Capt. Ryan Leary, DESRON 23’s deputy commodore, temporarily assumed command of Cole after Cmdr. Tim Clark transferred to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) for medical reasons. Cole remains on mission in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations where it is currently on a scheduled deployment.
The U.S. 5th fleet area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water space and includes the Arabian gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean, and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.
