Has Your Ship Come in?

The Brick and I have been gobbling down episodes of  The Last Ship.  (Go here for a lot more on the show, if you're curious. Adam Baldwin is our 'buddy,' from his stints on Independence Day and Serenity...so it wasn't a difficult jump.) We just finished Season One, and are breathlessly waiting for Season Two. (When you don't have cable, you're behind a bit -- but then you get the pleasure of watching the storyline unfold without having to deal with constipation commercials.)

Think military destroyer, a worldwide epidemic...

     and, of course, The End of the World As We Know It.

(You knew I was going to sneak this in, didn't you?)

Much to our mutual surprise, it turns out that The Last Ship is actually filmed on two military vessels: the USS Halsey, and the USS Dewey.

Why is that interesting? Because after his submarine escapades, the Brick was stationed on -- wait for it --

    the USS Dewey.

Granted, his ship was this beauty: the Dewey, version DDG-45. Named for George Dewey, the USA's only Admiral of the Navy. Her motto:  "The First And Finest."



Actually, she wasn't the first, but the third of four ships named for Admiral Dewey. She was launched in 1958, decommissioned in 1990, then scrapped in 1994. The Brick wasn't surprised -- he said she was already considered an 'old' ship when he served on her in the late 1970s.


For the show, we're talking ship #4: the NEW Dewey, DDG-105.





The new girl is a sleek-looking boat, too. And fortunately, you see lots of her during various scenes. (According to the special features, many of the people in the background are actual ship's crewmen, going about their business.)

Which the Brick loves...except when they mess up on military facts and customs.

 Case in point: they had the commander of the USS Nathan James saluting back when his men saluted him.

   "Where's your cover?" the Brick was yelling. 

     Yes, his cap. I am told the commander of a ship NEVER salutes without his hat on -- nor is he expected to return the salute in the first place.

      Not that I would know this.

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