Captain Eric D. Cole
Captain Eric Cole was born and raised in Carrollton, GA. He attended the United States Naval Academy where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and was commissioned in May of 1998. He later earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in 2005.
Captain Cole’s operational assignments have been as a division officer aboard USS CHEYENNE (SSN 773), as the engineer officer aboard USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23), as executive officer aboard USS MAINE (SSBN 741)(GOLD), as commanding officer aboard USS ALASKA (SSBN 732)(GOLD), and as Commodore, Submarine Squadron 20.
Ashore, Captain Cole served on the OPNAV N77 staff as the Deep Submergence Systems requirements officer, as a technical assistant to the director Naval Reactors, as the submarine officer branch head and the submarine executive officer/post-executive officer detailer at Naval Personnel Command (PERS 42), as the chief of the Nuclear Enterprise Division United States European Command (ECJ310), as the Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander Strategic (JFMCC STRAT) J3, and most recently served as the Commodore for Submarine Squadron 20.
Captain Cole has earned the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal, the 2019 RADM Jack Darby award for inspirational leadership and excellence of command, as well as other campaign and unit awards.