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Operation Jukebox Lotus was the name for the crisis response to the events at the US Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya on 11-12 September 2012. The operation was led by US Africa Command, but received support from other commands, namely US European Command.
US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens arrived in Benghazi, Libya on 10 September 2012, accompanied by 2 temporary duty Assistant Regional Security Officers (ARSOs) from the US Embassy in Tripoli. With Ambassador Stevens' arrival, there were 8 Americans at the Special Mission Compound in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Stevens was scheduled to remain in Benghazi until 14 September 2012, and his visit was timed in part to fill the staffing gaps between temporary duty principal officers, as well as to open an American Corner at a local school and to reconnect with local contacts.
In the absence of an effective central government security presence, the Special Mission's Libyan security contingent was composed of 4 armed members of the February 17 Martyrs' Brigade (February 17) – a local umbrella organization of militias dominant in Benghazi (some of which were Islamist) and loosely affiliated with the Libyan government, but not under its control. They resided in a guest house building on compound. Normally 4 members resided on the Special Mission compound near the front gate, but on 11 September 2012 one had been absent for several days, reportedly due to a family illness. The Special Mission also had an unarmed, contract local guard force (LGF), Blue Mountain Libya (BML), which provided 5 guards per 8-hour shift, 24/7, to open and close the gates, patrol the compound, and give warning in case of an attack. In addition, the Special Mission had requested that a marked Libyan Supreme Security Council (SSC) police car be posted outside of the compound 24/7, but in practice a car was there only intermittently. The vehicle was not there at the time of the subsequent attack, and a subsequent local press report quoted an SSC official as saying that he ordered the removal of the car "to prevent civilian casualties."
At around 2200 hours local time, shots and an explosion were heard and Special Mission personnel observed via security camera dozens of individuals, many armed, begin to enter the compound through the main entrance at the main compound gate. No warning was received from the February 17 or BML guards, who were observed fleeing from the attackers. Upon hearing the beginning of the attack and subsequently receiving a distress call from the main compound, the Special Mission Compound Annex security head immediately began to organize his team's departure and notified his superiors, who began to contact local security elements to request support. Unable to secure additional local support, the Annex security team moved on to the main compound.
In addition to use their weapons, the attackers also reportedly lit numerous fires. The reduced visibility from the fires at various parts of the compound led to Ambassador Stevens being separated from other Special Mission Compound personnel and smoke inhalation was likely the cause of his death. It was also the likely cause of the death of one of the Assistant Regional Security Officers. The Annex security team was unable to locate Ambassador Stevens before abandoning the main compound for the relative safety of the Annex, at that time with support from Diplomatic Security agents. Ambassador Stevens' body was later recovered from the Benghazi Medical Center, where he had been taken by reported "good samaritans" during the course of the attack.
While local personnel were responding to the attack, the US military also began looking at crisis response options, having been alerted via the State Department of the situation. At 2159 hours local time, an unarmed, unmanned, surveillance aircraft was directed to reposition overhead the Benghazi facility, with the aircraft arriving on station at 2310 hours local time. This aircraft was on station as US personnel moved from the main compound to the annex.
At 2330 hours local time, a security team from the US Embassy in Tripoli departs for Benghazi aboard a Libyan Air Force C-130 aircraft. The official DoD timeline provided to the Honorable Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Chairman of the US House Committee on Armed Services 1 May 2013 says that the team had 6 individuals including 2 DoD personnel. The subsequent State Department Accountability Review Board report says that this team, which arrived at the Special Mission Compound Annex around 0500 hours local time on 12 September 2012, had 7 individuals. By the time the security team arrived in Benghazi, the Annex was under sustained attack, including fire from rocket propelled grenades and mortars. With the assistance of the security team from the Embassy in Tripoli, all US personnel evacuated the Annex and moved by convoy to Benghazi airport, where they departed by a combination of chartered jet and Libyan Air Force C-130. The body of Ambassador Stevens was transported from the Benghazi Medical Center to the airport by Libyan personnel and was identified at the airport.
Crisis response activity continued elsewhere as well. At 0200 hours local time, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta convenes a series of meetings in the Pentagon with senior officials Including General Dempsey and General Ham. They discuss additional response options for Benghazi and for the potential outbreak of further violence throughout the region, particularly in Tunis, Tunisia; Tripoli, Libya; Cairo, Egypt; and Sana'a, Yemen. During these meetings, Secretary Panetta directs (provides verbal authorization) the following actions: 1) A Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) platoon, stationed in Rota, Spain, is directed to prepare to deploy to Benghazi, and a second FAST platoon, also stationed in Rota, Spain, is directed to prepare to deploy to the Embassy in Tripoli; 2) a EUCOM special operations force, which was training in Central Europe, is directed to prepare to deploy to an intermediate staging base in southern Europe (this force is later reported to be Company C, 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group); and 3) a special operations force based in the United States is directed to prepare to deploy to an intermediate staging base in southern Europe (this force is later reported to have been a detachment from 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta or "Delta Force"). During this period, actions were verbally conveyed from the Pentagon to the affected Combatant Commands in order to expedite movement of forces upon receipt of formal authorization. At 0239 hours local time, as ordered by Secretary Panetta, the National Military Command Center transmitted formal authorization for the 2 Marine Corps FAST platoons, and associated equipment, to prepare to deploy and for the US European Command special operations force, and associated equipment, to move to an intermediate staging base in southern Europe. At 0253 hours local time, as ordered by Secretary Panetta, the National Military Command Center transmitted formal authorization to deploy a special operations force, and associated equipment, from the United States to an intermediate staging base in southern Europe. At 0500 hours local time, a second, unmanned, unarmed surveillance aircraft was also directed to relieve the initial asset still on station over Benghazi.
To meet the evacuating personnel in Tripoli, at 0605 hours local time, US Africa Command ordered a C-17 aircraft in Germany to prepare to deploy to libya to evacuate Americans. A US Air Force C-130 aircraft is also dispatched. At 1915 hours local time on 12 September 2012, the US Embassy Tripoli evacuees, Benghazi personnel, and those wounded in the attacks departed Tripoli on the C-17 aircraft, with military doctors and nurses aboard providing en route medical care to the injured. The aircraft arrived at Ramstein Air Force Base at approximately 2230 hours Tripoli time on 12 September 2012, just over 24 hours after the attacks in Benghazi had commenced.
Crisis response activities continued during this period. At 0757 hours local time, the US European Command special operations force, and associated equipment, arrives at an intermediate staging base in southern Europe. At 0856, the FAST platoon, and associated equipment, arrived in Tripoli. At 0928, the special operations force deployed from the United States, and associated equipment, arrived at an intermediate staging base in southern Europe. Naval Forces Europe's forward-stationed and rotational forces played a critical role in these parts of the response mission. The availability of Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, and Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, enabled US forces to be rapidly postured, employed, and sustained as tasking evolved over the course of the crisis response. US Navy and joint force operations could not have occurred without these bases and the direct support they provided. Additionally, the command flagship, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), operating from international waters with the Commander, US Sixth Fleet, embarked, provided command and control, planning, and support coordination during the initial phase of the crisis. Mount Whitney was joined by the landing ship dock USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) and the destroyers USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), and USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) during the initial response. The USS Fort McHenry and USS McFaul continued to participate in the extended Operation Jukebox Lotus mission after the initial attack.
Crisis response elements remained in Libya into October 2012, and were deployed to other locations in the region in response to the potential for similar attacks elsewhere.