I recently argued in Proceedings for building new APDs--armed amphibious transports--for company-sized Marine units.
And before building special-purpose ships, I suggested converting our old Perry frigates just as America converted old destroyers (and destroyer escorts) for use as armed amphibious transports.
This could put the capability at sea faster and gain experience on what is needed for new designs built from the keel up.
So the idea that we should give away our reserve Perry frigates is a non-starter for me:
In the Navy’s full-court press to build its fleet out to the 355 ships that recent service structure assessments demand, one idea that has gained traction among leadership is the possibility of pulling old Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates out of mothballs and readying them for present-day missions.
The head of the House Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee agrees the ships should be refurbished but says he has a better idea for their use: Transfer them to allied nations to improve global defenses and expand the Navy’s network of knowledge around the globe.
I don't even know what expanding the Navy's "network of knowledge around the globe" could possibly mean.
I'd rather expand our network of knowledge on dispersing Marines in smaller ships for both smaller operations and for larger but dis-aggregated missions.
And expanding our knowledge about how such ships should be designed to deploy and provide fire support for Marine landings.
