McAlester Man Assumes Command Of The USS Cole

A McAlester resident is the newest captain of the Navy destroyer USS Cole.

On Friday, January 6, 2012, Commander Peter Nilsen, a 1980 McAlester High School graduate, took the helm as Captain of the USS Cole during a ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia.

Commander Peter Nilsen is USS Cole's previous Executive Officer.

USS Cole and its crew of 271 officers and enlisted sailors are participating in intermediate-level carrier strike group training exercises.

The USS Cole is remembered for a terrorist attack in a Yemen port on October 12, 2000. A blast damaged the destroyer while it was refueling in the harbor. 17 sailors were killed and 39 were injured in the blast.