ACB2 Commanding Officer, Capt. Atiim Senthill, presided over a ceremony that included a number of earlier commanding officers, household, prior command members, and the crew, wearing blues. Established because the a hundred and fifth Naval Building Battalion on July 14, 1943 and re-designated ACB2 in 1950, all through its run the non-kinetic unit allowed fight items to take care of a ahead sustained presence by ship-to-shore logistics in help of Maritime Prepositioning Forces in addition to Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) operations. On July 18, a CNO message ordering its deactivation marked the start of the tip for ACB2. Working on a $2.5 million disestablishment funds, inside eight months all command belongings needed to be inventoried and reapportioned throughout the fleet. It was an emotionally-taxing job that impressed Senthill to reward the exhausting work of the crew. “These Sailors labored tirelessly and delivered,” he stated. “All belongings arrived at their vacation spot early and beneath funds.”
Regardless of the look of a ultimate nail being pushed into the command’s coffin, the doorways at ACB2 will stay open a couple of extra weeks earlier than formally shutting down March 31. Some Sailors will make the journey throughout nation to start new, but acquainted chapters at ACB1. Different ACB2 Sailors will stay close by. Wherever they go, they are going to stay a part of a proud heritage. With a historical past that started in the course of U.S. involvement in World Struggle II, ACB2 participated within the 1958 Lebanon disaster, the 1983 American citizen rescue in Grenada, Operation Desert Defend and Desert Storm, the TWA Flight 800 catastrophe restoration, and Operation Iraqi Freedom in addition to the 2017 cleanup efforts for Hurricane Maria. This broad scope of missions demonstrates capabilities spanning all kinds of missions and environments.
Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, Commander of Naval Services Engineering Methods Command and visitor speaker, emphasised this to the ACB2 Sailors in attendance. “Whereas this has the looks of a funeral, it must be a celebration of life,” VanderLey stated. “You helped accomplish a lot and are a part of an unbelievable legacy.”
