DickC1853

Richard

Cole

motorcycling, plastic scale modeling, photography, military history,

Cole was born in 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Wickliffe High School in 1970. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Troy State
University in 1977 and a master’s degree in mass communications (radio, TV, and film) from Syracuse University in 1985. He completed Squadron Officer School in 1972, Air Command and Staff College in 1974, and Air War College in 1987.

He enlisted in the Air Force in 1970 at age 17 and served as an aeromedical services specialist with the 61st and 62nd Tactical Airlift Squadrons, 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, and deployed numerous times on rotations to Europe with his C-130 squadron. He deployed with his unit to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, and to Tan Son Nhut AB, Vietnam, during the 1972 invasion of South Vietnam by the North. Upon his return from southeast asia, he cross trained to become a wing historian.

In 1974-1975, while the wing historian for the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing, Clark AB, Republic of the Philippines, Cole documented the wing's participation in Project SCOOT-CE (Supply of Cambodia Out Of Thailand -- Commercial Enterprise) and in 1975 was dispatched to Vietnam and
Thailand to gather documents and write the Air Force histories of the evacuation of Cambodia (Operation EAGLE PULL), Operation Babylift, the evacuation of Vietnam
(Operation FREQUENT WIND), and the recovery of the SS Mayaguez. Cole was on the last C-130E to depart South Vietnam before it fell to the North Vietnamese Army.

Cole participated in the Airman Scholarship and Commissioning Program from 1975-1997, attending Troy State University on a full scholarship. He graduated magna cum laude and received his commission as a second
lieutenant in 1977. Following his graduation from undergraduate navigator training and electronic warfare
officer’s training, he served as a B-52G instructor electronic warfare officer with the 596th Bombardment Squadron,
Barksdale AFB, La. In 1982, he became the Chief, Public Affairs Division for the 2nd Bombardment Wing at
Barksdale.

He attended Syracuse University in 1984 to obtain a masters degree in mass communications (radio, TV, and film) through an Air Force Institute of Technology fellowship. Upon graduation, Cole joined the Headquarters, Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), as a plans and policy officer. He was instrumental in securing live satellite television service for Navy surface ships and oversaw the building of a cable television system serving
military families living in Turkey.

In 1989, Cole joined the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force for Public Affairs where he was a spokesperson
on strategic and space programs. Additionally, he was a key spokesperson to the national and international
news media during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. As an additional duty, Cole served as the
speechwriter and public affairs advisor to the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, and the Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. He retired
from the Air Force in 1992 with the grade of major.

Cole became a civilian public affairs specialist with the On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) in 1994. During his tenure with OSIA, Cole served as the agency spokesperson for the
Open Skies Treaty and Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). He also edited and designed the Agency’s
monthly employee publication, the On-Site Insights. The Association for Publication Excellence awarded an
“Award of Excellence� to the commemorative 10th anniversary issue of On-Site Insights he designed.

In 1998, Cole became the Chief, Media Relations, for the Naval Sea Systems Command. He served as the
speechwriter to the NAVSEA commander—a vice admiral—and was a spokesperson to the national and
international news media during the recovery of several airliners that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. He was also
the spokesperson for the Navy’s diving and salvage team participating in the search for and recovery of John F.
Kennedy, Jr., who’s aircraft crashed off the coast of Massachusetts in 1990. Additionally, he served as the public
affairs advisor to the Virginia-class submarine program director and was instrumental with getting clearance
for Fast Company magazine to visit Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., and photograph the USS Virginia under
construction.

In late 1990, Cole became the editor in chief of Surface Warfare magazine. The bimonthly professional magazine
serves sailors aboard the Navy’s surface ships. During his tenure, he led the publication to 22 awards from
professional media organizations for the quality of the magazine’s writing, original art, and graphic design.
In 2002, Cole briefly left federal service to become an employee of MPRI working as a contract strategic
communications consultant in the Army’s Office of the Chief Public Affairs.

Cole returned to federal service in late 2003 as the Director of Communications for the National Wildlife Refuge
System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior. While there, he coordinated the centennial
observance for the Refuge System, including an address by the Secretary of the Interior, the issuance of a first day
cover postage stamp by the U.S. Postal Service, and appearances on the morning network news shows by a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator, the “father� of the refuge system.

In late 2004, he again left federal service to return to employment with MPRI as a strategic communications
consultant in the Army’s Office of the Chief Public Affairs. While working as an Army consultant, he helped develop
a media analysis protocol, assisted in developing strategies and tactics for communicating Army messages during
the Abu Ghraib scandal, and aided in the development of Army policies concerning blogging and soldiers’ use of
social networking media.

He accepted employment with General Dynamics Information Technology in early 2006, working as a contractor providing strategic communications support to the Assistant Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air & Marine, Department of Homeland Security.

Cole again became a federal employee in late 2006 as the Chief, Public Affairs for the Defense Contract
Management Agency (DCMA). During his tenure with DCMA, Cole helped manage the agency’s rebranding efforts, the launch of an employee news website, and oversaw a redesign of the employee communications publication, Communicator. During 2009, three prestigious communications organizations recognized the magazine’s graphic design and writing with seven awards. He came to DTRA from DCMA in February 2010.

From February 2010 until his retirement in August 2013, Cole served as the Chief, Public Affairs for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Cole is the winner of a number of prestigious professional awards including the Department of Defense Thomas
Jefferson Award, the Aviation and Space Writers’ Association Public Affairs Officer of the Year Award, and awards from the Public Relations Society of America, the International Association of Business Communicators, the
National Association of Government Communicators, and Women in Communications. He has authored two aviation books and contributed photography to 19 others.

Fairfax, VA

retired