Operation Odyssey Dawn was a humanitarian operation conducted by a Joint Task Force under the command of the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). The U.S Government authorized USAFRICOM a new geographical combat command. This new command is designed for engagement operations and crisis response. Non-military personnel hold many of the key leadership positions throughout the USAFRICOM command. In January of 2011, unrest across Africa prompted the U.S. Government to authorize USAFRICOM to set up Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn (JTF-OD). This operation provided the U.S. Government the opportunity to observe how this new command would operate in a crisis and contingency operation. The U.S. Government authorized USAFRICOM to plan kinetic operations with the involvement of multinational coalition forces across Africa. With the unrest and protests across Northern Africa, the U.S. Government authorized USAFRICOM to stand up its Joint Task Forces; these task forces would conduct offensive and defensive operations while protecting American and Allied nation civilians. Some of the offensive and defensive operations would consist of air and maritime actions. These task forces would also aid USAFRICOM in the transition of other nation’s leadership to operate with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). …show more content…
These anti-government protest and demonstrations were all over Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and Libya. In January 2011, the anti-government protest in Libya were peacefully until the arrest of a human rights activist in February. The arrest triggered a riot in Benghazi that turned violent when the Libyan security forces tried to break up the protest. Inflammatory statements by the Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi and the confrontation of the security force pushed the U.S. Government to begin preparations to evacuate U.S.
Mission command is the commander's use of authority and direction to empower adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations. It helps subordinates exercise disciplined initiative when operating within their commander’s intent. To facilitate effective mission command, commanders must accomplish four consecutive stages of the operations process. They must thoroughly understand the problem, visualize a solution that achieves a desired end state, and then accurately describe this visualization in order to direct the organization. Commanders continually lead and assess their organizations and provide input and influence to their subordinates and staff.
A third character, the Ambassador Gilbert MacWhite, is a patriotic diplomat who lives up to many of the SOF Imperatives, but fails at one. His intent is admirable and the Ambassador realizes the actions required to combat the communist threat. One of the SOF Imperatives that he abides by is to ensure the legitimacy and credibility of Special Operations. ADRP 3-05 defines this as “legitimacy is the most crucial factor in developing and maintaining internal and international support. The United States cannot sustain its assistance to a foreign power without this legitimacy.” The publication also elaborates that decisions and actions that comply with U.S. and international laws foster legitimacy and credibility. This concept ties into several
The author detailed the many of the difficulties faced by the special operations forces in Afghanistan. They made significant gains with the Village Stability Operations and a major concern for them was losing ground. However, certain factors threatened those gains. In particular, the wars unpopularity at home and President Obama 2014 timetable to withdraw were major hurdles. The author explained that this complicated the efforts of the special operations forces because; a counterinsurgency strategy takes time to cultivate. Many military leaders fear that their efforts will not hold up in their absence. They believe the assistance of the United States is crucial to continued success in the war. The biggest obstacle to this effort was the relationship between American and Afghani Leadership. President Karzai insisted Afghan Special Forces accompany U.S. Special Forces on night raids. Military leaders were hesitant at first nevertheless, president Karzai insisted. In addition, he wanted Afghan approval for every mission launched. The author concludes that the real intention for accompanying the U....
Operation Anaconda was the first major joint combat operation against the war on terror that the US was committed to winning. This operation would test our military’s readiness for joint operations against a hardened and willing adversary. The primary mission was to kill/capture Taliban/Al Qaeda forces occupying towns and villages in the vicinity of Shahi Khot in order to gain control of the valley.1 The US needed the towns, villages, mountains, and more importantly, the intricate and hard to access caves cleared of enemy fighters. Units participating in the operation included elements of the 101st Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF), and Coalition forces from seven nations including Afghanistan.2 With so many different nations fighting along with our own branches of military, it would test our ability to conduct joint operations on multiple levels.
With the sudden death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 12th April 1945, Harry S. Truman was sworn into presidency months before the end of the Second World War. As the war in Europe draws to an end, the raging war in the pacific theatre shifts the focus towards Japan. On individual isolated islands, the Japanese held out on meager fighting conditions, forcing the United States to engage in brutal attrition warfare in order to flush them out. At the cost of 75,000 American lives, the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa were captured after months of ferocious fighting that left 100,000 of the 114,000 Japanese soldiers dead. Using the tenacity of the Japanese island defenders as a gauge of the main island, the military estimated that Operation Downfall which was
To help implement his doctrine, President Carter formed the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force and launched a chain of U.S. basing arrang...
