This looks like a military ship to me - Democratic Underground

Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 10:58 AM
Original message

This looks like a military ship to me

Edited on Sun Jun-17-07 11:00 AM by Patsy Stone

Can someone offer any idea of why it's been circling, verrrry slowly, off the coast of Miami Beach for the past couple of hours, getting progressively closer each time?

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glowing

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Sun Jun-17-07 10:59 AM
Response to Original message

1. Maybe its the coast guard....

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #1

4. Coast Guard is white and orange.

But I thank you for the response.

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A HERETIC I AM

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #1

14. You would easily be able to tell, even from that distance and in the haze, if it was Coast Guard

They are always white, with that distinctive red stripe at the bow.

Looks like one of these:

An Arleigh Burke class

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A HERETIC I AM

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #14

28. In fact, looking at it again and comparing it with the photo i posted above...

It certainly looks exactly like an Arleigh Burke class Destroyer. Look at the little bump up from. The gun, just like in my pic above. Plus, look how there is separation between the two structures aft of the main structure, just like the one above.

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speedoo

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:28 AM
Response to Reply #28

35. It's definitely an Arleigh Burke class Destroyer.

Edited on Sun Jun-17-07 11:30 AM by speedoo

Good work finding that photo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arleigh_Burke_class_destroyer

Burke was CNO while I was on active duty. I served on a WWII vintage destroyer, ancient relative to these.

On edit, that wiki article is informative. The USS Cole was in this class.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:29 AM
Response to Reply #28

36. Thanks for the info

I appreciate it. :thumbsup:

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glowing

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #28

41. Maybe they are running drills?

I know up here near CentCom the planes fly out at times.. The other day a large black helicopter flew over my roof... Scared the crap out of me... they are so loud.

I remeber thinking, damn that thing is loud, and then thinking--it must be horrible in Iraq listening to these all the time. They are quite large, loud, and intimidating.

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speedoo

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Sun Jun-17-07 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #41

54. Only drill I could think of in that location...

would be shallow water sonar drills.

But they could do that in lots of places, instead of this where there is so much other traffic. No, I dont's think it's any kind of drills.

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TahitiNut

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #14

44. Yep. An Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Its possible activities include ...

... drug interdiction, shake-down following repair, crew shake-down and training, or signals intelligence. Of these, I'd guess the latter is most likely - possibly in combination with one of the other two objectives. It's entirely possible that they're monitoring and attempting to locate more precisely radio communications signals. That class of destroyer is the most electronically sophisticated and, with upgrades, is favored by the CIA/DIA/NSA for off-shore intel activities.

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A HERETIC I AM

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Sun Jun-17-07 12:16 PM
Response to Reply #44

50. I was thinking along those lines too, if it isn't simply waiting for dock space..

at the Port of Miami. (Isn't the Port pretty full on Sundays with cruise ships? Seems to me when i used to live there, they all emptied out of POM later in the day on a Sunday)

I was thinking maybe they are calibrating some equipment, using signals perhaps from MIA or Miami Center in conjunction with satellites.

Of course, i might be completely full of shit and have no clue what i am talking about. A more likely scenario!

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Mika

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Sun Jun-17-07 10:59 AM
Response to Original message

2. Tracking enemy subs?

:nuke:

;)

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whistle

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:01 AM
Response to Original message

3. It looks pretty close to shore and yes it is a military vessel

...Where on Miami Beach was the picture taken? Are you in a high rise?

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #3

5. Yep

Fifteenth floor. I'm in the north end of Miami Beach.

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:03 AM
Response to Original message

6. they're scoping out babes on the beach with high powered binocs.

Edited on Sun Jun-17-07 11:04 AM by KG

'check out the hooters on that blonde on the 15th floor!'

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:06 AM
Response to Reply #6

11. I was waving at them

How did you know? Are you on board? :)

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:09 AM
Response to Reply #11

17. the CPO wants you to wiggle your behind a bit...

:hi:

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #17

23. Done!

FYI: I was the one with "Juicy" written across my ass.

:hi:

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:16 AM
Response to Reply #23

25. thanks for doing your part to keep america safe!

