Planting the seeds of another acquisition failure.

Thanks for the article Jonathan.

With the retirement of the Newport News class LST, the USMC essentially gave up heavy mechanized maneuver from the sea.  No matter what size formation deploys from the ocean, it will never pack the ground combat punch of old skool units.  This was the first sign that the Marine Corps was turning from a medium weight force into an air assault force.

via National Defense.

SAN DIEGO — Less than a month after conceding that the Marine Corps could not afford a high-speed amphibious tracked vehicle, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos renewed the call for industry to provide an affordable “connector” that can move Marines from ship to shore.
He went so far as to offer government research and development funding. “I’m committed. I just told my money guy… we’re willing to put some money in [research and development] for the future technology with regards to connectors," he said Feb. 13 at the AFCEA West 2014 conference.

In January, Amos said the Marine Corps could not afford a high-speed ACV and would opt instead for something less expensive. The amphibious combat vehicle — itself a rebranding of the now-defunct expeditionary fighting vehicle — soared in price because the Marines sought a vehicle with long range and high enough speeds to plane like a speedboat.
Amos insisted the Corps needs a vehicle that can “haul a lot of stuff” and “can move at high speed. He would like the vehicle to travel at 35 to 40 knots.
“What we need is to change the paradigm,” he said. “We think of connectors as something you carry in the bowels of an amphibious ship. We’re going to need that, I’m not saying we don’t need that." He suggested future connectors could be folded and stacked on the deck of a ship.

And this is how the seeds of another acquisition failure are planted.  A landing craft utility or mechanized that does 35 to 40 knots?

Not gonna work.