Norfolk Supports Navy Families Returning from Japan, Bahrain

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class(AW) Tim Comerford, Commander, Navy Region Mid Atlantic Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Emergency management members and support personnel aboard Naval Station (NS) Norfolk, Va., are preparing to assist family members returning to the United States from overseas locations March 21, as part of authorized departures of DoD family members and non-emergency essential personnel living in Bahrain and Japan.

The Naval Station Norfolk Emergency Management Plan has a support annex for non-combatant evacuation or mass returning of families.

"The plan lays out what we would do in case a planeload of families is evacuated from Bahrain," said Eugene Lambert, NS Norfolk emergency management officer. "It doesn't take that long to get in place, we just have to make sure we have computers and phone lines ready. The repatriation team is set up on a phone alert system, and we just send out an alert with when the flight would be arriving, and how many people and when the team should report in.

"Our job would be to meet the plane at the AMC (Air Mobility Command) terminal when it arrives to greet the families and get them on buses and take them to a processing center that we would set up. We would take them through and provide any assistance that they may need," Lambert said.

Assistance could come in the form of information, money advances, travel fare, legal support, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) assistance, travel claims and veterinary services.

"Once the family gets there they would fill out a 2585 form," Lambert said. "That form asks what needs they may have, where they expect to establish themselves … and information about the families."

Lambert said overall the family members will be provided with services and resources to help them check into the United States and get them to their final destination.

"For folks that are staying in the area, we will find a staff member to be their sponsor to ensure they are provided all the information and resources that are available," said Alex Ottaviani, FFSC Norfolk site manager. "We will check and make sure that the families are entered into (the) Navy Family Accountability System (NFAS) and do preliminary needs assessments if that has not been done. Then we will manage those cases, or we will hand off those cases. If this is only a stopping point we can hand them off to another Fleet and Family Support Center."

The Navy Marine Corps Relief Society will also be on location to provide assistance to returning family members.

"If they have financial needs in the process we can fill that gap," said Kathy Nelson, NMCRS Norfolk director. "The assistance offered in per diem and travel has about a three day process, so waiting for that can cause a hardship. NMCRS is in the position to meet the families coming from Japan and Bahrain and offer financial assistance.

NMCRS is also helping out where they can in regards to the other Armed Forces.

"Army relief and Air force Aid are collaborating with us to learn from each other and help where our footprint is not so large," Nelson said.

Lambert said NS Norfolk is prepared for any amount of returning family members.

"If we were to get a flight with just a few families on it we're are set up to establish the assistance at the AMC terminal," Lambert said, "We would do the same thing just on a smaller scale. If we had a plane load of 230 people and we were processing all of them, we would get them through the whole process, from plane landing to final processing, in about four hours."

Lambert said he is not anticipating a mass exodus coming through the naval station.

"So far it does not look like we will be getting any large groups coming in to our MAC terminal," Lambert said. "Naval Support Activity Norfolk plans to have a FFSC rep meet families that are flying into Norfolk International to ensure they are helped with any assistance they may need.”