As Phillip Brashear walks through the hangar bay and handling areas of one of the Military Sealift Command’s newest Lewis and Clark class auxiliary dry cargo ships, USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7), he comments on what his late father, Carl Brashear, the ship’s namesake, would think of this modern day vessel with high-end technology compared to the ships he served aboard.

“The old ARS rescue and salvage ships that my dad served aboard and took me on as a kid were as small as could be,” Brashear said. “He would be amazed at the size, breadth and depth of this ship. The engine of this ship alone is bigger than the ships he would sail on.”

The ship was christened and put into service one year ago and continues the tradition that the Lewis and Clark class ships are named for explorers and pioneers. It’s a state of the art vessel nearly 700 feet in length and 42,000 tons.

The ship honors Master Chief Boatswain’s Mate Carl Brashear who rose through the ranks and became the first black deep-sea diver and later first black master diver in the U.S. Navy.

During his career, the elder Brashear overcame personal tragedy after losing his leg below the knee during a Navy salvage operation at sea, later becoming the first Navy diver to be restored to full active duty as an amputee.

Hollywood made a movie of Brashear’s Navy life entitled “Men of Honor” starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert De Niro, released in 2000.

His son, 47, is married with a family in Sandston, Va. He was invited to spend the last week aboard the ship and sailed from Portland, to Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Puget Sound’s Manchester Fuel Department. Phillip is a retired Virginia Army National Guard chief warrant officer and Blackhawk Helicopter pilot. He currently works for the Defense Logistic Agency (DLA) in Richmond, Va.

He and his brother, Dawayne, and other family members were actively involved in events during the ship’s construction at National Steel and Shipbuilding Com-pany (NASSCO) in San Diego, which led up to the ship joining the MSC fleet in September 2008.

The brothers often speak about the many obstacles their father went through and about the Carl Brashear Foundation, which establishes scholarships and gives money to veteran’s organizations and VA hospitals in their father’s name.

Phillip Brashear says he sees a bit of disconnect in today’s youth when it comes to the modern U.S. military.

“I’m seeing a lot of the young kids that aren’t seeing the legacies of the people that came before them that have set the path and made the way better for them now,” he said. “There are a lot more heroes other than my dad that came through the Navy… a whole lot more trailblazers that have paved the way for the Navy we have today.”

Phillip was exposed at an early age to what it means to be in the military and the one thing that always captured his attention was his dad’s sea stories.

During his week aboard the ship that bears his dad’s name, Brashear has seen the true spirit of a new Navy vessel as compared to when it was being built. 

“I’ve been able to go down into the spaces and see the guys work, see the engines rev up and feel the ship go through the water. Now it has become a working, living vessel and it feels great,” he said.

He adds that he is always mindful of one of his father’s favorite sayings, “Don’t just live for today, you have to live for tomorrow and as you get older you have to plan for yourself.”