LAS VEGAS – The Nevada National Guard completed its 22nd year assisting first responders for “America’s Party,” an annual New Year’s Eve celebration that brings hundreds of thousands of partygoers to Las Vegas.
About 220 Guard members helped this year, with more than 100 on the Las Vegas Strip to assist with crowd control and ensure a safe celebration. Additionally, about 40 members of the Nevada Air Guard backed staff at University Medical Center and Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center for potential triage support in the case of any emergency.
“The Nevada National Guard has been so busy the past two years with the pandemic, overseas deployments, firefighting and so much more,” Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak told a group of Guard members at the Speedway Armory in Las Vegas. “This mission in support of local law enforcement is crucial to ensure we are prepared for anything that happens on The Strip during ‘America’s Party.’ I can’t thank you all enough for stepping up and supporting the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County Emergency Management during this year’s celebration.”
The New Year’s mission is headed by Clark County Emergency Management and supported by the Nevada National Guard, local and federal law enforcement and several other city, county and state agencies.
“Many of our Guardsmen work full-time as law enforcement officers,” said Maj. Gen Ondra Berry, Nevada’s adjutant general. Berry was the assistant police chief in the Reno Police Department during his 25-year career in law enforcement while also serving as a member of the Nevada Air Guard. “We work hand-in-hand with members of law enforcement for myriad training exercises and real-world scenarios. It’s not unusual to see them working together.”
Various forms of the New Year’s Eve mission and training exercises have occurred since the Y2K scare of 1999.
Metro Sgt. Timothy Frederick, who works in the event planning unit, thanked the Guard members.
“On behalf of Metro, thank you for your help,” said Frederick, who is also a major and traditional Guardsman in the Nevada Army National Guard. “We couldn’t do it without you.”