summary of the reasons for the evacuation.
• Stations through which the evacuees will process.
• Need for an inspection of personnel and baggage.
• What support to expect at the temporary safe haven.
• What to expect upon arrival in the United States.
• What the repatriation center will provide.
5-71. Reception station personnel will perform the following:
• Organize evacuees into groups (maintain family integrity where possible).
• Maintain a roster of each evacuee, with nationality, date of birth, evacuation classification, profession, destination, and name, address, and/or phone number of a point of contact (POC) in the United States for notification.
• Collect information from marshalling and search teams on evacuees.
• Ensure each evacuee proves his identify by using passports, dependent ID cards, seaman’s papers, or anything that unquestionably establishes U.S. citizenship. Check evacuee’s ID against list of potential evacuees provided by the consulate.
• Provide an escort for groups of personnel going through the processing center. Very important persons (VIPs) and emergency medical cases should be provided individual guides, if available.
SECURITY SCREENING STATION
5-72. Security screening station personnel search evacuees and their baggage for restricted items. Personnel separately screen evacuees suspected of being enemy agents or criminals. Personnel should escort foreign diplomats, VIPs, and emergency medical cases and their families through the security station. Security station personnel will perform the following:
• Inspect for restricted items. Each evacuee and all baggage should be inspected at the conclusion of the briefing. Areas used for individual inspections should be screened. Handheld metal detectors can expedite the inspections. All restricted items should be confiscated.
NOTE: Many foreign countries sell drugs over the counter that U.S. law requires a prescription to obtain. Medical personnel on the inspection team can aid in identifying these drugs.
• Impound all weapons, excluding those of U.S. government personnel, and issue receipts to the owners. Embassy or customs officials should be consulted about the disposition of these weapons. Unless the weapons are illegal in the United States, they will be returned to the owners at the repatriation center.
• Without specific direction from the DOS, do not under any circumstances search the persons, property, papers, and families of foreign ambassadors or diplomats.
NOTE: Personal baggage that is suspected of containing restricted items can be denied passage, but will not be searched. Based on reasonable belief, the ECC OIC may refuse to evacuate any baggage suspected of containing weapons or explosives or other restricted items.
• Do not search diplomatic pouches.
• Ensure searched evacuees are not permitted to return to the reception holding area, and vice versa, to ensure all are properly searched.
• Separate evacuees suspected of being enemy agents or criminals, and escort them to the screening and interrogation station. The screening should be voluntary and considered a prerequisite to evacuation. At the conclusion of the interrogation, the evacuees will be allowed to continue the processing, set free, or placed in a detainee area.
REGISTRATION STATION
5-73. At the registration station, foreign nationals must either be on the list of potential evacuees provided by the Embassy or post or secure approval from the U.S. Embassy staff before they can continue processing. Personnel maintain a roster of each evacuee, with nationality, date of birth, evacuation classification, profession, destination, and name, address, and/or phone number of a POC in the United States for notification. Personnel complete this roster in duplicate. The Ambassador or designated representative will be
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ECC. Security personnel should be available to react to any hostile incidents.
Each evacuee should do the following:
• Prove identity by using passports, dependent ID cards, seaman’s papers, or anything that unquestionably establishes U.S. citizenship.
• Sign a Waiver of Evacuation Opportunity, if one is available.
• Provide information concerning background and personal history to the registration clerks. The State Department’s EPH provides for Optional Form (OF) 28, (Evacuation Documentation). The OF 28 is a standard one-page form that has three carbon copies. The form contains critical information such as personal data, citizenship status, privacy warning, and promissory note. The original of the form remains at the ECC while the copies can be used as boarding passes for evacuation transportation and for in-processing at the temporary safe haven.
• Receive a copy of Department of Defense (DD) Form 2585, (Repatriation Processing Center Processing Sheet). The DD Form 2585 should be completed before arrival at the repatriation center.
5-75. Foreign nationals must either be on the list of potential evacuees provided by the Embassy or post or secure approval from the U.S. Embassy staff before they can continue processing. The Ambassador or designated representative will be the final authority on acceptability of evacuee ID.
DEBRIEFING STATION
5-76. The debriefing station is optional, depending on the situation and the time available to conduct the evacuation. Counterintelligence personnel should staff the debriefing station. Debriefing station personnel debrief each evacuee to obtain information that may affect the evacuation force, the evacuation force’s mission, the evacuees, or other U.S. government activities in the country. Information that might be of interest to the debriefing station personnel includes the following:
• Locations of other potential evacuees.
• Changes in the political situation.
• Movements and activities of indigenous groups, entities, and parties that might oppose the evacuation.
• True intent of a threatening third party, to include considering the following:
What is the capability and likelihood of the third party carrying out a threat?
Can the third party be influenced?
Can the potential threat be stopped or countered?
MEDICAL STATION
5-77. As required, injured or ill evacuees may proceed through the medical station for first aid (Figure 5-4) and to identify medical conditions that may have an effect on the evacuation process. Serious medical cases receive top
seriously ill, injured, or wounded persons complete processing. Medical personnel should—
• Screen evacuees to determine if an evacuee requires emergency medical treatment or evacuation.
• Verify inoculations required for safe haven country, if required.
• Be prepared to treat trauma injuries should the situation deteriorate.
• Perform emergency treatment, as required.
• Isolate evacuees infected with contagious diseases.
Figure 5-4. Evacuees Screened at Medical Station
TRANSPORTATION STATION
5-78. Personnel assigned to the transportation station—
• Prepare each group of evacuees for embarkation aboard aircraft, ships, or surface vehicles.
• Coordinate surface or air transportation (Figure 5-5, page 5-19), to include movement of personnel to the evacuation area, transportation of evacuees to designated aircraft and/or landing craft, and internal evacuation site requirements.
• Provide loading control personnel to supervise loading of personnel aboard vehicles, aircraft, and/or landing craft.
•
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• Verify that information on the passenger manifest agrees with information provided on the evacuee register.
• Ensure there are enough transportation assets to transport evacuees and their baggage to the point of embarkation.
Figure 5-5. Evacuees Transported by Air
COMFORT STATION
5-79. The comfort station is a temporary waiting area for evacuees until they board evacuation aircraft. Comfort station personnel should make the evacuees’ stay as untroubled as possible and provide some degree of privacy.
Some considerations are as follows:
• Sufficient shelter, cots, blankets, food, water, and infant supplies.
• Senior personnel, medical personnel, unit ministry teams, and assistants available to counsel evacuees, especially families with young children.
• Male and female personal items.
• Restroom or latrine facilities.
TEMPORARY REFUGEE HOLDING AREA
5-80. The temporary refugee holding area is provided for personnel who are not eligible for evacuation but are in imminent physical danger. The ECC can choose not to provide this area if resources are not available or if it might compromise the security of the operation. The temporary refugee holding area personnel will perform the following:
• Ensure the refugees are securely separated from actual evacuees.
• Search all refugees for restricted items, especially weapons.
•
They have been provided temporary protection because they were in immediate physical danger.
Admission to this station does not constitute asylum.
Only the DOS can consider and grant requests for asylum.
Requests for asylum will be handled on an individual basis.
A DOS representative will brief you on the criteria for asylum.
• Release, retain, or evacuate the refugees in accordance with instructions given by the COM.