Africa Command Learns from Libya Operations

Libya was the first major combat operation for U.S. Africa Command, and its men and women responded well, the unit’s commanderStill, Africom — the military’s newest combatant command — is assessing the lessons learned fromLibya and will make necessary changesIn March, Africom participated in Operation Odyssey Dawnthe American effort to protect Libyan citizens from Moammar Gadhafi’s regimethe operation was transferred Unified Protector.Officials have to examine the Libya operations closely to draw lessonsIt would be wrong in my mind to say ‘this is the template, this is the modelwe will followAs all military operations are, they are conditions-specificCouncil Resolution 1973 called on member states to protect the Libyan people from a massacre at the hands of Gadhafi’s army,which was then threatening BenghaziI remain confident that had the the decision taken the lead withgreat support, I’m absolutely convinced there are many, many people in Benghazi alivewould not beAfricwas able to respond quickly to aid Libya because of the U.S. military’s flexible air and maritime forces based in Europe.There was great support nations for basing and overflight and, in many casescontributions of forces,“It was a great international effort, and there is something to be learned from that.”Operation Odyssey Dawn was able to build on theframework, and othe also were able to fall in on that framework.ow you do that in other parts of the world where you don’t have that standing alliance is something we need to think seriously about,Officials, he added, also have to look at how to bring together a multinational coalition withoutstanding agreements and interoperability that played such a great role in the Libya campaignIt was not something we had practiced; we didn’thave great capability honed and refined inside the organization Dawn really caused us to work in that regard,The command had to define what effects it needed, and what specific targets would contribute to achieving those effects – a precise endeavor If attacking a communications node, planners must ask themselves what does that particular node do? How does it connect to other nodes? What’s the right munition to use? What’s the likelihood of collateral damage? What’s the right time of day to hit it? What’s the right delivery platform? And finally, how to synchronize attacks.That level of detail and precisionwas not something the command had practiced to the degree that we were required to do in Odyssey DawnIt’s unsurprising to you that most of the intelligence analystsmost of the targeteers across theUnited States military have done this in previous deployments nd otherplaces,They know how to do it but, collectively Africa Command had not previously done this.”Ways to sustain this expertise is something the command must look at in the future, the generalThe same is true in the maritime environment.