FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The Navy's USS Cole is on the open seas today for the first time since a terrorist bomb ripped a hole in its side and killed 17 crew members back in Yemen, and that was back in October of 2000. CNN's Brian Cabell was at the Naval shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi during this morning's big sendoff.</s>BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): After 18 months, the USS Cole is back at sea once again. It was back in October of the year 2000 that a terrorist attack tore a 40 by 40 foot hole in the side of the ship. The ship was then loaded onto a transport ship, brought across the Atlantic Ocean, here to Pascagoula. It took some 14 months to repair the ship, a $250 million price tag. But now the crew and the captain say the ship is better than ever. Sea trials last weekend seemed to prove that. Once again, it is at sea headed for Norfolk in its Enterprise battle group. Three hundred fifty crew members aboard; 40 of them were actually on board some 18 months ago. They said they underwent a time of mourning, but now they say it's time to get back to the job, and they and the USS Cole are, in fact, back on the job. I'm Brian Cabell, CNN, Pascagoula, Mississippi.
USS Cole Is Back on Open Seas