Native Brooklynite Petty Officer 2nd Class Aliah Hall keeps the Navy shipshape.
The graduate of the Metropolitan Corporate Academy in Boerum Hill is currently serving in the U.S. Navy with Assault Craft Unit TWO, or ACU-2, one of the Navy’s most advanced amphibious-warfare units.
Hall is a boatswain’s mate with the group operating out of Virginia Beach, Va., where she is responsible for seamanship tasks that enable ships and small craft to get underway.
“We get to travel and meet new people on a regular basis,” she said. “As a boatswain’s mate I’m able to gain quite a bit of leadership experience.”
And she credits her success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in her home borough.
“I learned growing up how to be flexible and roll with changes. This helps with the constant shifts in the military,” said Hall.
ACU-2 is one of the components of Naval Beach Group TWO, NBG-2, which officials commissioned in 1948, just after World War II. NBG-2 trains and equips military forces for deployment overseas. Sailors with NBG-2 serve a vital role for the country by ensuring that the Navy’s amphibious operations remain ready to defend and protect the United States at all times.
ACU-2 operates landing craft, which are specialized to transport personnel and equipment from surface ships to shore. The Landing Craft Utility, LCU, is a displacement craft capable of carrying a payload of more than 170 tons. It can be used to transport weapons systems, cargo, and personnel of Marine assault units.
The current LCU fleet has been in naval service since the late 1960s, and gun mounts on the craft can support .50-caliber machine guns, M240 machine guns, and 40mm grenade launchers.
The exercises and real-world operations that ACU-2 sailors participate in include evacuating U.S. citizens from hostile territories, delivering food and medical supplies after a natural disaster, and many other tasks that involve movement from ships off-shore to the beach, according to Navy officials.
Still, sailors are instructed to equally prioritize their time off-duty, Hall said.
“The Navy is very family-oriented. It is also nice get to go home every night and see my son and feel as though I’m doing something to keep him safe,” she said.
Jobs are highly specialized and keep each part of the command running smoothly, according to Navy officials. The duties range from operating boats to maintaining engines and handling weaponry.
“The Sailors, Chiefs, and Officers of Assault Craft Unit 2 work in conjunction with other Naval Beach Group elements to grant our amphibious ships heavy lift and over-the-horizon, and extended-duration, ship-to-shore movement with the Landing Craft Utility and Maritime Pre-positioning Force boats,” said Cmdr. Thomas Mays, commanding officer, Assault Craft Unit 2. “We are proud to do our part in the Navy-Marine Corps team to project power or provide sustained assistance as needed around the world.”
There are many ways for a sailor to earn distinction in his or her command, community, and career, but Hall is most proud of making second-class petty officer, completing a successful deployment, and finishing college.
“I got a degree in marketing while serving in the Navy,” she said. “I’m quite proud of that.”
And although serving in the Navy may present many challenges, Hall said she has found many great rewards in the work.
“I always like to do things right the first time. I think that’s a big key in being a good leader,” Hall said.
