Brig. Gen. Kenneth C. Cole, Deputy Commanding General, AVCOE
Brigadier General (BG) Ken Cole assumed duties as the Deputy Commanding General, US Army Aviation Center of Excellence (AVCOE), in August 2024. Prior to assuming duties as the Deputy Commanding General, AVCOE, he was the Deputy Commanding General – Support of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and he also served as Chief of Staff for XVIII Airborne Corps. Brigadier General Cole’s previous combat assignments and operational deployments include Germany as the Corps Chief of Staff, Iraq and Afghanistan as a Joint Special Operations Detachment Commander, Joint Special Operations Officer, MH-47 Company Commander and Platoon Leader. He has deployed to combat and other operational missions in CENTCOM, AFRICOM, and EUCOM on 21 total occasions. OCONUS assignments include Commander, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in Katterbach, Germany, and Commander, 3-2 General Support Aviation Battalion, Camp Humphreys, Korea. His CONUS assignments include Chief of Staff, Joint Special Operations Command, Deputy Commander, US Army Aviation Center of Excellence, and various other leadership and staff assignments.
BG Cole earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International & Strategic History from the United States Military Academy’s Class of 1994, and a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the Command and General Staff College. He was also a Senior Service College Fellow at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.
BG Cole’s military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legions of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medals with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with Numeral five, Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. He also served as a member of task forces that earned two Presidential Unit Citations and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award. Brigadier General Cole’s decorations include the Master Aviator Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Order of Saint Michael Bronze.
BG Cole is the proud husband of Dailah Cole. They have four children.