Ambassador Bishop requested an evacuation of the American community on 1 January , indicating that the evacuation could be with the planned Italian , French , or German evacuation efforts , but preferred an evacuation by the US military . The State Department authorized the evacuation on 2 January and on that day , Ambassador Bishop specifically requested an evacuation by the US military , thereby initiating Operation Eastern Exit . Ambassador Bishop had spent a considerable amount of time discussing contingency plans for evacuation with other diplomatic posts . Ultimately , ten heads of missions — eight ambassadors and two chargés d 'affaires — along with their staff sought refuge in the US embassy compound and were evacuated .