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conscious evolution

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Sun Jun-17-07 04:31 PM
Response to Reply #6

59. LOL!

That was my first thought.

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Pharaoh

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:04 AM
Response to Original message

7. looks like a destroyer or frigate

possibly a light guided missile cruiser,nothing unusual I would'nt think.

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Pharaoh

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:05 AM
Response to Reply #7

9. babes on beach

would be my guess too ;o)

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #9

16. That's the helicopters.

We say that all the time when thy buzz the beach.

:rofl:

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blondeatlast

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:06 AM
Response to Reply #7

10. Even if it's circling? Is that normal? nt

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #7

13. I'm thinking it's routine

But it's rare to see them circle and stop. Not to mention, I can't see a number, or name on it.

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Jackpine Radical

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:10 AM
Response to Reply #7

18. Destroyer, I think.

USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) was commissioned on this date. She is 142 meters (465 feet) in length and has four gas turbines turning two shafts. She was named for the Navy's most famous destroyer squadron combat commander and three-time Chief of Naval Operations, Arleigh Burke was the most powerful surface combatant ever put to sea.

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OmmmSweetOmmm

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:22 AM
Response to Reply #7

31. It looks like a destroyer to me. Once when boating on the LI Sound, I was literally up close and

personal to one that looked like this.

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blondeatlast

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:05 AM
Response to Original message

8. The circling is what creeps me out. Passing through might be unnerving,

but circling is very creepy.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:06 AM
Response to Reply #8

12. And now, it's just sitting there.

Not moving. The Port of Miami is in the other direction, also.

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blondeatlast

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #12

15. I'm a desert dweller so I have no idea! It just seems odd that it would be that

close.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:13 AM
Response to Reply #15

22. Yes

We're used to seeing them sail by, out much further. Thanks!

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A HERETIC I AM

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:13 AM
Response to Reply #12

21. They know you are up there with that demon pot.

"You're on the pot again, aren't you? You're going to get us arrested smoking the pot and we're gonna lose the house!"
(Comedian Keven Meany's mom)

he he.

Port of Miami might be south of you but Port Everglades is north of you and so is Port Canaveral.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:16 AM
Response to Reply #21

26. Damn!

My tax dollars at work! Hoist by my own "potard".

When they started this, they were out way too far to have come from Port Everglades, and Port Canaveral is a possiblity of course, but they're just sitting there, and they're creeping me out.

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William769

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #12

27. Your not to far from Port Everglades.

When I lived on Miami Beach in the early 90's, I saw them quite a few times.

Why today I have no clue.

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donsu

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:48 AM
Response to Reply #8

48. I feel that way about helicoptors that circle my neighborhood instead

passing over. creepy.

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maxsolomon

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:10 AM
Response to Original message

19. obvious answer: TERRORISTS!

PANIC NOW!

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #19

20. In this town?

Probably more like some poor Cuban or Haitian rafters, mistaken for terrorists.

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maxsolomon

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:26 AM
Response to Reply #20

34. still, the patriotic reaction is to PANIC NOW

you never know...

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #34

38. I'm too lazy.

One of my fatal flaws.

:)

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riona

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:37 AM
Response to Reply #19

42. Code Red?

:scared:

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MindPilot

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:15 AM
Response to Original message

24. I'm going to guess it has something to do with drug interdiction

Maybe they are hunting for a sunken vessel. Or some contraband that got tossed overboard from a smuggler's boat.

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Warpy

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:19 AM
Response to Reply #24

29. Those would be done by the Coast Guard, surely

and detection of a sunken vessel would be by a small boat with a side scan sonar array.

Maybe these guys are taking a bunch of rich GOP donors from Palm Beach out for a boat ride at taxpayer expense.

Other than that, it's some sort of training deal for monitoring a shoreline.

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MindPilot

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Sun Jun-17-07 12:27 PM
Response to Reply #29

52. Actually the regular Navy does a lot in that regard

A retired CPO recently told me a story of how his ship stopped and boarded a Mexican fishing boat. Intel was pretty strong that the boat had a large shipment of drugs in its hold. They had to use explosives to blast apart the frozen catch--the result was several tons of fish puree, but no drugs.

