Author: Meredith Hemphill
In September of last year, the United States Golf Association (USGA) requested that NCDPS coordinate the public safety measures for the 124th U.S. Open in Pinehurst, June 13 to 16. Alcohol Law Enforcement spearheaded the effort, and ALE Director Bryan House served as the incident commander.
ALE was not the only NCDPS agency that helped keep the 2024 U.S. Open running smoothly. State Highway Patrol, Emergency Management, Samarcand Training Academy, Communications, and the National Guard all played a role, in addition to partners in state and local law enforcement. For months leading up to the event, the multi-agency team held regular meetings and conducted on-site trainings and table-top exercises to prepare.
“As a matter of fact, the USGA indicated to us on multiple occasions that we set the gold standard for U.S. Open public safety events throughout the country,” Director House said.
Director House has participated in several previous U.S. Open tournaments, and lessons from previous years were taken into account in the planning for the 124th.
“In 2014, we had quite a bit of heat-related injuries, so USGA changed their policy and created hydration stations and allowed people to bring in water bottles for refilling to stay hydrated,” Director House explained.
ALE agents provided security service for the event and served as escorts and personal protective detail for the players. Roaming ALE agents were at the ready to respond in case of emergency. Additional security support was provided by State Capitol Police.
NCEM, the NC National Guard, and the Communications division supported the Joint Operations Center during the event. NCEM Area Coordinators from the Central Region served as liaisons between state government and local emergency management, coordinating resources and assisting with emergency response operations and planning. Homeland Security worked with the North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center to conduct data and intelligence gathering and to monitor critical infrastructure, while the Joint Cybersecurity Taskforce monitored information technology systems during the event.
The Highway Patrol conducted traffic in and around the Pinehurst Resort. Samarcand Training Academy did their part by providing hoteling space for event staff. They shut down training for the entire week to provide 175 special agents and troopers with an early breakfast each morning and a bed after their long shifts.
“We had a wonderful team with both the DPS agencies as well as the local agencies working together, and we were all on one team,” Director House said. “It was a lot of work, but I got to interact with a lot of good people.”
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