NEWPORT, R.I. –
Adilah Khan, an engineer in the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport’s Sensors and Sonar Department, was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve during a ceremony held this summer at the Naval War College Museum.
For the engineer, who is from Hazlet, New Jersey, and has been employed at Division Newport since December 2020, the setting on Narragansett Bay served as a perfect backdrop as she proudly recited each word of her oath. Family, friends and colleagues were among those who gathered to witness and celebrate her swearing in ceremony.
“They say it takes a village, standing before me today is mine,” Khan said after the ceremony.
After reciting her oath, her mother, Asya Khan, and father, Ahmad Khan, placed her grade insignia on her lapels. Her grandmother, Bibi Amina Amin, who she calls “Naani,” then placed her cover on her head.
“I want to thank you all for being here today to witness such a special moment in my life,” Adilah Khan said. “I am filled with a profound sense of honor and gratitude, as I stand before you today as an officer in the United States Navy. Know that your presence will make all the difference as I embark on this voyage.”
The ceremony began with Capt. Kim Pavlovic, an engineer at Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division and acting commanding officer of the Naval Reserve SurgeMain in Norfolk, Virginia, welcoming everyone in attendance.
Pavlovic was instrumental in Khan’s decision to join the U.S. Navy Reserve and conducted one of her duty officer interviews. She was honored when Khan asked her to guide her through her pledge to the Navy.
“It is great to see a young person who is smart and wants to serve by joining the Navy,” Pavlovic said. “She has a great background and I know she’ll do great things for the Navy.”
Family and friends expressed how proud they were of Khan for becoming a commissioned officer.
“I am proud to see how my niece has left her comfort zone, carved a path for herself and keeps going,” said her aunt Amela Khan of Long Island, New York. “It is touching that she also mentioned my dad, her grandfather, who passed away a year ago. He was so proud to see his kids and grandkids move on and do something better. He was always there, and I know that he is smiling now.”
The opportunity to be commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve follows Khan’s work over the course of her engineering career at Division Newport. Hired as a technical direction agent engineer, her first projects involved supporting the littoral combat ship program by performing data analysis, conducting functional system testing and providing technical assessments.
In July 2022, Khan became an in-service support engineer for surface ship undersea warfare. During this time, she also participated in the New Professional Development Program. She was awarded a grant in November 2022 to design a new capability which improves the performance of towed arrays for sonar systems, aiding in achieving mission objectives.
Khan pursued her graduate studies in mechanical engineering, earning a master’s in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in May 2024. Inspired to find new ways to help the Navy and the warfighter, Khan applied for a Field Team assignment and was selected in February 2024. While waiting for her assignment, she assessed her civilian career and wanted to do more, so she decided to apply to be an engineering duty officer in the Navy Reserve.
For the past six months, Khan has been working with Reservists, while simultaneously preparing for her yearlong Field Team assignment with the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland.
Lt. Christopher Baransky, a recruiter from the technical division of the Navy Recruiting Reserve Command, explained that the process to join involves submitting applications and transcripts, then a round of interviews with three captains. Their appraisals set the tone for the rest of the application process.
“All of her appraisals described how amazing she is,” Baransky said. “I was anticipating her getting selected from the moment we started talking. Her educational background and experience working at NUWC is such a great fit for the engineering duty officer community.”
Her family was excited to attend the commissioning.
“I’ve never dreamt of a moment where I would be present and be part of my daughter’s commissioning ceremony, it was a far fetch goal of mine and was a beautiful moment,” said her mother Asya Khan. “I have always admired men and women in uniform and never thought that I would have my daughter among them. Adilah once again proves me wrong, she is a sweet, warm and beautiful person. Her determination, strength and God’s blessings move her forward to accomplish her goals. I have no doubt that she will carry the title ensign with grace and dignity. As her mother, I had mixed emotions, but after seeing her in uniform it looked as if it was made for her.”
Her sister, Tafaani Khan, a medical student, has known about Adilah’s determination from the very start.
“I didn’t expect anything less from Adilah,” Tafaani said. “She tries to set the bar high for herself. When she achieves something, it is like ‘what is the next thing I can achieve?’ That is the example that she set for both our younger sister and me.
“My sisters and I are in fields that are very male-dominated, and she has shown that you can be in a very competitive field and attain leadership positions. It has opened so many doors for me as her younger sister. If I see my older sister can do it, I can dig down a little deeper and achieve amazing things in my field as well. She’s been an all-around great older sister, a great leader and has set the bar really high when it comes to female excellence.”
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Kevin Behm, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.