USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) is a of the United States Navy. She is the second US Navy ship to be named for Carter Hall, an estate near Winchester, Virginia, built in the 1790s. Carter Hall was laid down on 11 November 1991 by the Avondale Shipyards at New Orleans, Louisiana. The ship was launched on 2 October 1993 and commissioned on 30 September 1995. As of January 2019, Carter Hall is homeported at JEBLC, Virginia, and assigned to Amphibious Squadron Four. Overview The mission of the Landing Ship Dock (LSD) is to transport and launch amphibious craft, vehicles, crews and embarked personnel in an amphibious assault. An LSD can also render limited docking and repair service to small ships and craft, and act as the Primary Control Ship (PCS) during amphibious assaults. Carter Hall is a Cargo Variant (CV) of the . A significant difference between the two classes is that Carter Halls well deck has been shortened from to . This provides Marines with added vehicle and cargo storage areas. The well deck can hold two Landing Craft Air Cushions (LCAC) and a variety of landing craft and tracked amphibious assault vehicles. Carter Halls two-spot flight deck can land and service any helicopter in the Navy and Marine Corps inventory. History 1990s Carter Hall and her plankowner crew departed on their first six-month Mediterranean deployment on 29 April 1997. Her crew completed a UNITAS/WATC Deployment from 24 July 1999 until 15 December 1999. 2000s In 2001, Carter Hall deployed to the Mediterranean Sea from 15 April to 15 October 2001. In 2003, she deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. During a ten month deployment, she assisted in combat in OIF/OEF. On 2 June 2007, Carter Hall engaged pirates after they boarded the Danish ship off the coast of Somalia. The LSD destroyed three small boats being towed behind the captured vessel, but was unable to pursue after the vessel entered Somalian waters. 2010s On 13 January 2010, Carter Hall was ordered to assist the humanitarian efforts following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. On 31 October 2012, Carter Hall was sent towards the Hurricane Sandy impact area in case the United States Navy was needed to support the disaster relief efforts. In April 2016, one of Carter Halls sailors died after falling overboard from the ship. Navy and Coast Guard