The commanding officer of the USS Cole, Cmdr. Tim Clark, was transferred earlier this week to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt for undisclosed medical reasons, the Navy said in a statement July 23, 2024. (U.S. Navy)
The commanding officer of a Navy destroyer in the Middle East was transferred earlier this week to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt for undisclosed medical reasons, according to the service.
Cmdr. Tim Clark, commanding officer of USS Cole, was transported to Roosevelt on Sunday, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet said in a statement Tuesday.
Capt. Ryan Leary, deputy commodore of Destroyer Squadron 23, temporarily assumed command of Cole, according to the statement, which did not indicate the seriousness of Clark’s medical condition.
The Navy couldn’t say on Wednesday if Clark was still aboard Roosevelt or receiving medical treatment. Officials declined to say if his condition was serious or stable, citing policy to not discuss specific medical matters of service members.
The service also couldn’t say how Clark was transferred to Roosevelt or if he would be taken to another location.
The destroyer USS Cole sails on the Hudson River in New York on May 24, 2023. The ship's commanding officer, Cmdr. Tim Clark, was transferred earlier this week to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in the 5th Fleet's area of operations for undisclosed medical reasons, the Navy said. (Kris R. Lindstrom/U.S. Navy)
Homeported in Norfolk, Va., Cole is on a scheduled deployment to the 5th Fleet area of operations, which includes the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman.
Since at least November, the Navy has kept a nearly continuous presence in the Red Sea as part of the Operation Prosperity Guardian mission to protect ships in the waterway against Houthi militant attacks.
Last month, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group left the area after nearly seven months. It returned to Norfolk on July 14 after a historic nine-month deployment.
The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group entered the 5th Fleet area of responsibility on July 12. On Monday, the group was in the Gulf of Aden, according to a USNI News report the same day.
