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An U.S. Army vehicle concept from LTG James Gavin--the Ontos--was developed with Army R&D funds and then bought by the USMC using our tax dollars to offer slow, walking speed 6 x 106mm recoilless rifle fire support to draftees on foot in Iwo Jima-style clusterfucks that saved countless lives in Vietnam by taking out enemy VC/NVA Soldiers who skillfully used camouflage and entrenching to be difficult to root out. www.combatreform.com/groundvehiclephotos.htm However, the Ontos born of early 1950s technology was made of thin steel and powered by highly flammable gasoline. The M50 Ontos was only marginally better than the French FT-17 light infantry 6 mph speed tank of WW1 to show how far the USMC--which learned methodical battle and man-with-a-rifle arrogance from them--had not progressed. The Army opted instead for better protected M113 Gavins/M551 Sheridans made of thicker aluminum alloy armor that were light enough in weight to take applique' armors to stay ahead of threats as well as be faster and more mobile to include swimming across lakes/rivers--something you'd think marines should want to do. However, ANYTHING that helps a marine on foot in a way that takes the glory from him is "heresy" and the Ontos was getting all the praise from the otherwise dismal USMC Vietnam experience of constantly being ambushed on patrol or bombarded at their FOBs with impunity by the more skilled and better equipped with long-range 130mm artillery enemy. www.combatreform.com/fries.htm What the USMC brass should have done is REPLACE their worn-out Ontos(es) and IMPROVE ON ITS DESIGN by taking a SAFER DIESEL-powered M113 Gavin and reducing its size so it be light and small enough to roll-on/off from INSIDE helicopters to attain Air-Mech-Strike 3D maneuver warfare capabilities. In other words, a M113 Gavin-based "Ontos II" gaining 45+ mph speeds, cross-country and amphibious capabilities to be both a mini-APC and a German-style mini-STUG assault gun. Aris Spa of Italy today even makes waterjet kits for M113 Gavins to enable them to swim in the ocean, ship-to-shore as "AmphiGavins". So today you have marines boast of Ontos tankettes that they retired, Close Air Support that they don't practice having retired SkyRaiders in 1958, SkyHawks in the '80s and OV-10 manned observation AFACs that were ditched in the 90s: www.combatreform.com/killerbees3.htm What marines brag about "having" and then not doing never ends.