NORFOLK, Va. - U.S. Navy Cmdr. Doug Cole, a 1988 Vinita High School graduate and Vinita, Oklahoma, native, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal after completing a two-year assignment at the Naval Safety Center (NAVSAFECEN) in Norfolk, Virginia.
Cole led a diverse and actively mobile team of Surface Warfare Subject Matter Experts, contributing directly to major improvements in safety and readiness across all Navy surface ships. The results of his efforts are visible and quantifiable in the Department of the Navy’s reduction in injuries, program improvements, and increased safety awareness across the fleet.
He personally visited 95 ships in the course of 18 trips that covered every Fleet Concentration area where he spoke to the ship’s Commanding Officers and safety leadership on how best to incorporate Safety into their daily operations and maintenance. Cole's efforts were critical in carrying the Naval Safety Center’s message of “Preserving Combat Readiness and Saving Lives" to the Fleet.
NAVSAFECEN provides support and oversight to the naval safety program through safety and risk management policy and guidance, safety data services, safety program services, safety communications, and safety education and training. Data sources are worldwide and information is provided to all levels of the Navy, Marine Corps, and other federal agencies, contractors and foreign governments.
Cole completed Recruit Training in December 1988 and was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program in December 1998. Graduating from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics, he was commissioned in May 2001. During his thirty plus years of service, he has served on nine ships and deployed nine times. Cole’s next assignment will be Executive Officer of Coastal Riverine Squadron Three in San Diego, California.
Cole is the son of Lee and Maria Cole of Vinita, Oklahoma.
He is married to the former Donna Barwick of Kinston, North Carolina. Their daughter, Magan, resides in San Diego with her husband, Marine Corps Major Kurt Stahl, and their daughters, Caroline and Audrey.
He personally visited 95 ships in the course of 18 trips that covered every Fleet Concentration area where he spoke to the ship’s Commanding Officers and safety leadership on how best to incorporate Safety into their daily operations and maintenance. Cole's efforts were critical in carrying the Naval Safety Center’s message of “Preserving Combat Readiness and Saving Lives" to the Fleet.
NAVSAFECEN provides support and oversight to the naval safety program through safety and risk management policy and guidance, safety data services, safety program services, safety communications, and safety education and training. Data sources are worldwide and information is provided to all levels of the Navy, Marine Corps, and other federal agencies, contractors and foreign governments.
Cole completed Recruit Training in December 1988 and was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program in December 1998. Graduating from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics, he was commissioned in May 2001. During his thirty plus years of service, he has served on nine ships and deployed nine times. Cole’s next assignment will be Executive Officer of Coastal Riverine Squadron Three in San Diego, California.
Cole is the son of Lee and Maria Cole of Vinita, Oklahoma.
He is married to the former Donna Barwick of Kinston, North Carolina. Their daughter, Magan, resides in San Diego with her husband, Marine Corps Major Kurt Stahl, and their daughters, Caroline and Audrey.