Photo By Sgt. Adrianne Lopez | Stephon Critchton, who scored the winning field goal in front of 45,719 people at...... read more read more
LAS VEGAS — A fortunate form of sports diplomacy occurred Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.
Two senior members of the Samoan Disaster Management Office (DMO) and one from the Samoan Fire and Emergency Services Agency (SFESA) visited the Nevada National Guard last week, meeting with the Nevada Office of Emergency Management, county emergency managers from around the state, along with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and security officials at Allegiant Stadium.
The engagement served to enhance Samoa’s operational capabilities for the Pacific island nation’s mass-casualty exercise set for 2027 in Apia, Samoa.
They also attended the three-game Australian National Rugby League Premiership season opener at Allegiant Stadium. Samoa, a Nevada partner nation in the National Guard State Partnership Program since 2023, is also a rugby-crazed nation.
In the final game of the night, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faced off against the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton, of Samoa, kicked the game-winning field goal, "golden point," in overtime to secure a 15-14 victory before a record rugby crowd in Las Vegas of 45,719. When he saw Samoan officials in attendance waving the nation's flag, Crichton took time after the game to celebrate with them and talk about the villages they grew up in together, said Lt. Col. Chris Leroy, Nevada National Guard State Partnership Program director, who attended the game.
Of course, the Samoan officials on the SPP subject matter exchange— Apelu Sauoaiga, assistant commissioner of emergency medical response, Josephina Chan Ting, principal disaster risk reduction officer, and Bella Simeti, senior disaster management officer— also took a photo with Crichton after the game.
“It was a great way to cap off their visit here in Nevada — to see one of their fellow Samoans score the winning play on an international stage,” Leroy said.
While the rugby match provided a memorable cultural moment, the weeklong exchange focused on strengthening disaster-response coordination and civil-military integration.
Samoan officials engaged Nevada’s fire, law enforcement, medical, and emergency management professionals to examine unified command structures, emergency communications processes, and resource coordination through operations centers.
At the Nevada National Guard Joint Operations Center in Carson City, senior leaders outlined domestic response authorities and coordination mechanisms that enable the Guard to support civil authorities during complex emergencies. The delegation also observed interagency planning and execution during large-scale public events at Allegiant Stadium, reviewing medical triage procedures, evacuation protocols, and real-time information sharing.
The exchange provided Samoa’s emergency leaders with practical frameworks as they prepare to execute a 2027 exercise simulating a structural collapse during a national rugby event in Apia. The engagement reinforced the Nevada–Samoa partnership while advancing shared disaster readiness objectives, officials said.
Overall, the SPP engagement toured the Northern Nevada Food Bank, Washoe County Emergency Management Center, Carson City Emergency Management Center, Nevada Office of Emergency Management, Mass Casualty Fire Stations in both Washoe and Clark Counties, the Nevada National Guard Joint Operations Center, REMSA, Las Vegas Metro Police Dept Fusion Center, Red Cross, OptimumEMS critical care flight facility, Allegiant Stadium medical centers/command center/police and security staff. They also met with a Samoan Community group in Las Vegas during the tour.
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2026 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 559472 |
| Location: | LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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