John - On reflection I am not surprised that such a capability was in the original spec. The question is whether "no support" is viable in the conditions of warfare observed over the past decade: at least, a forward base is going to require extensive security measures.
I remain flummoxed by comments such as those from the clearly sincere and well informed Engines (on the program's technical side) contrasted with the documented work of Navy construction engineers with their pizza-oven-concrete landing pads. Both sides cannot be right.