But they can embark many more as the situation requires as we witnessed during both Desert Storm and OIF. Look at the decks of the Bonhomme Richard and the Bataan in this photo.
The Marines have no ships. The LHA and LHD amphibious assault ships are Navy vessels. Further, they have a completely different mission than the CVN.
The LHA/LHD is a transport vehicle for a MEU/MEB. They get the guys to the AOR, dump them off and wait for their return.
They generally carry only four Harriers which can provide CAS for the MEU/MEB in the group. They have no tanker support on board, so their combat radius is extremely limited, as is their time on station. They have no real strike capability like a CVN.
But they can embark many more as the situation requires as we witnessed during both Desert Storm and OIF. Look at the decks of the Bonhomme Richard and the Bataan in this photo.