New York Naval Militia conducting boat training from Hudson marina, this morning Saturday April 29.

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HUDSON, NEW YORK (04/29/2023) (readMedia)-- The New York Naval Militia's Military Emergency Boat Service will be conducting boat handling training on the Hudson River, basing at the Hudson Power Boat Association docks at Henrick Hudson Park in Hudson this morning, Saturday, April 29.

Thirty members of the Naval Militia will take part in the exercise, which will involve conducting operations on the river with the 11 watercraft which comprise the Military Emergency Boat Service fleet.

Members of the press are invited to cover the training.

WHO: Thirty members of the New York Naval Militia.

WHAT: A two-day training event held to refresh crew training as the boats prepare to depart for their summer duty stations. Boat crews will be doing class room training and manuevering on the Hudson River.

WHEN: 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 29, 2023

WHERE: 23 Ferry St, Hudson, NY 12534

Coverage Opportunities:

Interview with Naval Militia personnel and leaders and video of the training and boats getting underway. Contact Capt. Don McKnight at 518-322-0644 on the day of the event for updated information.

BACKGROUND

Most of the New York Naval Militia's boats are stored over the winter at the New York State Armory in Leeds. The Hudson Power Boat Association's marina is convenient to this location. The Hudson Power Boat Association has been in operation since 1951, and has about 120 members.

On Saturday morning, all 11 boats will conduct a formation cruise from Hudson south, past the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. The boats will then return and break off for individual training.

These training exercises will include man overboard drills, search and rescue exercises, towing, patrol operations, and landings.

The 2,700- member New York Naval Militia is a federally recognized state defense force, and traces its history back to 1891, when it was organized as a naval version of the National Guard.

The bulk of the force is composed of members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard reserves who also volunteer to respond to state missions when ordered into service by the governor. New York benefits from the skills these men and women learned from the federal military.

A small number of Naval Militia members are veterans or retired military members who volunteer for the force.

The New York Naval Militia is a component of the New York Military Forces which his under the command of Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York.

The Military Emergency Board service operates a patrol boat fleet which deploys in support of the United States Coast Guard, the Border Patrol and law enforcement agencies across New York on major water bodies across the state.

Two of the boats are landing craft, which enables the Division of Military and Naval Affairs to deliver New York National Guard troops and supplies to locations along lakes and rivers following disasters.

On Sunday the boats and their crews will deploy to their seasonal deployment stations on the Hudson River and New York Harbor. Smaller boats will be loaded on trailers and driven to their stations in Rochester and Buffalo.