TV SERIES · 2014– · USA
The Last Ship
34 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
The U.S. Navy allowed the production team to film aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Halsey and USS Dewey, as well as on the museum ship USS Iowa. The destroyers put out to sea for several days so the cameras could shoot 360 degrees without worrying about shorelines, buildings or other ships in the background. Most of the sailors visible in the background were the crews of the ships carrying out their duties while the cameras rolled.
- #002
The USS Halsey mostly serves as the stand-in for the USS Nathan James. The ship's dog in the series is named Admiral Halsey. Both are named after Fleet Admiral William Halsey, one of only four officers to reach the five-star flag officer rank of Fleet Admiral. Halsey had a long and distinguished Navy career; he served as a Lieutenant Commander during World War I and commanded the destroyer USS Shaw (DD-68), receiving the Navy Cross for his role in rescuing the crew of a cargo ship torpedoed by German submarines. He is best known for his service in the Pacific campaign during World War II. Halsey was serving as a Vice Admiral when the U.S. entered the war, and he was given command of Carrier Group 2, whose flagship was the Yorktown-class aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CV-6), leading CG-2 in a series of victories against the Japanese. In 1942 Halsey was promoted to Rear Admiral and placed in command of the South Pacific Area. Halsey led Allied forces in many major battles, including the Guadalcanal campaign (1942-1943) and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, considered the largest naval battle in history.
- #003
Filming of season 4 was halted because Eric Dane was suffering from depression.
- #004
The gold anchor on the bow of the USS Nathan James is the Retention Excellence Award given for reenlisting crew members.
- #005
Some wonder why Tom Chandler is sometimes called "Captain" and sometimes "Commander" in the first and second seasons. This is because of the old naval tradition of addressing the commanding officer of a ship as "Captain" regardless of their actual rank. Usually only the largest and most powerful ships, such as aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, certain cruisers and cruise missile submarines, have commanders holding the actual rank of Captain; medium-sized ships (such as destroyers, frigates and submarines) are led by officers holding the rank of Commander, and smaller ships (such as corvettes and patrol boats) are generally commanded by officers of the rank of Lieutenant Commander. So the proper protocol is that Chandler is addressed as "captain" when someone speaks to him as the commander of the Nathan James, and by his rank of commander when he is off the ship or being dressed down by a senior officer (chewing his ass).
- #006
The Italian passenger ship in episode 1 is actually the retired Cunard White-Star Line RMS Queen Mary, converted in 1936 from an ocean liner into a hotel offering art deco decor, luxury restaurants, casual restaurants, bars and a spa. It is permanently moored at the port of Long Beach, California, and has been there since 1967.
- #007
Coincidentally, the actress originally cast as Lieutenant Kara Foster became pregnant and was recast because of the pregnancy.
- #008
The Personal Protective Equipment the crew wears before battle is known as Flash Gear, which protects the head, neck, face and hands against brief exposure to flame and heat.
- #009
Kingfisher is a mine detection sonar system.
- #010
TASM is the abbreviation for the Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile, which was retired from service in 1994, so the Nathan James in the novel (set in 1988) carries TASMs while the Nathan James in the TV series does not. Another anti-ship version of the Tomahawk did not exist until the missile's Block-V upgrade entered service in 2021; this latest anti-ship version is known as the Block-VA Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST).
- #011
While the ship is underway, an Officer of the Deck (OOD) is always present on the bridge. Each OOD stands a four-hour watch and is the officer assigned by the Commanding Officer (CO) to be responsible for the ship. The OOD is responsible for the safety and operation of the ship, including navigation, ship handling, communications, routine tests and inspections, reports, supervision of the watch team and execution of the Plan of the Day.
- #012
ADC is the abbreviation for Acoustic Device Countermeasure and is used to divert torpedoes headed toward a ship.
- #013
High Frequency (HF) radio is used for long-distance primary and backup communications, particularly in remote regions of the developed world and in developing countries. HF radio will never replace fixed (landline) and mobile telephones as the first choice of communication for the general public, but it is a vital and irreplaceable wireless communication tool for organizations dealing with emergency, remote and military communications.
- #014
In the original 1988 book, the Nathan James's hull number was DDG-80, which was assigned to the USS Roosevelt in 1999.
- #015
NKA stands for No Known Allergies, while NKDA stands for No Known Drug Allergies.