The Navy had to pay the fishermen for the destroyed cargo and the ship's crew had to clean up the mess. Apparently that kind of stuff is pretty routine.

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Warpy

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Sun Jun-17-07 12:36 PM
Response to Reply #52

53. I know it is outside the 12 mile limit

but close to shore it was always the Coast Guard, at least in New England.

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speedoo

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:22 AM
Response to Original message

30. Very strange. Couple of things I can see...

First, it appears to be close enough to the beach to be out of the Gulf Stream, which would be pushing it north. Also, that close, it's out of the shipping channel.

One reason it could be sitting there is to wait for dock space to open up either in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. But the question is, why, since there is still a major Navy base up in Jacksonville, right? And Key West is even closer, there used to be a Navy facility there.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:25 AM
Response to Reply #30

33. Those trees are the beach.

I'm four blocks from the beach, and that shot is from the balcony. I don't know where they're supposed to be, but I wish they would go there. They're ruining my view on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Thanks.

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seemslikeadream

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #33

40. Patsy darling can I come and party with you?

Edited on Sun Jun-17-07 11:39 AM by seemslikeadream

I hear Morocco is beautiful this time of year

Sex, drugs and shopping - Marrakesh!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6080381241607537035&q=absolutely+fabulous&total=457&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6080381241607537035&q=absolutely+fabulous&total=457&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:40 AM
Response to Reply #40

45. Sweetie!

Edited on Sun Jun-17-07 11:45 AM by Patsy Stone

Of course! Clinky! :toast:

:rofl: Mo Gaffney is a riot.

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Rick Myers

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Sun Jun-17-07 12:24 PM
Response to Reply #30

51. When I lived in Ft. Lauderdale it was common to see military ships

Heck, once we even saw the carrier JFK! Talk about HUGE!!! They use dock space in Ft L....

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spanone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:25 AM
Response to Original message

32. The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.

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mzteris

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:34 AM
Response to Reply #32

39. I vaguely remember that movie!

I think it was funny. . .

(Getting old sucks.)

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BrotherBuzz

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Sun Jun-17-07 04:45 PM
Response to Reply #39

60. It was a very funny movie

Alan Arkin: "Emergency, everybody to get from street."

Despite being set on the fictional "Gloucester Island" off the coast of New England, the movie was actually filmed on the California coast near Mendocino and in Noyo harbor, Fort Bragg. Because the movie was filmed on the west coast, and the sun rises in the east, the famous dawn scene at the beginning of the movie had to be shot at dusk. Funny, the odd facts old farts can remember without really trying ;).

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Gman

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:30 AM
Response to Original message

37. Looks like a Sunday morning GOP brunch fundraiser

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VTMechEngr

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:39 AM
Response to Original message

43. Looks like an Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer

It's probably just a US Navy ship doing a few practice drills in the shallows. I probably wouldn't have given it a second look, but I've always lived on the coast. Seeing Navy ships out there is second nature for me.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:47 AM
Response to Reply #43

46. Thanks!

We see them a lot too, along with the helicopters and jets, but it was just a bit weird to see it sitting and not moving, then making sharp turns, sitting and not moving again.

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Patsy Stone

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Sun Jun-17-07 11:48 AM
Response to Original message

47. I'd like to thank everyone here.

You've all provided more information than I could have hoped for.

DU: :yourock:

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rodeodance

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Sun Jun-17-07 12:16 PM
Response to Original message

49. Sunday cruise?

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hootinholler

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Sun Jun-17-07 01:12 PM
Response to Original message

55. Most likely it's waiting for a pilot or clearance to bring it into port.

Probably a Miami port call.

-Hoot

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UTUSN

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Sun Jun-17-07 02:55 PM
Response to Original message

56. My vote goes to sub-thread starting with post #6 n/t

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Postman

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Sun Jun-17-07 03:03 PM
Response to Original message

57. It's an Arleigh Burke Class DDG (Guided Missile Destroyer)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arleigh_Burke_class_destroyer

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SteveG

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Sun Jun-17-07 04:11 PM
Response to Reply #57

58. I would agree

based on the silhouettes used in the U.S. Navies ship identification training manual. http://static.scribd.com/docs/jrl4uazljbrbk.pdf

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