Eight Years After the USS Cole
Eight years ago, on October 12, 2000, just before the presidential elections, the USS Cole was struck by suicide bombers outside the Adan port in Yemen. 17 American Sailors were killed and others injured. It was an event that literally changed my life.
At the time, I was a 98G in the Army – Cryptologic Linguist-Spanish. I had been doing that for five years and frankly hated my job. There are parts that are fun, but the idea of sitting there listening to static for hours on end didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t know exactly what else I wanted to do though.
I tried changing my MOS to 46R, Public Affairs Broadcast Specialist. While stationed at Fort Irwin, I had a daily radio show that aired during lunch time. My commander was nice enough to give me an “extra” hour each day for lunch to do the show. It really meant I didn’t eat lunch, but he supported what I was doing. I wanted to keep doing that and actually get paid for entertaining the troops. The problem was that my MOS had a “NO” out call and 46R had a “NO” in call. To put it into layman’s terms: my MOS was shorthanded and public affairs had too many Soldier for my grade and rank. In order for anyone to reclassify into another job, the job you want to go into must have a “YES” in call at least. Most of the time, you can convince your old branch to let you go if it means keeping you in the Army.
I contacted the Public Affairs branch about wanting to reenlist. I sent in recordings of my radio show and sent copies of articles I wrote for the post newspaper. In addition to my daily radio show, I had a weekly column based off my website called, you guessed it, “A Soldier’s Perspective”. The main difference was that my weekly column was about leadership issues. My co-host and I also had a weekly spot called, “Answers To Dumb Questions”. People would send us dumb questions they’ve always wanted answers to like, “If I cut off my leg, would I lose weight quicker?” These are important questions that truly deserve answers and we had them.
I also sent up letters of recommendation from the Public Affairs Officers and NCOs I worked with. After reviewing everything I had sent, the Public Affairs Branch not only agreed to allow me in, but said they would wave my AIT training. Since I was already clearly experienced in writing and expressing myself clearly on air, I could forego the formalities of training.
Unfortunately, there was a problem. Military Intelligence branch wouldn’t release me. I tried really hard to convince them, but nothing was working. I decided to play hardball and refused to reenlist unless I could reclassify. It was a difficult decision for me to make since I wanted to make the military a career. But, I was NOT going to stay in the Army doing what I was doing.
What does all this have to do with the USS Cole? It was around this time that the USS Cole was hit – three months prior to my ETS date!! Instantly, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was so angry about what had happed and wanted to do whatever I could to ensure it never happened again. I reenlisted into my current job and get to hunt down terrorists for my day job!
I was in training at Fort Huachuca when 9/11 happened, cementing my resolve and wanting desperately to get out there before another attack happened. People like to lie about there being more terrorist attacks since we went into Iraq than before, but I can’t think of any that have happened to us since (not counting the combat zone, of course). However, prior to that I can list several off the top of my head: the Kenya and Tanzania embassy bombings, Kobar towers, the first World Trade Center bombing, and the millenium bomber we caught crossing the border into Washington in December 1999.
So, it is for that reason that I honor the memories of those 17 Sailors killed on 12 October 2000 in the USS Cole:
* Hull Maintenance Technician Second Class Kenneth Eugene Clodfelter, 21, of Mechanicsville, Va.
* Electronics Technician Chief Petty Officer Richard Costelow, 35, of Morrisville, Pa.
* Mess Management Specialist Seaman Lakeina Monique Francis, 19, of Woodleaf, N.C.
* Information Systems Technician Timothy Lee Gauna, 21, of Rice, Texas
* Signalman Seaman Cherone Louis Gunn, 22, of Rex, Ga.
* Seaman James Rodrick McDaniels, 19, of Norfolk, Va.
* Engineman Second Class Marc Ian Nieto, 24, of Fond du Lac, Wis.
* Electronics Warfare Technician Second Class Ronald Scott Owens, 24, of Vero Beach, Fla.
* Seaman Lakiba Nicole Palmer, 22, of San Diego, Calif.
* Engineman Fireman Joshua Langdon Parlett, 19, of Churchville, Md.
* Fireman Patrick Howard Roy, 19, of Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y.
* Electronics Warfare Technician First Class Kevin Shawn Rux, 30, of Portland, N.D.
* Mess Management Specialist Third Class Ronchester Manangan Santiago, 22, Kingsville, Texas
* Operations Specialist Second Class Timothy Lamont Saunders, 32, of Ringgold, Va.
* Fireman Gary Graham Swenchonis Jr., 26, Rockport, Texas
* Ensign Andrew Triplett, 31, of Macon, Miss.
* Seaman Craig Bryan Wibberley, 19, of Williamsport, Md.
Be sure to check A Soldier’s Perspective for a letter from the father of one of these Sailors.
MissBirdlegs in AL
October 15th, 2008 at 4:01 pmThanks for this, CJ. I appreciate seeing the names again.
Donna
October 15th, 2008 at 7:33 pmThank You for this article CJ. I didn’t realize that it has been 8 years since the Cole was hit. God Bless all these guys and their families!