Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 during the initial period of 19–31 March 2011, which continued afterwards under NATO command as Operation Unified Protector. The initial operation implemented a no-fly zone that was proposed during the Libyan Civil War to prevent government forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi from carrying out air attacks on anti-Gaddafi forces. On 19 March 2011, several countries prepared to take immediate military action at a summit in Paris. Operations commenced on the same day with a strike by French fighter jets, then US and UK forces conducting strikes from ships and submarines via 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles and air assets bombing Gaddafi forces near Benghazi. The goal of coalition forces was to impose a no-fly zone for Libyan government forces.
The U.S. initially had strategic command of the military intervention, coordinated missions between coalition members and set up Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn on for the tactical command and control in the area of operations, but passed complete military command of the operation to NATO and took up a support role on 31 March 2011. Prior to that, an agreement to pass command of the arms embargo to NATO was reached on 23 March, and a handover of enforcement of the no-fly zone to NATO was agreed to on 24 March and became effective the following day. With the handover of coalition command to NATO, Operation Odyssey Dawn remained the name for the activities of U.S. forces,Operation Odyssey Dawn GlobalSecurity.org and the coalition's objectives continued to be carried out under Operation Unified Protector. However, NATO's objectives did not include aiding the rebel forces' efforts to take control of territory held by the government.
The British name for its military support of Resolution 1973 is Operation Ellamy, the Canadian participation is Operation Mobile,Operation MOBILE: National Defence and the Canadian Forces Response to the Situation in Libya National Defence and the Canadian Forces, Canadian Department of National Defense and the French participation is Opération Harmattan.Libye : point de situation de l'opération Harmattan n°1 (23 March 2011) Opérations, Ministère de la Défense et des anciens combattants. (French) English translation
Command
The strategic command of Operation Odyssey Dawn was under the authority of General Carter Ham, the Combatant Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), a Unified Combatant Command of the Department of Defense. Tactical command in the theater of operations was under command of Admiral Sam Locklear, the Commander of United States Naval Forces Africa on board the command ship USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea. Vice Admiral Harry B. Harris, Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, assumed responsibilities as the Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander, also stationed aboard USS Mount Whitney along with Brigadier General Paul W. Brier, Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, as the Deputy Joint Forces Maritime Component Command. Major General Margaret H. Woodward was commander of US Air Force aircraft involved in the operation. On 21 March 2011, President Obama stated the U.S. military action would be scaled back soon and was considering handing over command of the operation to either France, the UK or NATO. On 24 March 2011, NATO took command of enforcing the no-fly zone in Libya and was considering taking control of the rest of the mission. On 24 March 2011, the coalition agreed to have NATO command the no-fly zone,Mary Beth Sheridan and Greg Jaffe (24 March 2011) Coalition agrees to put NATO in charge of no-fly zone in Libya Washington Post and the U.S. Department of Defense stated that the U.S. would relinquish command of Operation Odyssey Dawn as early as 28 March.Garamone, Jim (24 March 2011) Coalition Continues to Defend Libyan Civilians News American Forces Press Service, U.S. Department of Defense
Deployed forces
Belgian Armed Forces Belgian Air Component Six F-16AM 15MLU Falcon fighter jets operating from Araxos Air Base, Greece Canadian Armed Forces Royal Canadian Air Force"Update on CF Operations in Libya" Canadian Forces website, 22 March 2011 Total 440 military personnel deployed Seven CF-18 Hornet fighter jets operating from Trapani-Birgi Airport, Italy Two Airbus CC-150 Polaris air-to-air refueling tankers operating from Trapani-Birgi Airport, Italy Two Lockheed CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, Italy Two CC-177 Globemaster III heavy transports Two CC-130J Super Hercules tactical transports Royal Canadian Navy Frigate "Canadian Forces Deploy Maritime Patrol Aircraft In Response To Situation In Libya" Canadian Forces website, 25 March 2011 JTF2 There are reports of members of JTF2 working with Britain's SAS and SBS on the ground in Libya. Danish Armed Forces Royal Danish Air Force Six F-16AM 15MLU Falcon fighter jets operating from Sigonella Air Base, Italy One C-130J-30 military transport aircraft Italian Armed Forces Italian Air Force Four Tornado ECR SEAD planes operating from Trapani Air Base Four Tornado IDS planes operating from Trapani Air Base Four F-16A 15ADF Falcon fighter as escort operating from Trapani Air Base Six EF2000 Typhoon fighter as air defence interceptor operating from Trapani Air Base (supporting the Italian contribution, but not under direct U.S. Command) Four AMX in the attack/reconnaissance role operating from Trapani Air Base Four AV8B Plus in the attack/air defence role operating from the Italian Navy aircraft carrier Two MQ-9 drones operating from Foggia-Amendola Air Base One G222VS in the electronic warfare (supporting the Italian contribution, but not under direct U.S. Command) One KC-767A in the air-to-air- refueling