New York Naval Militia gets new commander during Friday, Nov. 21 ceremony in Latham

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Capt. Mary Etta Nolan

LATHAM, NY (11/20/2025) (readMedia)-- New York Naval Militia Capt. MaryEtta Nolan a Greenfield Center resident, a retired perioperative care nurse, and retired Navy Nurse Corps Reserve officer, takes charge of the New York Naval Militia during a Friday, Nov. 21 ceremony at Division of Military and Naval Affairs headquarters.

Nolan will be the first woman to lead the 133-year-old force which has 3,250 members across the state.

Nolan will replace Rear Admiral Michael Perry, an Averill Park Resident, who has led the Naval Militia since 2023.

WHO:Captain MaryEtta Nolan, the incoming commander; Rear Admiral Michael Perry, the outgoing commander; Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, and men and women of the New York Naval Militia.

WHAT: Traditional naval change-of-command ceremony. The outgoing and incoming commanders will read their orders, relieving them of duty and appointing them to their new role and then exchange salutes. There will be brief remarks from each officer.

Nolan will be promoted to rear admiral during the ceremony.

WHEN: 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

WHERE: Division of Military and Naval Affairs Headquarters, 330, Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, New York.

Contact the Division of Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs Office at 518-786-4581 for access to this secure military facility.

BACKGROUND

New York Naval Militia

The New York Naval Militia was created in 1891 as a seagoing version of the National Guard in the days before there was a Navy Reserve.

Most members of the New York Naval Militia serve in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserve as well and use their skills and experience honed serving in these federal forces for the New Yorkers while on state active duty.

The New York Naval Milita operates a fleet of 11 patrol boats which work in support of local, state, and federal agencies. Over 400 Naval Militia members are currently serving on state active duty assisting the New York National Guard support for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Several hundred more served during the New York Military Forces response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members of the New York Naval Militia served during the Spanish-American War in 1898 and in World War I. In between World Wars I and II, the state naval militias were recognized by the federal government and regulated by the Navy. The New York Naval Militia's Marine Corps detachment predates the creation of the Marine Corps Reserve by four months.

Following the Korean War, state law governing the Naval Militia was changed so that the bulk of Naval Militia members were concurrently members of the Marine Corps and Navy Reserve. Since 1998, members of the Coast Guard Reserve have also been able to serve in the Naval Militia.

Rear Admiral (one-star) MaryEtta Nolan

MaryEtta Nolan graduated from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in May 1983 earning a Baccalaureate Degree in Science in Nursing obtaining a license in Virginia. In 1984 she applied to the Navy for direct commission in the Nurse Corps Reserve which was awarded on August 24, 1984.

As a reserve officer, Nolan was assigned to the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center at Sewells Point in Norfolk, Virginia as clinical operations officer. She was also a "plank owner" when the Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth (NMCP) stood up a same day surgical program at Fort Eustis Army Reserve Center in Newport News, Virginia.

Her other duties have included:

• Commanding officer of Navy Reserve Operational Health Support a NMCP responsible for five detachments.

• Director of Southern Medical Detachments Mid-Atlantic Region, managing reserve units in Viriginia and New York.

• Senior Nurse Leader Detachment Yankee at the Naval Reserve Center Schenectady, New York.

Nolan was on active Duty in 1991 in support of Operation Desert Storm at NMCP.

She was also on duty in 2003 in support of Operation Noble Eagle, homeland security missions and Operation Enduring Freedom, combat operations in Afghanistan.

She served on active duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 and at NMCP in 2007 and 2019.

Nolan's awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

In civilian life, Nolan served as a nurse at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News from 1984 to 2004. In 2000 she completed a program allowing her to assist surgeons in thoracic, general, neurology, and oncology surgical procedures.

In 2004, she worked at NMCP as a civilian to train Active Duty and Civilian Perioperative Nurses and Technicians in Cardiac Surgery for a new Cardiac Surgical Program being introduced for the large population of retirees.

After moving to New York in 2006, she worked in Albany, at St. Peter's Hospital on the Cardiac Team for two years, then Saratoga Surgery Center in Saratoga Springs until retirement in March 2020 with 35 years of service.

Nolan joined the New York Naval Militia in 2020, an served as the organization's administrative officer and a regional commander. In 2023 she was appointed chief of staff and deputy director.

Nolan is married to retired Newport News, Virginia, Police Captain, Arthur D. Nolan who joined the NY Naval Militia's Military Emergency Boat Service in 2014 and retired in 2018. They reside in Greenfield Center, NY.

Rear Admiral ( one-star) Michael Perry

Rear Admiral Michael Perry received a direct commission into the Supply Corps of the Navy Reserve as an ensign in 1991 and joined the New York Naval Militia that year.

While serving in the Navy Reserve, Perry held jobs as the executive officer for a Navy cargo handling battalion, commanding officer of a supply management team; the commander of two fleet industrial supply detachments, and commander of the Navy Reserve Defense Contract Management Agency, Boston. He also served as commander of the Naval Reserve Sealift Command, Supply Chain Support unit in Norfolk.

His active-duty assignments included director of the Joint Movement Center for U.S. Navy Central Command; Joint Reserve Force Commander and Mobilization Assistant to the Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency; and Commercial Industry Branch Chief for United States Transportation Command.

In civilian life, he worked for the New York State Thruway Authority and retired in 2016. He retired from the Navy Reserve in 2019.

He holds bachelors, and master's degrees in public administration from the State University of New York, Albany. He also earned a master's in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

He lives in Averill Park with his wife Nancy.