Mercogliano proposes retaining retiring Arleigh Burke-class destroyers for about five years as reserve ships with locally trained crews. Even if a particular hull never deployed, its sailors could fill vacancies elsewhere in the fleet. He offers the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates as another candidate because of their relatively simple machinery and continued use by other navies. His suggested limited modernization would replace the Mark 13 launcher with a small vertical-launch system.
Notable Point · 1:09:55-1:10:58
Older destroyers and frigates as reserve training ships
A proposal for reserve destroyers and frigates considers both the ships' remaining utility and the replacement crews they could train.