Background
The program was started by Admiral Arleigh Burke as a response to estimates that the Soviets would have a force of about 300 modern fast-attack submarines by 1957. The US Navy was unable to produce enough frigates to counter this threat, given other priorities such as new cruisers and aircraft carriers, so Burke instead looked for ways to modify the existing destroyer fleet which were rapidly becoming outdated anyway.
Burke oversaw preparation of a report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees entitled "The Aging Fleet." The idea that became FRAM was only one of six recommendations of a special committee to address the poor material conditions of ships built during World War II. Those recommendations were, in order of preference: 1) build new ships, 2) give more time to maintenance, 3) accomplish more extensive overhauls, 4) provide more money for maintenance, 5) institute better training for maintenance personnel, or 6) create a large-scale modernization and rehabilitation program to fill the gap until new ships can be built. United States Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates embraced the last recommendation in a meeting with United States Secretary of Defense Neil Hosler McElroy on 11 November 1958.
Read more about this topic: Fleet Rehabilitation And Modernization
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