NORFOLK, Va. — The Commanding Officer of Norfolk-based destroyer USS Cole was transferred this week due to undisclosed medical reasons while on deployment in the Persian Gulf region.
Cmdr. Tim Clark was transferred to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) for medical reasons, according to a release from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Capt. Ryan Leary, the deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 23, temporarily took command of the USS Cole on Sunday, the release stated.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) is 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.