Photo By Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon | Guardsmen with the Washington National Guard’s 10th Civil Support Team lead the...... read more read more
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Chants and cheers fill Lumen Field in downtown Seattle. More than 70,000 fans cheering for their team, wearing the colors of their nation, as the players on the pitch fight for everlasting glory.
That is a vision of next summer when Seattle will be one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest and most popular international football event in the world. World Cup, only rivaled by the Olympics brings millions of fans from 48 nations together every four years for celebration and competition.
In preparation for the World Cup, the city of Seattle is one of the cities hosting the 2025 Club World Cup, an international football competition where the best club teams from around the world compete against each other. This is where you will find members of the 10th Civil Support Team, supporting Seattle Fire Department and Police Department from June 11 to June 26, 2025.
“We are leading the Joint Hazardous Assessment Teams during the 2025 Club Cup, partnering with Seattle Fire and Police,” said U.S. Army Maj. Ryan Dykes, commander of the 10th Civil Support Team, Washington National Guard. “We are working with numerous civil support teams as well; it is a great chance to work with each other before next summer.”
A Joint Hazard Assessment Team (JHAT) is a specialized group of experts from various agencies, including law enforcement, fire departments, and health departments, that collaborate to assess and respond to hazardous materials and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive) incidents, especially during special events. They focus on rapid assessment, mitigation, and, when necessary, escalation of threats or incidents involving hazardous materials. This is done through teams providing mobile assessments while walking through the stadium, setting up sensors and monitors.
Dykes and the 10th Civil Support Team are used to working with multiple agencies at large events in Seattle and across the country. The team works behind the scenes at every Seattle Seahawks home game, the 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star game and numerous Super Bowls. However, the size and scope of the World Cup makes these events seem small.
“Imagine you have not just 70,000 plus fans in the stadium, but you have fans from multiple countries here for the matches, it will require a large foot print across the city,” said Dykes.
That foot print for the Club Cup included nine National Guard Civil Support Teams, members of the 10th Homeland Response Force, Seattle Fire, Police, FBI members from the Seattle office, Radiation Detection Team members from Portland, Ore., as well as other hazardous material detection teams.
“Fans wouldn’t normally see us walking around because we do so in civilian clothes, our CST soft uniform, we want to ensure we aren’t bringing attention to our team members,” said Dykes.
Back on Camp Murray, employees at the Washington Emergency Management Division are also monitoring the Club World Cup events. EMD has been coordinating with local partners for nearly a year to ensure Club World Cup went off without a hitch. EMD staff monitored events in the State Emergency Operations Center as well as the Regional Response Coordination Center and the King County Emergency Operations Center.
“The Club World Cup gave us a critical opportunity to validate how we communicate, coordinate, and operate across agencies ahead of a globally significant event,” said Caroline Byrd, Planning Section Chief for the State Emergency Operations Center. “By embedding EMD staff with FEMA and King County, we weren’t just testing procedures, we were building real-world relationships and refining the systems we’ll rely on during the 2026 World Cup. This collaboration is the foundation of a successful, unified response.”
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2025 19:02 |
| Story ID: | 501782 |
| Location: | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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