- #016
A sea trial is a limited voyage at sea intended to test all of a ship's operating equipment before the ship enters service; it is a way of testing the ship's performance. Sea trials are generally carried out before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul.
- #017
The ship's Signals Exploitation Space (SSES) is responsible for encrypting, decrypting and jamming all signal and information ranges, both friendly and enemy. It is sometimes also known as the "Code Room."
- #018
Eric Dane did not leave Grey's Anatomy (2005) in order to act in this series.
- #019
CIWS is the abbreviation for Close-In Weapon System, used to detect and destroy guided missiles approaching at close range and enemy ships that break through the outer defense. Unlike area defense systems, which have a longer range and are placed near or on the object to be protected, it is known as a point defense weapon (the defense of a single object or limited area, such as a ship, building or airfield).
- #020
CIC is the abbreviation for Combat Information Center.
- #021
At no point in the series do they actually sound the general quarters alarm when Nathan James calls the crew to general quarters. This is designed for situations in which the ship's internal communication is not working and the crew has been well trained on what the alarm sound means.
- #022
MCPON is the abbreviation for Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy.
- #023
VBSS is the abbreviation for Visit, Board, Search and Seizure.
- #024
In at least one episode of the series, USS Nathan James (DDG-151) is portrayed by USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115), likely because it is easy to change the hull number digitally. As of the end of the series, the highest hull number among DDGs is USS Paul Ignatius (DDG-117).
- #025
The ship's large helicopter appears and disappears on the aft helipad in various scenes throughout the series. Correction: this is often pointed out as a glaring error, but it is not. Unlike the first Flight-I and Flight-II generations, the Flight-IIA and newer Flight-III generations of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer have two helicopter hangars mounted on the aft deck, clearly visible directly in front of the helipad. Dr. Scott's laboratory is in the starboard hangar, and the helicopter is stored in the port hangar when it is not in use, which explains why the helicopter is not always seen on the pad. In fact, helicopters are always kept in the hangar when not in use for various reasons: it protects them from damage in an attack or severe weather, helps keep the ship's ballast balanced, and keeping the aft deck clear reduces the ship's radar profile.
- #026
The Central Control Station (CCS) controls the engine and supplies power throughout the ship.
- #027
A book seen in the fifth season about the history of Nathan James and its crew reveals some previously unknown details about the ship's past. The book reveals that USS Nathan James is a Flight-IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, a real-life shipyard where 43 of the 73 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in service (as of 2024) were built, with the other 30 built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Nathan James was ordered in 2001, launched in 2004 and commissioned on 30 July 2005; it was Chandler's first command after he was promoted to commander and made captain in 2013.
- #028
In the Navy, shifts are called "watches," and the Deck Officer is the "shift supervisor" of a particular watch.
- #029
BM is the abbreviation for Boatswain's Mate.
- #030
Tex often calls Chandler by the nickname "commodore." Commodore is both a naval rank and a title; in many navies it is either a title given to senior captains or the highest officer rank, while in others it is the lowest flag officer rank. It was formerly a rank in the United States Navy and Coast Guard, where until 1900 a commodore was a one-star flag officer (O-7) equivalent to a brigadier general, but the Navy stopped using the rank to avoid confusion when interacting with other navies, since in most cases a commodore is not a flag officer and US commodores were not accorded the respect due a flag officer. Since then, a one-star flag officer (O-7) has been called a rear admiral (lower half), and commodore is used as an honorary title for senior captains (O-6) placed in command of a squadron of aircraft, ships or submarines. For example, an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) squadron would consist of a light carrier such as an America-class amphibious assault ship carrying ASW Seahawk helicopters equipped with sonobuoys and area torpedoes, along with several Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers and Los Angeles-class and/or Virginia-class attack submarines. The amphibious assault ship would be the squadron's command ship, and all carriers have a captain (O-6) as CO, so protocol and tradition require that the assault ship's CO be addressed as "commodore."
- #031
It originally aired on the TNT network.
- #032
Eric Dane and Rhona Mitra appeared in the series Gideon's Crossing (2000). Both played medical doctors in the series.
- #033
Tracy Middendorf and Ele Keats played the main characters' wives, Darien Chandler and Christine Slattery, respectively. In the film Snowflake (2014), they had played each other's lovers.
- #034
In Navy jargon, surface refers to anything above the water, while subsurface refers to anything below the water.
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