NY Army National Guard and Naval Militia conduct training on the Hudson River

The New York Naval Militia, the New York Army National Guard, the New York Guard and the Schodack Landing Fire Company teamed up to execute a wildfire training exercise on the Hudson River off Schodack Island State Park.

Seventeen New York Naval Militia members deployed two patrol boats and a landing craft from the Military Emergency Boats Service, or MEBS for short. The Naval Militia also deployed a command trailer on shore to orchestrate the operation. The boats stopped traffic on the Hudson River, while a UH-60M crew, based at the Albany International Airport in Latham, used a Bambi bucket to conduct firefighting exercise over the water. The training exercise was part of a three-day exercise called Empire Challenge.

The exercise tested the New York Naval Militia’s boat operators, and the communications capabilities of the Naval Militia, the New York Guard-the states volunteer defense force- the New York National Guard, and the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.