CAMP MURRAY, Wash. — A Washington National Guard team will be part of Major League Baseball’s 2023 All-Star festivities in Seattle on July 11.
Members of the guard’s 10th Civil Support Team will not be taking the field, but they will be assisting local agencies to help keep the game, and events leading up to it, safe.
“We’re an all hazards team,” said team leader Lt. Col. Tyler Royster.
Royster said his 22-person team assists local agencies during presidential visits, suspicious device calls, and potential hazardous materials calls.
In March, the team helped Thurston County detectives investigate a series of fentanyl overdoses at the county jail.
“We don’t self-deploy, we don’t show up unannounced,” said Royster. “It’s a request that comes in.”
He said their team members will assist with communications and provide air quality sensors to identify potential gas leaks, natural or otherwise, in and around T-Mobile Park.
It’s the same work Staff Sgt. Jordan Cowart has done at Seahawks games in the past.
He described the sporting events as “fun” assignments.
”Sometimes you’re able to kind of see what’s going on. If it’s a Seahawks game you might be able to watch a little bit,” said Cowart. “But what we’re there for is more important than what everyone else is there for.”
The Civil Support Team will also be working during the 2024 NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile January 1, as well as working at Lumen Field during the 2026 World Cup.
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