Libya's Operation Odyssey Dawn. Command and Control

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U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) was established in 2008 as a new kind of geographic combatant command, one focused primarily on stability and engagement operations rather than warfighting. As such, many of its key leadership positions were filled by non-Department of Defense (DOD) personnel, and its civilian manning was proportionately larger dian at other commands.Events in Libya from January through April 201 1 and die related coalition operation, Operation Odyssey Dawn, provided an opportunity to observe how this new type of command would perform in a crisis/contingency operation. USAFRICOM was required to plan kinetic operations, form a multinational coalition, stand up a multinational joint task force (JTF), conduct offensive and defensive maritime and air operations, and transition leadership of die operation to die North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).The best practices and lessons learned from all phases of USAFRICOM's execution of the operation will be valuable in determining die viability of its unique structure and organization and its applicability to other commands. Additionally, the lessons learned will provide input to changes diat may be required to ensure future success.BackgroundIn December 2010, unrest in North Africa began with protests against die Tunisian government and spread like wildfire across Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, and Libya. In January 201 1, peaceful protests and demonstrations against the Libyan government began. In February, die arrest of a human rights activist triggered a riot in Benghazi, Libya, setting off protests diat turned violent when confronted by Libyan security forces. Due to increased violence and inflammatory statements by Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, the U.S. Government directed USAFRICOM to begin preparations for a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) of U.S. citizens from Libya.As the responsible command, USAFRICOM established Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn (JTF-OD) to facilitate civilian evacuation, provide humanitarian assistance (HA), and transport Egyptian civilians from Tunisia to Egypt in support of the U.S. Department of State. JTF-OD was commanded by Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III of U.S. Naval Forces Africa, with naval assets assigned from 6th Fleet and air assets from 3d and 17th Air Force.On February 26, die United Nations (UN) authorized sanctions against Libya under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1970 to include an arms embargo and demand for an immediate ceasefire. The situation in Libya deteriorated, and die threat of violence against die civilian population increased. The United States, with ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, was reluctant to go it alone to protect Allied interests in Libya - and from a political standpoint, U.S. solo intervention in Libya could be perceived by some in die Muslim world community as another U.S. attack on Islam. Additionally, there were concerns expressed by several African nations diat a unilateral move by the United States could be viewed as veiled imperialism. To address these and other concerns, die U.S. Government attempted to form a coalition diat included bodi Arab Muslim and African nations to provide legitimacy for any military action against die Libyan government.Unfortunately, although most of the African nations agreed diat Libya had gone too far in its attempts to suppress die popular demonstrations, diese nations were neither militarily equipped nor politically motivated to join a coalition to enforce UNSCR 1970 sanctions against die Libyan government.France and England were already involved in evacuation operations in Libya and indicated that they would be willing to join with the United States to protect the civilian population. Italy and Germany agreed to provide logistic support for a NEO or HA operation, but would not support kinetic operations unless endorsed by die UN. USAFRICOM, as lead, had no previous experience with forming a coalition, and since none of die African nations within USAFRICOM's area of responsibility (AOR) was willing to participate, potential coalition partners had to come from U. …