The Navy has its own army and deploys its own air force ashore and on carriers; yet the Marines have their own air force, too.
The Army has its own air force with helicopters, small transport aircraft, and now drones--some armed.
The Air Force has its own infantry to defend air bases.
The Navy and Air Force have special forces troops for ground fighting.
The Navy even built its own force of naval infantry for river operations and base defense even though it has the Marine Corps with lots of trigger pullers.
This may be frustrating for those who think that each service should specialize and do one job more efficiently. While this can be true as a general rule, in practice each service will define how it needs to use its own core expertise with little regard to how other services need those assets.
And so we have a reminder (well, I've been aware of this. The AUSA has at least mentioned this.) of the Army fleet (tip to Real Clear World):
There’s a little known fact about the U.S. Army — it has boats. And that’s even surprised those assigned to serve on them.
Soldiers, not sailors, they prefer to be called Army mariners.
The vessels assigned to the Army in the Persian Gulf, such as Landing Craft Utility and Logistical Support Vessels, are designed to move military equipment and personnel within the region.
The most obvious need for Army boats is for use on rivers. The Army needs to cross them. Why would the Navy consider it even a low priority to provide vessels to the Army for that mission? But in-theater sea transport is also a needed mission, just as in-theater air transport missions give the Army transport aircraft.
Remember that the military's job is to win wars. You don't get extra credit for efficiency. This is a pass-fail situation. You win or you lose. Efficiency isn't a core competency for any of the services.
So don't get too worked up over Army vessels. Be aware of excesses, but remember that despite efforts to promote inter-service cooperation (being "purple"), each service defines their core expertise and allocates their resources in a narrow service-centric manner. They do what they know best.
