At least two suicide bombers in a small boat approached the Cole as it refueled in Aden harbor, Yemen, on Oct. 12 and detonated powerful explosives as it pulled alongside the ship, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39.
The Navy almost immediately began what is called a Judge Advocates General or JAG "manual investigation" – an inquiry into the conduct of the skipper and crew immediately before, during and after the attack. The JAG investigation was completed and forward by Vice Adm. Charles Moore this week to Adm. Robert Natter, commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
However, an official with the Atlantic Fleet said the investigation report was far from complete: Natter could send it back to investigators for more information or revision, and when he has completed work he will forward it to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark.
Clark will also review the report before its findings are considered final.
CNN says sources told it that the Cole filed a force protection plan outlining what it would do to secure the ship in Yemen, but did not fully carry out the measures. Whether the skipper of the ship, Cdr. Kirk S. Lippold, is disciplined will depend on whether the investigation determines that those omissions left the Cole vulnerable to the attack.
Whether the crew followed complete safety procedures has been an open question since the attack, especially since late October when a sailor who was on deck during the bombing told a Wisconsin newspaper that he waved a greeting at the bombers as they approached, assuming they were harbor tenders.
Seaman Ray Mooney told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he was initially suspicious of the high speed at which the boat headed toward the Cole, but it slowed down alongside the ship and Mooney assumed it was a garbage service boat, according to the paper's Oct. 23 edition.
However, the crew of the Cole was operating under a heightened threat characteristic of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, a posture known as Threat Condition Bravo.
Even at a lower threat condition, Alpha, the crew of the Cole would have been expected to keep unknown boats far from the ship, according to military doctrine.
"Threat Condition Alpha … provides that water taxis, ferries, bumboats, other harbor craft, require special concern … because they can serve as an ideal platform for terrorists. Unauthorized craft should be kept away from the ship. Unauthorized craft should be carefully controlled, surveilled, and covered," according to a Pentagon security document.
Threat Con Bravo is the third-highest state of alert in the military. It applies when an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity exists.
In addition to all measures called for under Threat Con Alpha, Bravo also requires increased surveillance around the ship and should have been conducting "random patrols" where possible, according to a Navy security document.
Also under Bravo, "where possible, cars and such objects as crates, trash containers, etc., are to be moved at least 25 yards from buildings, particularly those buildings of a sensitive or prestigious nature," states the Navy security document.
However, Bravo is a threat level that needs to be maintainable for a long time, and is to be carried out in a way that does not offend a host country – adjustments that are largely up to the skipper of the ship.
Gen. Tommy Franks, commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, admitted to the House Armed Services Committee on Oct. 25 that he didn't know whether the skipper and crew had carried out all protective measures spelled out under Threat Con Bravo.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., told reporters the same day, "We are … looking at the operational order [to refuel in Aden] and whether or not they were in full compliance with the operational order."
The outcome of the JAG investigation could be career-ending for Cdr. Lippold.
The damaged Cole is expected to arrive in Pascagoula, Miss., for repairs on Dec. 13. It will take almost a year for the repair on the $1 billion destroyer to be completed, according to the Pentagon.
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