USS COLE 12 October 2000 – 12 October 2010
History
-
28 February 1994:-Keel Laid Keel laid by Ingalls
Shipbuilding Inc. Pascagoula, Mississippi.
-
10 February 1995- USS COLE Launched
-
08 June 1996- USS COLE Commissioned USS COLE
Commissioned in Port Everglades, Florida. Ship Sponsor: Mrs. Lee
Perry
-
February 1998 – September 1998: Deployment to the
Persian Gulf as part of the John C. Stennis Battle Group.
-
August 2000 – November 2000: Deployment to the
Mediterranean and Red Sea as part of the George Washington Battle
Group
-
12 October 2000- USS COLE terrorist attack While
refueling in Aden Harbor, Yemen USS COLE was victim of a
terrorist attack . USS COLE was attacked on Port Mid-Ships by
a small boat with explosives onboard. The result of which led to a
40 by 60 foot hole and the loss of 17 sailors.
-
31 October 2000: Ship begins return to United
States onboard the Norwegian heavylift ship S.S. Blue Marlin.
-
19 April 2002- USS COLE Recommissioned in
Pascagoula, Mississippi.
-
November 2003 – May 2004 - USS COLE departs for
first six-month deployment since recommissioning.
-
22 December 2003 USS Cole (DDG 67) hoisted a U.S.
flag from the site of New York's World Trade Center Ground Zero on
its outbound transit from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Nov. 29. It
was Cole's first deployment since the terrorist attack that took the
lives of 17 Sailors in Yemen’s port of Aden. After the
guided-missile destroyer passed the Cole Memorial at Iowa Point,
Ordnance Officer Ensign Chris Cisek, hauled up the flag that had
flown over Ground Zero last year for three months. Cole flying the
same flag that at one time had guarded Ground Zero is full of
symbolism on its own, but it was no accident that Cisek had been
chosen to participate in this special moment. His father is a
31-year veteran of the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, and the
flag had been given to the ship by their officers. “After the attack
against the World Trade Center, the Port Authority Police
Department, along with the NYPD, the FDNY and EMS worked around the
clock for months to recover the bodies of their comrades and other
victims. My father was part of the inspiring recovery effort,” said
Cisek. “It was a terrific honor to have been asked to participate in
this awesome, yet bittersweet, moment,” Cisek said. “Raising this
flag was an opportunity to bring attention to the hard work and the
terrific perseverance of so many people directly related to these
two tragedies.” Following the bombing, Cole, a Norfolk-based Aegis
guided-missile destroyer commissioned in 1996, completed a 14-month
repair period in Pascagoula, Miss., totaling $250 million, before
returning to her homeport in Virginia in April 2002. Since then, the
crew has been hard at work, successfully completing the challenging
qualifications and certifications of the Inter-Deployment Training
Cycle that ultimately integrated their warship back within the
deploying forces of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. “This was the next
logical step for this ship,” said Cmdr. Christopher Grady, Cole's
commanding officer. “This crew is more than ready to prove to the
American people and to the world that Cole is again a very capable
warship, ready to carry out the tasking of the President in support
of the global war on terrorism.”
-
29 November 2003 Cole deployed for her first
overseas deployment after the bombing and subsequently returned to
her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia on 27 May 2004 without incident.
-
May 2005 – July 2005 – COLE departed for Baltops
2005 in May and returned to Philadelphia, PA for a short port visit
to attend Fourth of July Celebrations before returning to Norfolk,
VA.
-
08 June 2006 Cole deployed to the Middle East for
the first time since the bombing. While passing the port city of
Aden the crew manned the rails to honor the crewmembers killed in
the bombing. She returned to her homeport of Norfolk on 6 December
2006 without incident.
-
28 February 2008 Cole was sent to take station
off Lebanon's coast, the first of an anticipated three-ship
flotilla. "The United States believes a show of support is important
for regional stability. We are very concerned about the situation in
Lebanon. It has dragged on very long," said a top US official, who
spoke on condition of anonymity signaling "impatience" with Syria.
-
10 February 2010 The Arleigh Burke-class, guided
missile destroyer, USS Cole (DDG 67) deployed from Naval Station
Norfolk, Feb. 8 for a scheduled seven-month deployment to the
Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf area of operations. The ship will
conduct maritime security operations in the region, working with
international maritime forces to ensure security and awareness in
the maritime domain. "The Cole is a wonderful ship. It has a great
history and a lot of people associate the bombing with us," said
Cmdr. Edward Devinney, Cole's commanding officer. "We honor the 17
Sailors that we lost, those heroes, and the nearly 300 that fought
and kept the ship from further damage for four days. This crew has
worked very hard over the past year for this deployment. We are
ready to go and we are ready to answer our nation's calling." Rev.
Sandra H. Mull, grandmother of Cole Sailor, Seaman Thomas H. Dew,
said they will keep the ship in their prayers during this
deployment.
-
The ship also contains a "Hall of Heroes" to
honor the 17 Sailors who died during the terrorist attack in 2000.
|
