Breakaway music is a modern U.S. Naval tradition used to motivate sailors upon the conclusion of

underway replenishment Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) (U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develope ...

(UNREP), although using breakaway music is at the discretion of the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and not all commands use it. When the two ships involved in the UNREP conclude their transfer of fuels and stores and commence their breakaway, a song is played over the

1 Main Circuit 1 Main Circuit (1MC) is the term for the shipboard public address circuits on United States Navy and United States Coast Guard vessels. This provides a means of transmitting general information and orders to all internal ship spaces and topside ...

. The song may be selected by the captain, the officer of the deck (OOD), or the

navigation officer A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

. Some commands will allow the crew to vote on a song from a list of popular choices, usually during morning quarters. Breakaway music may sometimes be related to the name of the ship, such as the "

Theme from Star Trek The "Theme from ''Star Trek''" (originally scored under the title "Where No Man Has Gone Before") is an instrumental musical piece composed by Alexander Courage for ''Star Trek,'' the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry ...

" () or "Kansas City, Here I Come" (). The fast combat support ship, and oiler, played the "

Baby Elephant Walk "Baby Elephant Walk" is a song composed in 1961 by Henry Mancini for the 1962 film ''Hatari!'' Lyrics by Hal David were not used in the film version. The instrumental earned Mancini a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement in . Background ...

" (written in 1961 by composer

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, for the 1962 release of the movie ''

Hatari! ''Hatari!'' (, Swahili for "Danger!") is a 1962 American adventure romantic comedy film starring John Wayne as the leader of a group of professional game catchers in Africa.McCarthy, Todd. ''Howard Hawks: the grey fox of Hollywood'', New York, ...

'') after each UNREP in honor of its nickname "The Powerful Pachyderm of the Pacific".

References

United States Navy traditions Military music {{music-stub