October 12, 2000 At 11:18 on the morning, as USS Cole (DDG 67) was refueling in Aden Harbor, Yemen, suicide bombers detonated an explosive-laden boat directly against the port side of the ship. The resulting blast killed 17 Sailors, wounded 37 others, and tore a hole forty by sixty feet in the ship's hull.

In the aftermath of the explosion, the crew of USS Cole fought tirelessly to free shipmates trapped by the twisted wreckage and limit flooding that threatened to sink their ship. The crew's prompt actions to isolate damaged electrical systems and contain fuel oil ruptures prevented catastrophic fires that could have engulfed the ship and cost the lives of countless men and women. Skillful first aid and advanced medical treatment applied by the crew prevented additional death and eased the suffering of many others. The crew conducted more than 96 hours of sustained damage control in conditions of extreme heat and stress. Deprived of sleep, food and shelter, they vigilantly battled to preserve a secure perimeter and restore stability to engineering systems that were vital to the ship's survival. The destroyer was part of the USS George Washington Battle Group, and was in transit from the Red Sea to a port visit in Bahrain when the ship stopped in Aden for routine refueling. USS Cole departed Norfolk for its deployment Aug. 8, 2000, and was scheduled to return home Dec. 21.

USS Cole was towed out of Aden harbor Oct. 29, 2000, to deeper water by the Military Sealift Command's fleet ocean tug USNS Cataba (T-ATF 168). The process of loading the Cole onto the transport ship required a water depth of at least 75 feet since it involved partially submerging Blue Marlin, Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V owned by Offshore Heavy Transport of Oslo, Norway, and maneuving Cole into position over Blue Marlin's deck. The transport ship was then raised, and Cole was lifted aboard. The destroyer was canted on Blue Marlin's deck to protect her propellers and her sonar dome. USS Cole was off-loaded Dec. 13, 2000, from Blue Marlin in a pre-dredged deep-water facility at the shipyard of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Ingalls Operations.

April 25, 2002 After a successful 14-month effort to repair the damage, USS Cole departed Pascagoula, Miss., on April 19 and returned to Naval Station Norfolk.

August 5, USS Cole provided assistance to a 37-foot wooden sailing vessel in a distress call. DDG 67 was conducting Combat Systems Ship Qualification Trials, approximately 30 nm off the coast of St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

September 24, USS Cole and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) came to the aid of a vessel in distress, about 40 miles off the coast of Currituck, N.C. It was from the 35-foot Bertram sport fishing boat "Reeleaser," which was taking on water and suffering from intermittent power losses.

January 10, 2003 Cmdr. Cristopher W. Grady relieved Cmdr. Kevin M. Sweeney as commanding officer of USS Cole.

November 29, DDG 67 departed for a scheduled Mediterranean Sea deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. As the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Surface Strike Group (SSG), Cole, Gonzalez (DDG 66) and Thorn (DD 988) will participate in regional exercises with allies, make diplomatic port calls and respond to any contingency, including those associated with the ongoing war on terrorism. The SSG can operate independently or in conjunction with other maritime forces.

May 27, 2004 USS Cole returned to homeport after serving with nine ships from Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Turkey, as part of NATO’s Standing Naval Forces Mediterranean (SNFM). She conducted more than 1,000 vessel queries, served as SNFM Strait of Gibraltar escort commander, and carried out four maritime interdiction boardings in support of the global war on terror. USS Cole took part in one of the largest NATO exercises in history, Mare Aperto 2004, and Dogfish 2004. Mare Aperto 2004 included 37 ships from six nations and encompassed every area of surface warfare. Exercise Dogfish, an anti-submarine warfare exercise, included NATO coalition warships and submarines from Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece, United Kingdom and France. The Cole also visited Souda Bay (Jan. 21), Crete; Aksaz, Turkey; Toulon, France; Rota (Dec. 9) and Valencia, Spain; and Augusta Bay, Cagliari; LaMaddalena (March 26) and Genoa, Italy.

