Operation Odyssey Dawn

Operation Odyssey Dawn
Part of the 2011 military intervention in Libya and the Libyan Civil War

USS Barry fires a Tomahawk cruise missile during Operation Odyssey Dawn.
Date19–31 March 2011
Location
Libya
Result NATO victory
Effective no-fly zone established[1]
Operations handed over to NATO Operation Unified Protector
Belligerents
 United States
 Italy		  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Commanders and leaders

Barack Obama
President of the United States and
Commander in Chief of U.S. Armed Forces
Robert Gates
U.S. Secretary of Defense
GEN Carter Ham, USA
U.S. Africa Command Commander
ADM Samuel Locklear, USN
Joint Task Force Commander
VADM Harry Harris, USN
Joint Forces Maritime Component Commander

Maj Gen Margaret Woodward, USAF
Joint Forces Air Component Commander

Muammar Gaddafi
De facto Commander-in-Chief
Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr
Minister of Defense
Khamis al-Gaddafi
Khamis Brigade Commander

Ali Sharif al-Rifi
Air Force Commander
Strength
See deployed forces 490 tanks
240 mobile rocket launchers
35 helicopters
113 air-land attack fighters
229 air fighters
7 bombers[2]
Casualties and losses
1 F-15E (mechanical failure,[3] aircrew survived[4])
1 MQ-8B Fire Scout (possibly shot down[5])		 Multiple anti-aircraft defenses, airforce assets, and army vehicles, artillery, and tanks damaged or destroyed
114 killed and 445 wounded (Libyan health ministry claim)*[6]
40 civilians killed (in Tripoli; Vatican claim)[7]
*Libyan health ministry claim has not been independently confirmed. The U.S. military claims it has no knowledge of civilian casualties.[8]

Operation Odyssey Dawn was the U.S. code name[Note 1] for the American role in the international military operation in Libya to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973[10][11][12][13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16] 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 USS Mount Whitney for the tactical command and control in the area of operations.[11][12] but passed complete military command of the operation to NATO and took up a support role on 31 March 2011.[17] Prior to that, an agreement to pass command of the arms embargo to NATO was reached on 23 March,[18] and a handover of enforcement of the no-fly zone to NATO was agreed to on 24 March and became effective the following day.[19] With the handover of coalition command to NATO, Operation Odyssey Dawn remained the name for the activities of U.S. forces,[20] 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.[21]

The British name for its military support of Resolution 1973 is Operation Ellamy,[22] the Canadian participation is Operation Mobile,[23] and the French participation is Opération Harmattan.[24][19]

  1. ^ Cohen, Tom (20 March 2011). "Mullen: No-fly zone effectively in place in Libya". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Gaddafi Attacked City of Misrata; US to Bomb More". The World Reporter. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  3. ^ Ackerman, Spencer (22 March 2011). "F-15 Crew Ejects Over Libya After Mechanical Failure". Danger Room, Wired.com. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference USMCrescue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Joshua Stewart (5 August 2011). "Navy: UAV likely downed by pro-Gadhafi forces". Navy Times. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Mid-East crisis as it happened: 25 March". BBC News. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Vatican: Airstrikes killed 40 civilians in Tripoli". 31 March 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Coalition targets Gadhafi compound". CNN. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  9. ^ Rawnsley, Adam (21 March 2011) What's in a Name? 'Odyssey Dawn' Is Pentagon-Crafted Nonsense Archived 6 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine Wired
  10. ^ Carter Ham (19 March 2011). "STATEMENT: AFRICOM Commander on Commencement of Military Strikes in Libya". US AFRICOM.
  11. ^ a b U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs (20 March 2011). "Overview of 1st Day of U.S. Operations to Enforce UN Resolution 1973 Over Libya". US AFRICOM. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  12. ^ a b U.S. Department of State (27 March 2011). "TRANSCRIPT: NATO Enforcing All Aspects of UNSCR 1973 in Libya". US AFRICOM. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference DODNewsArticle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "DOD News Briefing by Vice Adm. Gortney on Operation Odyssey Dawn". Defense.gov. 19 March 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  15. ^ Judd, Terri (19 March 2011). "Operation Ellamy: Designed to strike from air and sea". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  16. ^ "Gunfire, explosions heard in Tripoli". CNN. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  17. ^ Slobodan Lekic (31 March 2011). "Secretary-General says NATO has taken sole control of air operations over Libya". StarTribune. Retrieved 5 April 2011.[dead link‍]
  18. ^ Norington, Brad (23 March 2011). "Deal puts NATO at head of Libyan operation". The Australian. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  19. ^ a b "NATO No-Fly Zone over Libya Operation Unified Protector" (PDF). North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Fact Sheet). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  20. ^ Operation Odyssey Dawn Archived 6 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine GlobalSecurity.org
  21. ^ Ola Galal & Alaa Shahine (27 March 2011). "NATO Takes Command of Libya Operation as Allies Step Up Attacks". Bloomberg news. Retrieved 27 March 2011.[dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Coalition operations in Libya to continue". Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  23. ^ Operation MOBILE: National Defence and the Canadian Forces Response to the Situation in Libya Archived 15 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine National Defence and the Canadian Forces, Canadian Department of National Defense
  24. ^ 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 Archived 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine


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