Arizona National Guard answers call of duty at WM Phoenix Open, Super Bowl

PHOENIX – Arizona’s National Guard will be on the job this week at two of the country’s busiest sporting events hosted in metro Phoenix.

Army and Air Guard will have a presence at the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament Thursday through Sunday in Scottsdale and Super Bowl LVII on Sunday in Glendale, in a multiagency show of force.

“Our National Guard was specifically tasked to do mission particular to our wheelhouse, so some of our explosive ordnance folks will be in standby mode,” Arizona National Guard Maj. Gen. Kerry Muehlenbeck told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

“The emergency management team will have folks in our state emergency operation center monitoring, in case there is a needed response that somehow overwhelms the cities or the counties,” Muehlenbeck, director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, said.

“We’re part of the community effort,” she said.

Muehlenbeck’s is one of several public safety agencies, including the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, that comprises the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC).

“We’ve got our cyber team on the Guard side that’s working at ACTIC, and they’ll be monitoring the situation,” she said.

Muehlenbeck said agencies across the country sent support. “I think upwards of 100 additional support folks,” are in Arizona.

“It’s been a big lift for us,” she said.

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