We learned a great many lessons from these battles in World War II in some cases the
hard way. One of the things we did to develop additional landing craft and tactics such
as LCU landing craft utility and how we were able to use them for example at Inchon in
the Korean War and during the Vietnam War. We developed the brown water Navy as a lot
of veterans referred to it in the Mekong and its tributaries. We learned about additional
tactics. We learned how to tighten up our formations. We learned to gain the element
of surprise. We learned to develop naval gunfire support to a fine art. We eventually developed
vertical envelopment, we introduced the helicopter and that enabled us to simultaneously land
and flank the enemy on both sides of the beaches which was tremendous strategic and tactical
flexibility.
We have come a long way since World War II. We no longer line up 100 ships and send them
towards a beach that is full of enemy defenses. That was very costly in World War II it was
the best that they could do at the time with the technology and the capabilities that they
had so they didn't have much of a choice. Now a days we want to go where the enemy is
not so we want to gain access without going into the teeth of the enemy. So we have those
capabilities with our aircraft to be able to fly in and especially the MV-22 it gives
us a lot longer range to be able to insert Marines and troops ashore from the sea.
We also have our LCAC's our hover craft landing craft capability that goes a lot faster than
the landing craft they had in World War II. It was a lot longer range with that we can
keep our ships basically over the horizon where they are protected somewhat from the
threat more than they were in World War II era. We still have a forcible entry capability.
So with our amphibious ships partnered with a carrier strike group with all the other
abilities that we have we are able to gain access into countries where we need to gain
access to. We are able to put Marines ashore either with our aircraft, our landing craft
and our armored vehicles the AAV's that they have.
We are the legitimate backbone of all amphibious operations. You have certain platforms that
are faster than us but they can only hit in certain areas certain beaches they are able
to scale. Like I said were like the Higgins boats were are affective anywhere as long
as there is a coastline we can get up on it and do what we have to do. We can handle anything
as large as three M1-A1 Abrams tanks onboard and taking that to a beach and offloading
it.
We have evolved over the years with a lot of lessons learned from our brother and sisters
that sailed before us and how to do this thing you know more precisely, safely and with better
technology and that's the key thing. I think the technology has allowed us to be more precise
in acquiring the target and putting things in place pretty much exactly where it's supposed
to be.
The LCAC gives the operational commanders the ability to do an over the horizon assault.
We can operate 200 nautical miles from the host ship and that allows us a lot of leeway
on the beach front. We can carry a 60 ton payload at speed up to 50 knots. We open up
the world shoreline a traditional LCU can hit about 15 to 17 percent of the shoreline
throughout the world. We hit about 70 percent because we don't have to worry about things
such as reefs and shallow water depth so it opens up the beach. Our training, we train
around our H hour, the time that we are going to hit the beach and the idea is that the
beach is clear when we hit it. We bring the Marines ashore quickly because we are fast.
We bring them and they stand up the force and they go in and fight the war. It's all
around same time principal where bombardment's completed. We are going in as the last shells
are hitting and as soon as the H hour goes we cross the beach and drop the ramps and
let the Marines go and carry on the battle plan.
We have capabilities to do a forcible entry opposed, we do, but you know with possible
significant causalities and the problem that go with that. So we want to go where the enemies
is not, gain access and use our maneuver warfare capabilities to get around the enemy and attack
critical vulnerabilities vice a head to head assault the beach, frontal assault on the
beach, World War II type thing .