USS Cole returns to Gulf 6 years after attack

[falcon]

USS Cole returns to Gulf 6 years after attack

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, October 5, 2006

ABU DHABI — Nearly six years after its attack by Al Qaida, the USS Cole has returned to the Gulf region.

The guided missile destroyer docked in Bahrain for its first Gulf port call since 2000. On Sept. 27, the USS Cole anchored in Manama, the first port in the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of operations.

On Oct. 12, 2000, the USS Cole was struck by a suicide boat in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed in the Al Qaida strike, and the Cole required four years of repair.

"The Cole being here is a very historical moment," USS Cole chief Cmdr. Brad Roberson said.

Roberson said many sailors sought to be deployed aboard the refurbished Cole. He said the ship has revised its security procedures to prevent the approach of unidentified vessels.

"Our sense of awareness and alertness to respond has greatly increased," Roberson said.

Officials said the USS Cole did not have immediate plans to return to Aden. The U.S. Navy has been working with Yemeni authorities to improve port security.

Officials said the USS Cole has been conducting maritime security operations in the Gulf since June 2006. They said the operations proceeded without incident.
http://p201.ezboard.com/falaskalocal...cID=2401.topic

[Joey Bagadonuts]

Here are several amazing photos of the USS Cole after the attack that I want to share with "youze guys".
The ship that is carrying the USS Cole back to the United States is a Norwegian merchant vessel, the "Blue Marlin".



















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[MagnetMan]

Wow, those are some really cool pictures. Would be nice to see a video of that ship tow'er in action, but I don't think I'd be that lucky.

[Ryan Ruck]

I thought I remember seeing some video about the Cole recovery on either Discovery, History, or Military Channel. As I recall it was a time lapse thing that showed the whole process of the ship lifting up the Cole.

You might want to keep an eye out on those channels, especially around the anniversary date.