“The technical acceptance of the ASC underscores the Marine Corps’ commitment to solving the complex challenges of contested logistics during Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). The roughly 150-foot roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) craft was purpose-built to deliver personnel, equipment, and fuel over the ‘last tactical mile,’ beaching directly on unimproved shores.”
“The ASC is designed to be organic to the Marine Corps, employed by the units it supports and at the echelon that needs it. It is intended to complement rather than duplicate the Medium Landing Ship. The LSM is a larger amphibious vessel that moves a force between islands. The ASC is sized and configured with a very shallow draft to deliver logistical support to the ‘last tactical mile’ into landing sites beyond the reach of larger vessels, including shallow-gradient, unimproved, and unsurveyed shorelines where standoff would otherwise leave cargo stranded offshore. Taken together, the two give a Stand-in Force a route from an intermediate staging base to the beach without dependence on a port, a pier, or a causeway.”