operating from Trapani Air Base (supporting the Italian contribution, but not under direct U.S. Command) Netherlands Armed Forces Royal Netherlands Air ForceLieven Dewitte (24 March 2011) Dutch contribute six F-16s and a KDC-10 to Odyssey Dawn F-16.netClaire Taylor and Ben Smith (4 April 2011) Military Operations in Libya House of Commons Library, www.parliament.uk (UK Parliament Website) Six F-16AM 15MLU Falcon fighter jets operating from Decimomannu Air Base, Italy One KDC-10 Tanker Aircraft Norwegian Armed Forces Royal Norwegian Air Force Six F-16AM 15MLU Falcon fighter jets operating from Souda Air Base, Crete Two C-130J-30 military transport aircraft supporting the Norwegian forces. Qatar Armed Forces Qatar Air Force Six Mirage 2000-5EDA fighters jets operating from Souda Air Base, Crete Two C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft Spanish Armed Forces Spanish Air Force Four EF-18AM Hornet fighters jets operating from Decimomannu Air Base, Italy One Boeing 707-331B(KC) tanker aircraft One CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft Spanish Navy AEGIS air defence frigate F-104 Méndez Núñez Attack submarine S-74 Tramontana Union Defence Force United Arab Emirates Air Force Six F-16E/F Block 60 Falcon fighter jets operating from Decimomannu Air Base, Italy Six Dassault Mirage 2000 fighter jets operating from Decimomannu Air Base, Italy United States Armed Forces United States Navy , the command ship of the United States Sixth Fleet The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, consisting of: , a , an , a embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit , an guided missile destroyer , another guided missile destroyer , a nuclear attack submarine , a second nuclear attack submarine , an cruise missile submarine , a oiler , a , a Five EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft operating out of NAS Sigonella and Aviano Air Base One EP-3E ELINT aircraft Two P-3C Update 3 maritime surveillance aircraft Two P-3C AIP maritime surveillance aircraft United States Air Force Three B-2 Spirit stealth bombers operating from Whiteman AFB. Two B-1B bombers Ten F-15E Strike Eagle strike fighters operating out of Aviano Air Base, Italy Eight F-16C Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters from Spangdahlem Air Base started leaving for Aviano on 20 March Twelve F-16C Fighting Falcon multi-role fighters from Aviano Air Base Two HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopters from RAF Lakenheath operating from . Three E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) Three E-8C battle management/command and control aircraft One EC-130H electronic warfare (communications jamming) aircraft One EC-130J psychological operations aircraft One RC-135V/W Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft Two AC-130U gunships Four KC-10A Extender Aerial Refueling Tanker/Airlift Aircraft Twenty KC-135 Stratotanker Aerial Refueling Tanker Aircraft Six A-10 Thunderbolt ground-attack aircraft Global Hawk unmanned aerial surveillance vehicle Lockheed U-2 Reconnaissance aircraft Predator/Reaper UAV United States Marine Corps Four AV-8B Harrier II ground attack fighters from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, operating off of Over 400 Marines of 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina deployed as the Air Contingency Battalion (ACB), on 1 March 2011 to serve as the new Battalion Landing Team for the 26th MEU. The ACB was attached to the 26th MEU on 5 March 2011 at NAS Souda Bay. This was the first time ACB had been used in almost a decade. Two MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft from the 26th MEU participated in the pilot rescue. Two CH-53E Super Stallions from the 26th MEU participated in the pilot rescue. One KC-130J Hercules from the 26th MEU participated in the pilot rescue. Central Intelligence Agency CIA Operatives gathering military and political information Defense Intelligence Agency DIA Operatives gathering military information
Summary of action
19 March 21h: The first main strike involved the launch of 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles from U.S. and UK ships against shoreline air defenses of the Gaddafi regime. The U.S. Department of Defense reports that the dismantling of Libya's ability to hinder the enforcement of the UN no-fly zone was only the first of multiple stages in the operation.US leads 'Odyssey Dawn' initial attack on Libya Christian Science Monitor. 19 March 2011 USMC Harriers participated in an air strike against a large military convoy outside Benghazi.
20 March
Sustained anti-aircraft fire erupted in Tripoli at around 02:33 EET.Libya live blog: U.S., allies launch missiles against Gadhafi forces CNN. Three B-2 Spirit bombers targeted 45 hardened aircraft shelters at a Libyan airfield near Sirte. At the same time, U.S. Air Force fighter jets conducted missions searching for Libyan ground forces to attack. U.S. Navy EA-18G Growlers jammed Libyan radar and communications. No U.S. aircraft were lost during the missions. The warplanes included Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier IIs (attacking pro-Gaddafi's ground forces), Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16C Fighting Falcon fighter jets. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, states that there would be continuous allied air cover over Benghazi, and that the no-fly zone "is effectively in place". An EC-130J was recorded warning Libyan shipping "If you attempt to leave port, you will be attacked and destroyed immediately" in Arabic, French and English. Four Royal Danish Air Force F-16 flew their first mission over LibyaDanske F-16 i aktion over Libyen . forsvaret.dk. Retrieved on 16 August 2013. Medier: Danske F-16 fly er sendt i luften . Politiken.dk. Retrieved on 16 August 2013.
21 March