Assault Craft Unit ONE, (ACU-1) is a

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Maritime Prepositioning Force in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

operated under Naval Beach Group ONE out of Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Coronado with a Forward Detachment in

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. ACU-1's force consists of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) boats, Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM), Mark 8 boats , and Maritime Prepositioning Force Utility Boats (MPFUBs) . The sister unit of ACU-1 is Assault Craft Unit 2 in

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

Assault Craft Unit 1 traces its roots to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as hundreds of LCUs were decommissioned, leaving 30 LCUs in the command of "Centralized Flotilla Command" in NAB Coronado known as LCU Squadron ONE. In July, 1947, a neighboring command, Boat Unit ONE, was created to command Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) LCM-3s and Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP)s. In 1950, the two commands participated in the

Battle of Inchon The Battle of Inchon (), also called Inchon landing, was an Amphibious warfare, amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The opera ...

and in every amphibious operation of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

afterward. In 1963, the LCU Squadron ONE and Boat Unit ONE were merged to make Assault Craft Squadron 1 (ACS-1). In 1968, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) directed to have ACS-1 and its Assault Craft Divisions ELEVEN, TWELVE and THIRTEEN be disestablished and reformed as Assault Craft Unit ONE (ACU 1). In 1990, in response to the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, ACU-1 was a first responder, acting to transport and unload cargo from Maritime Prepositioning Ships using LCM-8s. Since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, ACU-1 has operated outside of a strictly military role, providing humanitarian services and disaster relief. Recently, ACU-1 has operated with other Amphibious Battalions providing

Military logistics Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with: * Design, development, Milita ...

for the Key Resolve/Foal Eagle

Military exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in Military education and training, training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

LCU 1500 Memorial

On 28 February 1968, near Ocean View, Viet Nam, LCU 1500 was hit by a rocket, killing the

Radioman Radioman (RM) was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology. History of the rating The rating was created originally in 1921. In 1997, under the direction of Ch ...

. One year later, on 27 February 1969, while loading ammunition in

Da Nang Da Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons (, ) is the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the Western Pacific Ocean of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one of Vietnam's most important p ...

, an enemy rocket hit the nearly loaded craft and killed 13 crew aboard. On 14 March 1969, ACU-1 began an annual memorial to the 14 sailors that lost their lives on LCU 1500. At the ACU-1 compound on NAB Coronado, a recreational

cabana A cabana is a type of shelter often found near beaches or pools. A cabana can be used to relax in the shade or change clothes. A cabana bathroom is a bathroom attached to a building or a house that is commonly used by swimmers and beachgoers. ...

was erected near its piers and painted to look like LCU 1500. The cabana houses pictures of the crew and ship as well as a memorial with the names of the slain Sailors.

Structure

The six departments of ACU-1 are Landing Craft, Administration, Engineering, Medical, Operations, and Supply. The most prevalent ratings at the command are Boatswain's Mates (BM), Enginemen (EN), Quartermasters (QM), and Undesignated Seamen (SN). Secondary and support ratings at ACU-1 include Culinary Specialists (CS), Damage Controlmen (DC), Electrician's Mates (EM), Hull Maintenance Technicians (HT), Logistics Specialists (LS), Machinist's Mates (MM), Operations Specialists (OS), Navy Counselors (NC), and Yeomen (YN). The LC department is divided into three divisions; LCU, MPF, and MRF. The LCU Division operates its LCUs which can make long deployments independently or aboard larger amphibious vessels such as LHDs and LHAs. The MPF Department operate and maintain its LCM-8 and MPFUB crafts locally and are mobilized and flown to theaters to perform maritime prepositioning operations within 24 hours notice. The MRF Department operates 6 eleven-meter RHIBs for

VBSS Visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) is the term used by United States military and law enforcement agencies for maritime boarding actions and tactics. VBSS teams are designed to capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, piracy, and smuggling ...

training and operation. ACU-1 had its change of command on Dec. 1, 2017, at which time CDR Nathan W. Fugate took over as Commanding Officer.

Awards

Through its continuous operation from the Korean War through today, Assault Craft Unit ONE has been awarded 21 different medals, several with multiple awards.

References

{{Reflist

External links

ACU-1 Home Page
Amphibious units and formations of the United States Navy