Cole Clements

Lieutenant Colonel Cole Clements, AHS Class of 1999, graduated from Texas A&M and was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in 2003. After attending The Basic School for Marine officers in Quantico, Virginia, Clements completed the Infantry Officer Course, which trains newly selected infantry and ground intelligence officers in the knowledge, skills, and leadership required to serve as infantry platoon commanders in the rifle company and to provide advanced employment and training considerations of weapons company platoons.

After graduating from Quantico in September 2004, Clements served the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton, California. During this tour, Lieutenant Colonel Clements deployed three times – in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005 as a Rifle Platoon Commander, as part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2006 as Weapons Platoon Commander, and as part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2007 as 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander.

From 2008 through 2011, Clements served as Inspector Instructor and Company Commander for Company F’s Anti-Terrorism Battalion. In 2011 he was selected to attend the U.S. Army Maneuver Captain’s Career Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

In March 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Clements reported to 2d Marine Division in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he deployed twice more in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The first as commander of Kilo Company, 3d Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment then again in 2014 as Battalion Operations Officer for 1st Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment.

Upon his return from Afghanistan, Clements was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California where he received a Master of Arts Degree in Security Studies with a specific focus on Southeast Asia. After graduating in 2017, he was designated as a Southeast Asia Regional Area Officer and assigned to G3, Marine Corps Forces Pacific at Camp Smith, Hawaii. During this tour, Clements served as action officer for U.S. Marine Corps interests in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific and directly oversaw annual Marine Air Ground Task Force deployments to the Northern Territory of Australia.

Following his tour in Hawaii, he was assigned to the 23d Marine Regiment in San Bruno, California as the Regimental Operations Officer. In December 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Clements deployed to Fort Pickett, Virginia, in support of Operation Allies Welcome, overseeing the resettlement of Afghan refugees following the largest Noncombatant Evacuation Operation in the nation’s history. In September 2022, Clements was reassigned as the Inspector Instructor for 23d Marine Regiment in San Bruno.

Lieutenant Colonel Clements’ personal military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star in lieu of second award, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars in lieu of third award, and the Combat Action Ribbon with gold star in lieu of second award.

Clements is married to Atlanta native Sunni Barr Clements and has three children - Barr, Shep, and Willie Katherine. He is the son of Nancy Clements Allday and the late Fran Clements of Douglassville. Clements and his family currently reside in Burlingame, California.