Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette, the Commander of the U.S.S. Stennis strike group was recalled to the United States for an investigation into what the Navy termed over the weekend "inappropriate leadership judgment."
http://www.kpbs.org/...
Many of the same right-wing blogs that were pushing the theory that General Carter Ham was relieved of his command as Commander of the U. S. Africa Command (which he hasn't been, although a successor has indeed been nominated), are now pushing the theory that Rear Admiral Gaouette's investigation has something to do with him insisting on sending planes from the Stennis strike group in connection with the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. I won't dignify these sites by linking to any of them, but if you want to, Googling "Gaouette" and "Benghazi" will get you plenty of them. I'm sure that the usual right-wing "news sources" will soon pick up these stories, and that there will be emails about this supposed outrageous conduct by the Obama administration later this week.
More below the squiggle.
There's only one problem with this theory: The Stennis strike group was nowhere remotely near Benghazi at the time of the attack on the consulate. The Stennis and its strike group deployed from its home port of Bremerton, WA on August 27. http://www.navy.mil/...
That fact alone, to anybody who has ever looked at a map of the world and has the foggiest idea of how fast ships are able to travel, would prove that the Stennis couldn't possibly have been anywhere near Benghazi by September 11. But wait, it gets better. In mid-September, the Stennis and its strike group were participating in Operation Valiant Shield, in the vicinity of Guam. http://www.public.navy.mil/...
Guam, for those who are wondering, is a mere 7,608 air miles from Benghazi. For comparison, the Navy's Atlantic Fleet headquarters in Norfolk, VA is about 2,000 miles closer to Benghazi than Guam. After the completion of Operation Valiant Shield, before proceeding to the Middle East, the Stennis and at least some members of its strike group made a port call in Phuket, Thailand, at which the brass was apparently worried about breaches of discipline. http://www.odin.tc/...
I have no idea whether the investigation of Rear Admiral Gaoutette has something to do with what may have happened in Phuket, or with his actions during Operation Valiant Shield, or something else. But one thing is for sure, and that's that it has nothing whatsoever to do with Benghazi or some desire by Rear Admiral Gaoutte to send planes from 7,608 miles away to somehow save the Americans being attacked there.