LAFAYETTE COUNTY JUNETEENTH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES THE GUEST SPEAKER - COLONEL (R) ANTHONY S. COLE

Colonel (R) Anthony S. Cole is the guest speaker at the evening program. The program is at 6 pm and  will be held at The Lex, 111 South 11th Street, Lexington, MO.  The theme is "JUNETEENTH; CELEBRATE FREEDOM."  Anthony is the son of Samuel B. Cole, Jr. and the late Julia Jordan.  He is married to Catrina Cole and has two children, Anthony Jr and Andrew Cole.

Colonel (R) Anthony S. Cole (AC) was born in Milton, Florida.  He is a native of Lexington, Missouri.  He enlisted in the Army in 1986 as a Combat Engineer.  He was commissioned into the Army in 1989 from Central Missouri State University as a Finance Corps Officer.

 Colonel Cole’s previous assignments include:  Disbursing Officer 59th Finance Support Unit; Finance Support Team Chief, 45th Finance Support Unit, Bremerhaven, GE; Assistant Finance and Accounting Officer Military District of Washington; Operations Officer, 24th Finance Battalion; Alpha Detachment Commander, 24th Finance Battalion; A Company Commander, 3d Soldier Support Battalion, Ft. Stewart, GA; Instructor and Writer for the Finance School; Basic and Captain Career Courses Director, Finance School, Ft. Jackson, SC; Executive Officer, 177th Finance Battalion, Camp Casey, Korea; Brigade Operations Officer, 175th Finance Command, Yongsan, Korea; Chief, Defense Military Pay Office, Ft. Benning, GA; Deputy Commanding Officer, 13th Finance Group, Ft. Hood, TX; and Director of the Operational Support Team and Finance and Accounting Department, United States Army Financial Management Command, Indianapolis, IN; Director of the 175th Financial Management Support Center, Yongsan, Korea.  He most recently served as the Deputy C8 Forward, CJTF, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.  Colonel Cole assumed his current assignment as the Deputy Commander for the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute, Ft. Jackson, SC, on 7 July 2015.  Colonel Cole retired June 1, 2017. Mr. Cole served as the Army Financial Management School’s Strategic Thinker, Oct 2017 – 2020, Ft. Jackson, SC. Mr. Cole currently is the owner of A&C Logistics LLC, Columbia, SC.

 

Colonel Cole’s military education includes the Finance Officer Basic Course, Indianapolis, IN; Finance Advanced Course, Ft. Jackson, SC; Planning, Programming, Budgeting, Execution Systems Course, Ft. Jackson, SC; Combined Arms Services Staff School and Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, KS; Senior Resource Manager Course, Syracuse, NY; Air Assault School, Ft. Belvoir, VA; and the U.S. Air War College, Maxwell, AFB.  Colonel is also a Certified Defense Financial Manager – CDFM; a Major General Towson Recipient and Distinguished Member of the Financial Management Corps.

 

Colonel Cole’s civilian education include a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Central Missouri State University in 1990; a Master of Science Management from Troy State University, Troy, Alabama in 2001 and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Air War College, Maxwell, AFB in 2014. 

 

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Air Assault Badge.