In 2004, he embedded with U.S. Army 25th Infantry soldiers on their first major deployment to Iraq, reporting from Kirkuk, Hawija, Tall Afar and Halabja on the Iranian border. During the same year, Cole also reported from Afghanistan on the deployment of a separate 25th Infantry brigade, reporting from Bagram Air Base and Orgun-E in Paktika province on the eastern border with Pakistan.
In June of 2005, he traveled to Kuwait and Iraq to report on a deployment by the Hawaii Army National Guard. In Iraq he reported from Camp Victory in Baghdad and Logistics Supply Area Anaconda north of Baghdad. That fall, he accompanied a Hawaii-based Army Chinook helicopter unit to Afghanistan and then Pakistan to report on earthquake relief humanitarian assistance flights to remote Pakistani areas.
Cole received seven first-place awards, including the top public service category award, in the 2010 Hawaii Publishers Association Pa'i awards for a four-part series on a fateful U.S. Army battle in 2008 in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of nine U.S. soldiers.
Cole has observed operations while underway on U.S. Navy ships including aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers, submarines, joint high speed vessels and littoral combat ships; traveled extensively by Army and Navy helicopters; and flown into and out of combat zones and other mission areas on Air Force C-17, C-5 and C-130 aircraft.
Funding for the $1.9 billion Homeland Defense Radar- Hawaii has again been zeroed out in the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s proposed budget — a position that reflects evolving and competing defense priorities and could set up another challenge in Congress. Read more
A groundbreaking ceremony and Hawaiian blessing was held in Kapolei on Memorial Day for a $98.4 million, 120-bed veterans home that officials acknowledged was a big challenge to bring to fruition. Read more
Growing up in rural Indiana, brothers Harold and William Trapp and their sister, Irene, were inseparable. Read more
Missile defense officials have initiated an “extensive review” to determine the cause of any problems which may have prevented a successful intercept. Read more
The Honolulu Council of the Navy League announced today the formation of a committee to organize events in support of the commissioning of the new destroyer USS Daniel Inouye, DDG 118, in Hawaii. Read more
A Russian spy ship parked in international waters off Kauai for several days has delayed a Missile Defense Agency missile test, officials said. Read more
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A Russian spy ship parked in international waters off Kauai for several days has delayed a Missile Defense Agency missile test, officials said. Read more
It’s a hybrid Memorial Day observance that will be held this year at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific to honor veterans — as well as to keep in line with conflicting state and federal COVID-19 guidelines. Read more
Hawaii was one of just 11 states with National Guard troops on a second round of security duty at the U.S. Capitol as other citizen soldiers from the Aloha State helped with COVID-19 and vaccinations back home. Read more
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said it has talked with the Navy about disinterring 94 sailors from the famed battleship USS Arizona who are buried as “unknowns” at Punchbowl cemetery in Honolulu. Read more
A 24-year-old married Schofield Barracks soldier who had rekindled a relationship with his high school sweetheart took out a $100,000 life insurance policy on his wife, Googled how many swings it took to kill someone with a baseball bat, and beat and stabbed her to death following their first wedding anniversary, an Army prosecutor said Thursday. Read more
Tens of thousands of Hawaii residents vaccinated against COVID-19 are no longer required to wear masks for the most part — as long as they remain on federal Department of Defense installations. Read more
Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to fly its big Starship from a launch in Texas to a splashdown 62 miles northwest of Kauai — a trip most of the way around the world in just 90 minutes — in the first orbital test of the transport planned to carry cargo and crew to Earth orbit, the moon and Mars. Read more
A bipartisan bill seeks $25 billion to upgrade the Navy’s four shipyards — Pearl Harbor included — sooner rather than later, as well as to make improvements to private yards in the face of rapid Chinese military expansion. Read more
On Sept. 2, 1945, the deadliest war in history officially ended on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri with Japan’s unconditional surrender. Read more
For evidence of China’s game plan for influencing the Pacific islands, look to the South China Sea and what the rising Asian power has been doing in spades, said Congressman Ed Case. Read more
The Navy has confirmed that an approximately 1,000-gallon fuel leak was detected Thursday at the troubled Red Hill fuel farm, a World War II-era facility that came under criticism following a 27,000-gallon fuel release in 2014. Read more
Adm. Samuel J. Paparo on Wednesday assumed command of the storied U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor that was famously led by Adm. Chester Nimitz during the tumultuous days of World War II and now faces new threats from China. Read more
Oahu’s only skydiving operations can continue to operate at Dillingham Airfield at least until Dec. 31 under an extension granted by the state Department of Transportation. Read more
The radical restructuring of the Marine Corps in Hawaii to better deter China in the western Pacific includes the planned removal of all 16 tanklike amphibious vehicles and elimination of all cannon artillery. Read more
Hawaii is sending more Marines to Australia this year as part of an annual rotational deployment intended to increase combat capability west of the international date line as a counter to China and while the Corps tries to keep a lid on COVID-19 cases. Read more