May 20, 2005 USS Cole departed Norfolk in support of the 33rd annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2005.

June 30, The guided-missile destroyer pulled to Philadelphia to participate in Fourth of July celebrations.The Cole recently returned after completing BALTOPS '05 Exercise.

February 19, 2006 USS Cole, as part of USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) Expeditionary Strike Group, successfully completed their ESG Integrated Training exercises, Feb. 14, while operating in Onslow Bay, N.C. ESGINT is the first of three pre-deployment exercises designed to test fundamental capabilities and shipboard interoperability between the strike group vessels and Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) 24, in preparation for the role the ESG will play in fighting the global war on terrorism.

June 8, USS Cole departed homeport, along with USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), for a scheduled underway period to conduct maritime security operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism, with the USS Iwo Jima ESG.

September 15, USS Cole is currently operating in the Persian Gulf in support of Maritime Security Operations and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

October 3, USS Cole departed Mina Salman, Bahrain, in early October, after its first port visit to U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations (AoO) since the guided-missile destroyer was attacked in the Gulf of Aden, claiming the lives of 17 Sailors in October 2000.

December 6, USS Cole returned to Naval Station Norfolk after a six-month deployment.

July 27, 2007 DDG 67 is currently participating in Operation Bold Step as part of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) CSG. More than 15,000 service members from three countries and 23 U.S. Navy ships will participate in Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 07-2 "OBS", July 26-31 off the U.S. coast from the waters of Virginia to Florida.

September 4, USS Cole departed Norfolk to participate in exercise Neptune Warrior 07-2 Sept. 17-29., off the coast of Scotland, with naval forces from Denmark, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Spain and United Kingdom.

March 13, 2008 USS Cole recently arrived off the coast of Lebanon in order to promote stability in the region. The U.S. Navy has sent at least three ships to patrol the coast of Lebanon as well as monitor neighboring Israel and Syria.

June 9, The guided-missile destroyer arrived in Gdynia, Poland, to kick off the 36th annual maritime exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2008. Thirteen nations will participate in this year's exercise, including ships, submarines, aircraft, and ground force elements from NATO and PFP nations, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

July 18, DDG 67 returned to homeport after six-and-a-half month underway period. The Cole was the first U.S. Navy warship to take part in a foreign nation’s battle group, as part of HMS Illustrious, during the Exercise Orion '08. The ship also participated in several other international exercises, including Exercise Phoenix with the Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Trafalgar (S107).

September 23, 2009 USS Cole departed Naval Station Norfolk to participate in a multi-national warfare exercise Joint Warrior 09-2, off the coast of Scotland Oct. 5-16.

October 24, The Cole arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, for a three-day port call. The destroyer recently visited Helsinki, Finland.

November 19, DDG 67 returned home following participation in exercise Joint Warrior.

February 8, 2010 USS Cole departed Norfolk for a scheduled deployment, after a three-day delay because of the weekend storm, in the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet Areas of Operation as part of the SNMG 2.

February 23, The Cole, commanded by Cmdr. Edward Devinney, pulled into Naples, Italy, for a scheduled port visit.

March 26, The guided-missile destroyer recently arrived in Djibouti for a routine port call.

September 1, USS Cole returned to Naval Station Norfolk after a nearly seven-month deployment, two days earlier than planned because of the threat from Hurricane Earl.

August 18, 2011 The Cole pulled into Port Everglades, Fla., for a three-day port visit.

September 9, DDG 67 arrived pierside at Nauticus Pier in downtown Norfolk to participate in events marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

January 6, 2012 Cmdr. Peter K. Nilsen relieved Cmdr. Andrew C. Ehlers as CO of the USS Cole during a change-of-command ceremony on board the ship at Norfolk.

January 23, The Cole is currently underway supporting the Enterprise (CVN 65) Carrier Strike Group’s COMPTUEX as part of the opposition force.

February 4, The guided-missile destroyer is currently participating in a joint and multinational amphibious assault exercise Bold Aligator 2012, off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina, Jan. 30- Feb. 12.