CAMP LEJEUNE — Residents and visitors to Bladen and Duplin counties should not be alarmed if they hear what sounds like gunfire and see Marines, sailors and people dressed in Middle Eastern clothing moving about the area during the next two weeks.

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, will be conducting a training exercise in and around Kenansville and Rose Hill in Duplin County and Elizabethtown in Bladen County, according to information from the Communication Strategy and Operations Office of II Marine Expeditionary Force. The training exercise began Sunday and will end Oct. 15. The training, which also is taking place in South Boston and Chase City in Virginia, is part of regularly scheduled training in preparation for an overseas deployment.

The exercise was coordinated over the past eight months with federal, state and local elected officials and law enforcement agencies; county and city fire and Emergency Medical Services agencies; and private and corporate property owners and managers, according to Communication Strategy and Operations Office.

“This training will most likely be unnoticed by the majority of the population,” a Marine Corps notice reads in part. “The public can expect to possibly see or hear the following: military aircraft overflying the area, a limited number of military vehicles in the area, and role players (Marines) in Middle Eastern attire at selected sites.”

The daytime activities, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., are unobtrusive and the nighttime activities, 6 p.m. to midnight, will also be unobtrusive but may consist of helicopters flying over the area, Marines and sailors on the ground at isolated areas, and blank gunfire, according to the Communication Strategy and Operations Office. During the training events, local law enforcement personnel may cordon training areas for a limited period of time to ensure military personnel, vehicles and aircraft do not interfere with civilian activities and vice-versa. Road closures will be kept to a minimum.

“Local citizens should not approach any of the military personnel. Every effort has been made to isolate the Marines and sailors from the general population so the training scenario can be executed without mishap or interference,” the notice reads in part.