My grandson just got discharged last week from Camp Pendleton, CA. He was a commander of an AAV. They haven't been used for two years since the one sunk and we lost eight Marines. He said they were old and did leak

Can't imagine the wash down process to get rid of the corrosive salt. The moving parts exposed to salt water must be hard to get to. Wondering what the lifespan of these vehicles are.

I was a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam 1968-69. We were not aloud to ride inside the LVT's because they were gas operated, which meant that when it hit a mine, everyone inside were incinerated and dead. So we always rode on top of the LVT's.

I served on USS Wasp LHD 1 2000-03 and USS Whidbey Island LSD 41 1993-96. Had the opportunity to ride on an LCAC in 2002 while returning from deployment. At the 3 minute mark of this video shows my last command, USS Wasp LHD 1.

The problem amphibious assault vehicles is that the hatches all have to be closed tightly before launching into the sea or doing fast water crossings. In Germeny there were many accidents with the M113s where hatches would pop open and if it was the driver's hatch, the driver would be thrown by the water pressure to the back of the carrier and sometimes knock out and the combat drivers would have to rescue them. Unfortunately the Navy doesn't have divers on standby and when accidents happen, they are usually fatal.