Lt. Carl Wesley Stephens

Navy Lt. Carl Wesley Stephens, son of retired Senior Air Force Master Sergeant Raymond and his wife, Loretta Stephens of Pikeville, Tennessee was buried in Arlington Cemetery on July 11, 2022.

Carl is survived by his wife, Catherine L. Moore Stephens of Alexandria, Virginia; his mother Loretta Stephens of Pikeville; and four sisters Betty Ranking of Pikeville, Kathy Sisk of Wetumpka, Alabama, Patty Harrison of Wilminton, North Carolina, and Rebecca Abrams of Holtville, Alabama.

Carl was born February 13, 1957 in the Azores Islands of Portugal where his father, a Senior Air Force Master Sergeant, was stationed at that time.

After being honorably discharged from the Navy, Carl worked for the Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, Washington DC. He distinguished himself by exceptionally superior service while serving as Director for Studies and Analysis, Directorate of Logistics, for the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2019.

Carl received many service ribbons, medals and letters of commendation for his insightful data collection and analysis on world events including, but not limited to, Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Army General Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who advises the President and Secretary of Defense, sent a letter to Carl’s wife after his passing. He wrote, “We will always remember Carl, and we are especially grateful for his service in the Navy, as an exemplary public servant, as Director for Study and Analysis to the Directorate for Logistics, Joint Staff, and to our Nation. No words can adequately express our debt of gratitude, but we can promise that we will never forget your husband.”

For further use by Pentagon employees, a library addition that honors Carl’s computer mathematical data collection methods and analysis (code) accumulated over his many years of service has been placed in service.