CAPT Ed Devinney, USN Donates Flag and Plaque to MISI at DreamPort

March 27, 2019 — Captain Ed Devinney, USN, generously presented a flag from the USS COLE and commemorative plaque to Karl Gumtow and the MISI's DreamPort Facility located in Columbia, MD.

The flag was flown on board USS COLE (DDG 67) June 10, 2010 on wartime patrol in the Gulf of Aden supporting OPERATION OCEAN SHIELD whith CAPT Devinney as Commanding Officer. The accompanying plaque contains information about the flag, the USS Cole and CAPT Devinney. That content is below.

Overview
USS Cole (DDG-67) is an Arleigh Burke Class Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer homeported in Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. USS COLE is named in honor of Marine Sergeant Darryl S. Cole, a marine bugler who, due to combat losses in his platoon, become a very capable and decorated machine-gunner. Sergeant Cole served heroically as a machine gunner in numerous World War II battles, earning multiple combat action awards. Sergeant Cole was part of the initial landing force on the Japanese stronghold island of Iwo Jima. During the intense campaign to take control of Iwo Jima, Sergeant Cole was killed in action on 19 February 1945. USS COLE is one of 62 authorized Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyers. The ship was built by Ingalls Shipbuilding and was delivered to the Navy on 11 March 1996.

Al-Qaeda Attack & Return to Duty
On 12 October 2000, while at anchor in Aden, USS COLE was attacked by Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, who sailed a small boat into the destroyer and detonated an immense explosive charge. The blast created a hole in the port side of the ship about 40 feet in diameter, killing 17 crewmembers and injuring 39. The ship's crew fought heroically to contain the damage, treat the wounded and protect the ship from subsequent attack.

COLE was returned to the United States aboard the Dutch heavy-lift vessel Blue Marlin. The ship was off-loaded 13 December 2000 from Blue Marlin in a deep-water facility at the Pascagoula, Mississippi, shipyard of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations. After 14 months of repair, COLE departed on 19 April 2002, and returned to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia and returned to fully operational status.

Commander Ed Devinney assumed Command of USS COLE in December 2008. While in Command, Commander Devinney deployed COLE to the Baltic Sea supporting Coalition Operations. Subsequently, COLE was deployed to combat operations in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin and the Arabian Gulf. In July 2010, Commander Devinney completed his tour and relinquished Command at a ceremony in Manama, Bahrain.

Learn more about the DreamPort at dreamport.tech.

About MISI

MISI is a non-profit formed exclusively to further and promote charitable, educational, and scientific purposes including, but not limited to, furthering innovation in cybersecurity through education, global technology partnerships, investment, and community engagement to create a collaborative network of subject matter experts and cyber professionals. To learn more, visit misi.tech.