Operation ODYSSEY DAWN

Operation ODYSSEY DAWN is the publically announced for initial missile and aircraft strikes against Libya on 19-20 March 2011. The United States announced it, but emphasized that the U.S. role would become more of support once specialized American capabilities, required in the early phases of the UN-authorized operation, were completed. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 authorized "all necessary measures to protect civilians", which could go beyond a no-fly zone. A key aspect to coalition building was condemnation of Libyan government actions by the Arab League.

U.S. command for the operation is under United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), headed by Gen. Carter Ham in Stuttgart, Germany. Its air component is the Seventeenth Air Force, headed by Major General Margaret Woodward.

The British component is Operation ELLAMY. Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell is the UK's Joint Force Air Component Commander, colocated with the AFRICOM Air Component at Ramstein Air Base.

Policy
In Congressional testimony on 17 March, General Norton Schwartz, U.S. Chief of Staff of the Air Force, said that some statments were "overly optimistic" about implementing a no-fly zone, and "it would take upwards of a week." He continued, "The question is, is a no-fly zone the last step or is it the first step?" He suggested that full U.S. involvement might require taking resources from Iraq and Afghanistan. In response to a question from Sen. John McCain (Republican-Arizona), himself a former U.S. Navy aviator, "A no-fly zone, sir, would not be sufficient."

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns was the senior member of the briefing team. Other members were Alan Pino, National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, Gen. John Landry, National Intelligence Officer for Military Issues, Nate Tuchrello, National Intelligence Manager for Near East, and Rear Admirals Michael Rogers and Kurt Tidd, respectively Director of Intelligence and Vice Director of Operations on the Joint Staff.

Initial operations
First combat actions were taken by patrolling French fighters, which attacked ground targets including tanks, during daylight hours. More dramatic was a nighttime wave of over 100 BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, fired from U.S. and British naval vessels against air defense and command & control targets.

The U.K. part of the salvo came from a Trafalgar-class submarine, which has 12 launch tubes. The rest came from two Burke-class destroyers, USS Stout (DDG-55) and USS Barry (DDG-52); two Los Angeles-class submarines, USS Providence (SSN-719) and USS Scranton (SSN 756); and the USS Ohio (SSGN-726), a Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine converted for cruise missile launch and support of United States Navy SEAL operations.

Follow-up attacks involved B-2 stealth heavy bombers, EF-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and AV-8B Harrier attack aircraft. Three B-2's, flying from Whiteman Air Force Base in the U.S., dropped a total of 45 GBU-31 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions against hardened aircraft shelters. Growlers would both have jammed air defenses, and probably launched AGM-88 HARM antiradar missiles. Even though the Growlers are carrier-capable, they, and the B-2s, would have flown from land bases; no aircraft carrier in range could handle them. Sigonella, Italy is one plausible location. U.S. Marine Corps Harriers, however, operated from the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), an amphibious ship deployed in the waters off Libya.

U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers and F-16CJ air defense suppression aircraft also participated.

Flying from the U.K., Royal Air Force participation included Panavia Tornadoes launching Stormshadow missiles, air refueling, E-3 Sentry command & control, and Sentinel signals intelligence aircraft. The attack aircraft flew out of the RAF base at Marham.

Further attacks in Tripoli did strike Gadhaffi's compound, which does contain military facilities. Vice Admiral William Gortney, director of the Joint Staff, who has been the U.S. spokesman in Washington, said “We are not going after Qaddafi.”

Response
Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said the intensity of the attacks was far more than the League had expected. ""What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives...What we want is civilians' protection not shelling more civilians."

While government forces had pushed back rebels into Benghazi, air strikes broke up their attack and allowed the defending forces to regroup. Sen. John McCain said turning the government force outside Benghazi into wreckage and encouraging the rebels to regroup. “I hope it’s not too late...Obviously, if we had taken this step a couple of weeks ago, a no-fly zone would probably have been enough. Now a no-fly zone is not enough. There needs to be other efforts made.”

While President Barack Obama said Gadhaffi must go, this is not part of the UN authorization, and the end state remains murky.

Continuing operations
By the 21st, it was obvious that aircraft of coalition members, without a clear understanding if this was coalition policy, were carrying out battlefield air interdiction missions as well as suppression of enemy air defense and offensive counter-air, the latter being the core of a no-fly zone operation. "The airstrikes, led by France, carved a trail of devastation that stretched more than 15 miles along the highway to Ajdabiya, another city under siege by forces loyal to Gaddafi...eight tanks and a similar number of armored personnel carriers were reduced to mangled clumps of searing-hot metal. Russian Grad missile launchers, pickup trucks with mounted machine guns, amphibious armored vehicles and tank transport carriers also were destroyed, their carcasses littering the sides of the road." Some of the bodies of the government forces had dark skin, suggesting they were mercenaries from subsaharan Africa rather than Libyan Arabs. It is also not clear if the rebels have the skills and communications to cooperate with aircraft for close air support.