The officers and crew of USS AUSTIN (LPD 4) proudly welcome you aboard. AUSTIN is the first ship of the AUSTIN Class of amphibious transport docks (LPD). The mission of the LPD is to provide fast transport of combat troops, and rapid landing ashore by vertical envelopment, and by waterborne assault.

LPDs are one of the most versatile of the amphibious assault ships. The LPD combines the troop, floodable well-deck, and the amphibious launch capabilities of the LSD: the helicopter capability of the LPH; and the vehicle handling capability of the LST.

A secondary mission of AUSTIN is evacuation and civilian disaster relief. Hundreds of tons of relief materials can be carried aboard and can be delivered to disaster victims within minutes of the ship's arrival on the scene. The ship's medical and dental facilities can provide limited hospitalization care, as well as out-patient treatment for hundreds of sick or injured. AUSTIN is not only a ship of war, but a ship of peace.

Amphibious warfare isn't new. The earliest amphibious task force was probably a fleet of dugout canoes and rafts that transported a band of prehistoric "Marines" along a coast to attack a neighboring village. Amphibious warfare came into its own during World War II. Probably the best know amphibious assault ever was D-Day Landing, which occurred on 6 June 1944, as Allied Troops landed on the beaches of France to liberate Europe. Of the 67 significant amphibious assaults by American Forces in WW II, mostly in the Pacific, none failed. More recently, amphibious assaults have been used successfully during the Vietnam War and the Grenada Operation.

An amphibious assault is one of the most complex operations in modern warfare. Success requires perfect teamwork among everyone participating. The ideal team for this kind of operation is the Navy's Amphibious Force and the Marine Corps Fleet Marine Force. An amphibious operation can involve a single ship, or a task force with escorts, helicopters, jets, and submarine support. Because of thier ability to move assets from water to land so easily, the LPDs have affectionately become known as ... THE GATORS!

An LPD is considered one of the most versatile ships in the Fleet. It has a large flight deck, a floodable well deck, and large cargo- carrying capability. We can refuel other ships, store large amounts of ammunition, and transport large groups of people, if the Marines are not embarked.

AUSTIN can carry a balanced unit of 917 Marines, their combat vehicles (tanks, artillery, ammunition, tracked landing vehicles, etc.), thus maintaining the combat integrity of assault forces during an extended deployment. You will notice that the after end of our ship (stern) has a hinged gate which can be lowered. We use this gate, in conjunction with a ballast system, to fill our well deck area with water. In this manner, amphibious assault craft and boats can drive in and out of our well deck, embarking or debarking passengers and equipment. To give you a rough idea of the dimensions involved, the well deck area is large enough to fit two full-size basketball courts inside, and the ballast tanks used to flood the well deck have a capacity of 2.3 million gallons of water.