USS Cole visits Key West

Photo By Chief Petty Officer Brian Morales | USS Cole (DDG 67) moors along Naval Air Station Key West's Mole Pier for a port visit. NAS Key West is a state-of-the-art facility for air-to-air combat fighter aircraft of all military services and provides world-class pierside support to foreign and domestic naval vessels. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brian Morales/ Released)  

KEY WEST, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

01.21.2014

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Morales 

Naval Air Station Key West

KEY WEST, Fla. - The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) made a port stop at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla., Jan. 21, for rest and relaxation.

Navy League Key West Council representatives welcomed Cole’s crew at NAS Key West’s Mole Pier.

“It is an exciting honor to be back in Key West,” said former NAS Key West sailor Chief Master-at-Arms Josh Datka, a native of Oconomowoc, Wis.

“Given the Cole’s history with the ‘MA’ rating, this is an awesome set of orders. The dedication and pride of this crew has been phenomenal,” Datka added.

Originally commissioned at Port Everglades, Fla., Cole survived a terrorist attack from Al-Qaeda in October 2000. The attack killed 17 sailors, injured 39, and caused a 40- by 60-foot hole in the hull. The Norwegian heavy-lift ship S.S. Blue Marlin transported Cole back to the U.S.

In April 2002, Cole was recommissioned at Pascagoula, Miss.

“I think you have to work as hard, if not better, to keep up with the past’s crew’s reputation,” said Operations Specialist Seaman Recruit Ryan Larson, a newly-assigned Cole sailor from Bothell, Wash.

After departing Key West, Cole will get underway to conduct routine training evolutions.

• Date Taken: 01.21.2014
• Date Posted: 01.21.2014 16:21
• Story ID: 119415
• Location: KEY WEST, FLORIDA, US
• Hometown: BOTHELL, WASHINGTON, US
• Hometown: OCONOMOWOC, WISCONSIN, US