diff --git a/smocore/componentThread.cpp b/smocore/componentThread.cpp
index dc87253..46a3586 100644
--- a/smocore/componentThread.cpp
+++ b/smocore/componentThread.cpp
@@ -96,6 +96,13 @@ void ComponentThread::main(ComponentThread& self)
 
 	std::cout << self.name << ":" << __func__ << ": Entering event loop" <<"\n";
 
+	/* We loop here because when an exception is caught, we need to first catch
+	 * it in the catch blocks. We bubble the exception to mrntt in the catch
+	 * blocks, and then we loop here to await control messages from mrntt.
+	 *
+	 * We can't just exit on our own. Rather, we must wait for mrntt to tell us
+	 * to exit. When we wish to finally exit, we set keepLooping to false.
+	 */
 	for (self.keepLooping = true; self.keepLooping;)
 	{
 		try {
@@ -118,7 +125,7 @@ void ComponentThread::main(ComponentThread& self)
 		}
 	}
 
-	std::cout << self.name << ":" << __func__ << ": Exiting event loop" << "\n";
+	std::cout << self.name << ":" << __func__ << ": Exited event loop" << "\n";
 }
 
 // Thread management method implementations
@@ -245,6 +252,8 @@ void ComponentThread::exceptionInd(ComponentThread& thread)
 
 							currThreadJ->thread.join();
 						}
+
+						mrntt::mrntt->keepLooping = false;
 						mrntt::mrntt->getIoService().stop();
 					}
 				);
diff --git a/smocore/include/marionette/marionette.h b/smocore/include/marionette/marionette.h
index ec0c1e3..50b3a23 100644
--- a/smocore/include/marionette/marionette.h
+++ b/smocore/include/marionette/marionette.h
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ struct CrtCommandLineArgs
     static void set(int argc, char *argv[], char *envp[]);
 };
 
-int initializeSalmanoff(void);
+void initializeSalmanoff(void);
 
 } // namespace smo
 
diff --git a/smocore/include/mind.h b/smocore/include/mind.h
index 9d7a74e..a270676 100644
--- a/smocore/include/mind.h
+++ b/smocore/include/mind.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ namespace smo {
 class Mind
 {
 public:
+	void initialize(void);
 	void execute(void);
 
 public:
diff --git a/smocore/marionette/marionette.cpp b/smocore/marionette/marionette.cpp
index 40a69ea..d815622 100644
--- a/smocore/marionette/marionette.cpp
+++ b/smocore/marionette/marionette.cpp
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <exception>
 #include <opts.h>
+#include <mind.h>
 #include <componentThread.h>
 #include <marionette/marionette.h>
 
@@ -57,37 +58,52 @@ void ComponentThread::marionetteMain(ComponentThread& self)
 			return;
 		}
 
-		int ret = smo::initializeSalmanoff();
-		if (ret != 0)
+		smo::Mind mind;
+
+		self.getIoService().post([&mind]()
 		{
-			std::cerr << __func__ << ": Initialization failed with code: "
-				<< ret << std::endl;
-			mrntt::exitCode = ret;
-			return;
-		}
+			try {
+				initializeSalmanoff();
+				mind.initialize();
+			}
+			catch (const std::exception& e) {
+				mrntt::exitCode = EXIT_FAILURE;
+				throw;
+			}
 
-		/* Start the threads */
-		for (auto& componentThread : smo::ComponentThread::componentThreads)
-		{
-            // Post startThread() to the event loop of all threads except MRNTT.
-            if (componentThread->id == ComponentThread::MRNTT) { continue; }
-
-            // JOLT the thread.
-            componentThread->getIoService().post([componentThread]()
-                { componentThread->getIoService().stop(); }
-            );
-
-            // Now tell it to execute its initialization sequence.
-            componentThread->startThreadReq();
-		}
-
-        body::body->getIoService().post([]{
-            throw std::runtime_error("test exception");
-        });
+			body::body->getIoService().post([]{
+				throw std::runtime_error("test exception");
+			});
+		});
 
         std::cout << __func__ << ": Entering event loop" << "\n";
-        self.getIoService().reset();
-		self.getIoService().run();
+
+		/* We loop here because when an exception occurs in mrntt, we need to
+		 * both direct the mind threads to exit gracefully, and then we also
+		 * need to post messages to our own event loop to initiate our own
+		 * orderly exit. So we loop here to re-enter the event loop, both
+		 * to receive the ACK messages from the mind threads, and to post
+		 * messages to our own event loop to initiate our own orderly exit.
+		 */
+        for (self.keepLooping = true; self.keepLooping;)
+        {
+            try {
+                self.getIoService().reset();
+                self.getIoService().run();
+            }
+            catch (const std::exception& e)
+            {
+                std::cerr << self.name << ":" << __func__
+                    << ": Exception occurred: " << e.what() << "\n";
+            }
+            catch (...)
+            {
+                std::cerr << self.name << ":" << __func__
+                    << ": Unknown exception occurred" << "\n";
+            }
+        }
+
+        std::cout << __func__ << ": Exited event loop" << "\n";
 	}
 	catch (const std::exception& e)
 	{
diff --git a/smocore/marionette/salmanoff.cpp b/smocore/marionette/salmanoff.cpp
index 9a74126..1434c83 100644
--- a/smocore/marionette/salmanoff.cpp
+++ b/smocore/marionette/salmanoff.cpp
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 namespace smo {
 
-int initializeSalmanoff(void)
+void initializeSalmanoff(void)
 {
 	std::cout << __func__ << ": Entered." << std::endl;
 
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ std::cerr << "About to attachAllSenseDevicesFromSpecs" << std::endl;
 std::cerr << "Done attachAllSenseDevicesFromSpecs" << std::endl;
 
 	std::cout << __func__ << ": Done." << std::endl;
-	return 0;
 }
 
 } // namespace smo
diff --git a/smocore/mind.cpp b/smocore/mind.cpp
index 38d08ed..64d17ea 100644
--- a/smocore/mind.cpp
+++ b/smocore/mind.cpp
@@ -1,2 +1,25 @@
 
 #include <mind.h>
+#include <componentThread.h>
+
+namespace smo {
+
+void Mind::initialize()
+{
+    /* Start the threads */
+    for (auto& componentThread : smo::ComponentThread::componentThreads)
+    {
+        // Post startThread() to the event loop of all threads except MRNTT.
+        if (componentThread->id == ComponentThread::MRNTT) { continue; }
+
+        // JOLT the thread.
+        componentThread->getIoService().post([componentThread]()
+            { componentThread->getIoService().stop(); }
+        );
+
+        // Now tell it to execute its initialization sequence.
+        componentThread->startThreadReq();
+    }
+}
+
+} // namespace smo