Not your father's gator freighter

摘要

Historically, amphibious ships were referred to as "gator freighters," transporting large numbers of Marines and sailors for a short duration to an amphibious assault. But the times have changed. Now, the 21st Century forward presence strategy requires those embarked troops to live aboard ship for six months or more, which changes the whole habitability requirements. That's why one of the goals in designing the Navy's new 21st century amphibious assault ship, the San Antonio-Class LPD 17, was to improve the quality of life aboard ship. To accomplish this, sailors and Marines were involved early on in the Navy's "Design for Ownership" philosophy. Design for Ownership aims to improve quality of life and habit-ability for the crew, reduce ship and equipment maintenance and improve ship design.