Air Centric Amphibious Ship tries to deploy the landing force via nets over the side?

via Marines Times

From March 21 to March 28, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship America conducted a large-scale Guam to Okinawa, Japan, maneuver exercise. It rehearsed elements of the Corps’ future plans to fight in the Pacific from sinking vessels at sea, beach landings and long-range rocket precision artillery strikes.

But included in that training was a rehash of using cargo nets to prep for an uncontested insert onto small islands across the Pacific. Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines aboard the America practiced scaling down the cargo nets at Apra Harbor, Naval Base Guam, according to a news release from the 31st MEU.

Here. 

Wow.

Just plain wow.

You build a ship that is 100% air centric.  You push that concept like its the holy grail of future operations.

Then you do this?

What are they thinking?

The sad thing?  Are you looking at the pic?  They're not kitted out for operations!  They don't even have weapons.  I'm not talking about crew served weapons, I'm not talking about their battle rifles!

This ain't even hollywood.  This is just busy work.