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A reader, relying on publicly available information, has reconstructed what we know and can infer about what happened in Benghazi. I haven’t tried to verify all of his facts nor do I necessarily vouch for his inferences, although in general they seem reasonable. But his analysis is, I think, a valuable contribution to our understanding, and I reproduce it here in slightly edited form:

Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Guam, USA: A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress and fighter jets fly over the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) carrier strike groups during Exercise Valiant Shield 2007 on August 14, 2007. Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20060917.htm (medium, large) The Photographer Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (MC1) Hana'lei Shimana, United States Navy  

US Sends Aircraft Carrier Into The Strait Of Hormuz, As Iran Beats Its Chest Robert Johnson Dec. 29, 2011, 7:56 AM USS John C. Stennis Iran has announced it located a U.S. aircraft carrier moving into the Strait of Hormuz during Iranian wargame exercises. The AFP reports Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, spokesman for the exercises, says the carrier was spotted by an Iranian reconnaissance plane that took photos and video. A spokesperson for the U.S. Fifth Fleet confirmed the carrier is the USS John C. Stennis, a nearly 1,100 foot nuclear powered craft with unlimited range and 3 million gallons of...

Stennis Returns Home From Deployment Story Number: NNS070831-13 Release Date: 8/31/2007 1:28:00 PM By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Joseph R. Vincent, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) returned to its homeport of Bremerton, Aug. 31, after a successful seven and a half month deployment. While deployed, Stennis supported Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF), maritime operations, coalition operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO), Expeditionary Strike Force (ESF) training and recently, Exercise Valiant Shield 2007. “The very presence of a nuclear aircraft carrier...

ABU DHABI -- The U.S. Navy has deployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise -- the longest naval vessel in the world and which carries 66 aircraft -- for Gulf operations. Officials said this marked the second deployment of the Enterprise in the Gulf in 14 months. The Enterprise, which left the Gulf in November 2006, is to join the USS John C. Stennis and USS Nimitz carrier strike groups. Officials said the return of the Enterprise would enable rotation of the other two carrier strike groups in the region. "The carrier and her escorts will assert their right...

July 11, 2007 Los Angeles Times Borzou Daragahi The stakes are big and the waterway is small, so communication between the two sides is a must to keep a lid on tensions. ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS -- Iran and the United States remain so far apart on so many issues that they refuse to talk about them. But in the cramped sea routes of the Persian Gulf, U.S. and Iranian warship sailors and fighter pilots speak to each other daily. They have to. They're practically jostling one another in courteous games of surveillance, counter-surveillance and geopolitical posturing. "We...

DEBKAfile Exclusive: The French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle and its task force enter Arabian Sea. Iran launches a new naval war game They rendezvoused with the USS John C. Stennis Wed. March 21, for missions in support of Operation Enduring, Freedom and International Security Assistance Forces ISAF for the global war on terror. US and French carriers are sailing and operating in concert opposite Iranian shores for the first time. The Iranian Navy responded to the new arrival the following day by announcing a new series of military exercise in the Persian Gulf. DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that the...

Is the United States gearing up for an attack on Iran? The deployment of a second U.S. aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf has analysts speculating that President Bush means to stop Tehran's nuclear ambitions by force if necessary. The USS John C. Stennis was scheduled to sail Tuesday from its homeport of Bremerton, Washington. When the second carrrier arrives in the Middle East next month, this will be the first time since the U.S.-led Iraq invasion in 2003 that the United States will have two carrier battle groups in the region, according to a U.S. Navy official. The...

  Operations, Professionalism Wow Civilian Leaders By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service SOUTH CHINA SEA, Sept. 16, 2004 — The crew of USS John C. Stennis treated civilian leaders from throughout the United States today to a demonstration of what Rear Adm. Pat Walsh, commander of Carrier Group 7, called "raw power" able to project U.S. military force anywhere in the world at a moment's notice. Dee Ruckman, a partner with Gardere Wynne Sewell in Dallas, left, and Kim Labonte, co-owner and business manager for Labonte Motorsports, prepare for an "e-ticket" ride to USS John C. Stennis aboard a C-2...

ONBOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS, Sasebo, Japan — The U.S. Navy’s meanest, fastest and most agile fighter jet, nearing retirement, is deployed in the western Pacific Ocean for the last time. The Grumman F-14, which entered military service in 1972, also is a movie star. At least for aviation aficionados, it upstaged actors including Tom Cruise in the film “Top Gun.” Pilots flying the F-14s are from Fighter Squadron Three One, or VF-31, from Virginia Beach, Va. The VF-31 Tomcatters, also known as the “Felix the Cat” squadron, now are embarked on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis....

The U.S. Navy confirmed Friday that an aviator from Indiana was among four crewmen killed in the crash of a Navy jet in the Pacific Tuesday. Lt. Commander Scott Zellem, 35, was one of four San Diego-based airmen in a S-3B Viking jet that crashed on an uninhabited island after it had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, deployed in the Western Pacific. The others killed were Lt. Patrick Myrick, 31, of Santa Monica, Calif.; Lt. James Pupplo, 34, of Selden, N.Y., and Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Joshua Showalter, 24, of Fontana, Calif. Zellem was...

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - An S-3B Viking warplane from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis crashed during an exercise in the Pacific near Japan on Tuesday and four crew members are listed as missing, the U.S. Navy said. Search-and-rescue efforts were being conducted by the Stennis and another carrier taking part in the exercise, the USS Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Seventh Fleet in Japan said in a statement. The cause of the crash was being investigated, according to the statement. The incident took place 45 miles (70 km) off the coast of the island of Iwo Jima...

USS Truman: Out for fun and games? FILE UNDER: 'NO WAY TO DELAY THAT TROUBLE COMING EVERY DAY'USS Harry S. Truman, USS Enterprise Leave Norfolk to Test Navy's Deployment Capabilities (AP) - The USS Harry S. Truman sailed Wednesday- and the USS Enterprise left Thursday - in a test of the Navy's ability to have seven of its 12 carriers away from port simultaneously, a major shift from the way carriers have traditionally been used. The two Norfolk-based carriers are participating in the exercise, dubbed "Summer Pulse 04." "Summer Pulse 04" continues through August, with seven carriers conducting joint exercises...