NY Naval Militia Prepares NYS Military Emergency Boat Service for Storm Response Friday Morning

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A New York Naval Militia patrol boat during a 2012 emergency preparedness training mission on the Hudson River in Troy, N.Y.

LATHAM, N.Y. (07/24/2014)(readMedia)-- Members of the New York Naval Militia will train to conduct waterborne disaster response crew training at Schodack Island State Park July 25.

Ten Sailors of the Naval Militia will practice the coordination and communication to launch, supervise and recover two Patrol Boat Class 220 boats of the New York State Military Emergency Boat Service.

Members of the media are invited to observe the training in progress.

WHO: Ten Sailors of the New York Naval Militia, part of the New York State Military Forces of the Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

WHAT: Training in boat handling for Naval Militia members who will hone the skills they would use to search coastal areas in the wake of a storm or hurricane to look for survivors. Following Superstorm Sandy in 2012 New York Naval Militia boats and crews conducted waterfront missions to assess storm damage.

WHEN: 11 a.m., Friday, July 25 , 2014

WHERE: Schodack Island State Park, 1 Schodack Island Way, Schodack Landing, NY 12156

Media Opportunity:

News reporters can expect to gather imagery of the operations of a New York Naval Militia patrol boat, part of the New York State Military Emergency Boat Service, training crewmembers. Interviews with members of the Naval Militia training team are also offered.

BACKGROUND:

New York Naval Militia:

The New York Naval Militia is the maritime arm of the New York Military Forces. The bulk of the 2,200 Naval Militia members also belong to the United States Navy Reserve, the United States Marine Corps Reserve and the United States Coast Guard Reserve and volunteer to assist in state emergencies and state missions in addition to their federal military obligation.

Theses Naval Militia members employ the skills they learn as members of the military in aid of the residents of New York when called upon by the Governor. A small number of Naval Militia members are retired from the U.S. military.

The Naval Militia also operates a fleet of nine patrol boats which conduct missions in support of the Coast Guard, Border Patrol and local law enforcement agencies. The Naval Militia works regularly with the United States Coast Guard in New York Harbor, carrying inspection teams out to ships waiting offshore to enter the harbor aboard Patrol Board 440, a state-of-the-art patrol boat.

The Naval Militia traces its history back more than 120 years and Naval Militia members crewed ships in the Spanish American War and World War I and have served in the wars fought since then as reservists.

Schodack Island State Park

Schodack Island State Park sits off the eastern shore of the Hudson River just south of Albany. Approximately seven miles of Hudson River and Schodack Creek shoreline bound the 1,052-acre site. A day-use facility, the park has been designated a State Estuary, and a portion of the park shelters a Bird Conservation Area (BCA) that is home to bald eagles, cerulean warblers and blue herons that nest in the cottonwood trees. Eight miles of multi-use trails wind through a variety of ecological communities.