AUGUSTA — Lieutenant Jay Carroll, a 23-year veteran of the Maine Marine Patrol, has recently been promoted to colonel, replacing Jon Cornish who officially retires April 5 after 34 years of service, including four as colonel.

Carroll officially begins duties as colonel on April 1, after serving as lieutenant of Division II, which stretches from Searsport to the Canadian border, since 2014

“I have great confidence in Lieutenant Carroll’s ability to excel in this leadership role,” said Patrick Keliher, commissioner of Maine Department of Marine Resources, in a news release. “His depth of professional experience and accomplishments as an officer, a specialist, a sergeant and a lieutenant on Maine’s increasingly busy downeast coast position him well to guide the Marine Patrol into the future.”

Carroll has had a lifelong connection to Marine Patrol. His father, Jim, was also a lieutenant in Division II. His uncle John Carroll and cousin Richard LaHaye Jr. both served as Marine Patrol lieutenants, and his cousin Tim Carroll, currently the sheriff of Knox County, also served in the Marine Patrol.

“I am honored to take this next step in my career and look forward to working with the talented, hard-working Marine Patrol professionals whose efforts are critical in sustaining our state’s valuable marine resources.”

Prior to serving as lieutenant, Carroll served for thirteen years as a field sergeant in Hancock and Washington Counties, one year as a boat captain in Knox County, and four years as an officer in the Port Clyde patrol area.

Carroll began his career in law enforcement in 1994 as a reserve officer in the Bar Harbor Police Department. He then served as a deputy sheriff with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office until 1996, when he joined the Marine Patrol, steadily rising through the ranks from officer to colonel.

“Lieutenant Carroll has done an outstanding job throughout his career,” said Keliher. “He has led the officers, sergeants and boat specialists in Division II through a period of significant change in our state’s commercial fishing industries, including historic growth in value and abundance of lobster, and challenges associated with Maine’s lucrative elver fishery.

“He has maintained excellent working relationships with the commercial fishing industry and has set a standard of exceptional problem solving and communications for the officers in Division II.”

Cornish was promoted to colonel in 2015 after previously serving as sergeant, major, and lieutenant in Division I, which includes the Maine coast from Kittery to the St. George River.

Colonel Cornish began his career in the Marine Patrol in 1985 as an officer. In 2001 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and in 2004 to lieutenant.

“I’m grateful for Colonel Cornish’s decades of exceptional service,” said Keliher. “He has shown great commitment and judgement throughout his career and has guided the Marine Patrol with a steady hand as Colonel.”