It goes without saying that the United States Navy has its history and traditions where their slogans or acronyms have been created over centuries of development. Without question the Deck Ape carries with it a proud tradition. There are US Navy Sailors and then there are the Deck Apes. Not every sailor goes to sea and not every Sailor serving aboard an aircraft carrier, US Navy destroyer, cruiser or minesweeper works on the deck. But for a select few there are the US Navy Boatswain’s Mates, those with surface warfare qualifications, that honorably serve on top of a warship and do whatever is necessary to ensure that ships from the top down are getting taken care of. They are the deck apes of the United States Navy. And with a name like this you have got to have a coin that honors them like a Deck Ape US Navy challenge coin that is constructed just for these men and women of the US Navy.
What is a Deck Ape?
Describes those sailors in the fleet who work on the ship and who maintain the ship and it’s spaces that relate primarily to the Traditional Navy such as the Anchor Room (Foc’sle), gangways, ceremonial spaces, main decks, flight decks and top decks for small boys (small ships) and big boys (large ships).
Deck Ape History
Since its inception in 1775, the United States Navy created the original US Navy rates one of which was the Boatswain’s Mate. The original eight rates sometimes are affectionately called the “Hateful 8” and one of them, Boatswain’s Mates, carry a long tradition going back to the very beginning of the USN.
US Navy Slogans
Are you kidding me? The US Navy employs slogans and they do it with humor, style and inherent wisdom with a slight sway to starboard sometimes. The number of ideas and terms have reached epic proportions. Just the term Deck Ape alone is just one of the myriad examples. IYAOYAS, Mustangs, Goat Lockers, Tooth Fairies, Devil Docs, squids, swabbies, A-Gangers, Shower Techs, Green Side and Blue Side Corpsman, Aviation Boatswain’s Mates or deck apes are also called landlords of the flight deck, bluejackets, Snipes, Plank Owner, Brown Shoes, Black Shoes, centurions, stew burners and the list goes on and on and on.