On March 18, 2003, Coalition forces would launch the initial attacks on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. A full invasion of the country followed, and Hussein was overthrown from power. While the end of Hussein’s oppressive reign was considered a victory for many of the Iraqi people, the Sunnis of the Ba’ath Party refused to accept his demise. Although the Sunnis were in the minority, the city of Fallujah would remain home to many of the Ba’ath Party supporters. On March 31, 2004, almost a year to date from the end of Hussein’s reign, four American Blackwater contactors working in Fallujah were attacked, brutally beaten, burned and dismembered by a group of Iraqi insurgents. Two of the bodies were hung from a bridge for all of the citizens of Fallujah to see, and a mob style celebration took place in the city. The highly publicized incident would be the igniter for the First Battle of Fallujah, known as Operation Vigilant Resolve. On May 1, 2004, the battle would end with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the city and control being turned over to the newly formed Fallujah Brigade. The mission as a whole was a failure, and the shortcomings of Operation Vigilant Resolve were ultimately a demonstration of the underestimation of the power, size, efficiency, organization and control that the Insurgent Forces had in Iraq as well as the lack of a consistent strategic plan from the American forces.
In late November 2001 Task Force 58 launched from ships off the coast of Pakistan to conduct the longest ranged amphibious assault in history with 403 Marines and Sailors, 4 fast-attack vehicles, and a variety of supporting equipment,. General James N. Mattis successfully accomplished this in large part to the effective execution of mission command. Commanders can utilize mission command as a philosophy or a warfighting function. Mission command as a philosophy is the use of commander's intent and mission orders to empower agile and adaptive leaders. It enables commanders to counter the uncertainty of operations by reducing the amount of certainty required to act in a given situation. Commanders build cohesive teams, provide a clear commander's intent and guidance, encourage the use of disciplined initiative, and use mission orders through the operations process to effectively use mission command as a philosophy. Commanders drive this operations process using mission command through six steps. First, they must understand the operational environment and the problem. Second, a commander must visualize his desired end state and operational approach. Third, he must describe that visualization to subordinates using time, space, purpose, and resources. Fourth, commanders must direct forces throughout preparation and execution. Finally, through each of the first four steps, commanders need to lead through purpose and motivation and assess through continuous monitoring and evaluation. General Mattis successfully utilized mission command as a philosophy by understanding, visualizing, leading, describing, and assessing through the operations process as the commander of Naval Task Force 58.
The National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy (NDS), and the National Military Strategy (NMS) directives define the U.S. objectives. In the NSS, the Executive Branch underscored that departments provide assistance and obtain cooperation with the U.S foreign allies. Accordingly, the Secretary of Defense NDS directed the Department of Defense to “strengthen and broaden alliances and partnerships” through training and education opportunities. Ultimately the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff NMS instructed the Military Services to comply with the NSS guidelines.
Past military events have demonstrated the importance of anticipation and preparation for a wide spectrum of missions and capabilities. To conduct these operations, the U.S. Military must prepare to move and conduct them anywhere in the world. The Military must also have the capability to conduct low intensity wars against an ill-defined enemy as well as major conventional style conflicts against major states.
During World War II, the Allies strategically planned an invasion in North Africa in efforts to push back Vichy French which was controlled by the Germans. At the time, the United States was not active in the war for a year. In the early 1940’s, President Roosevelt decided it was necessary for the United States to concentrate on becoming involved in Europe. The goal of Operation Torch was to relieve the pressures of the German forces from Russia. The Allies knew it was difficult to clear out the Axis forces in order to make a successful pathway into southern Europe. The British and the United States coordinated the operation to land in Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria. The landings required the strategic involvement of the naval fleet, the
“Operational design is a journey of discovery, not a destination.” Operational design provides a framework, with the guidance of the Joint Force Commander (JFC), that staffs and planning groups can use to give political leaders, commanders, and warfighters a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the problems and objectives for which military forces will be committed, or are planned to be committed. Furthermore, operational design supports commanders and planners to make sense of complicated operational environments (often with ill-structured or wicked problems), helps to analyze wicked problem, and devise an operational approach to solve the problem in the context of the operational environment.
In today’s operational environments, the U.S. Army is facing a range of problems and mission sets that are arguably more complex than previously encountered. Forces face an array of demands that encompass geo-political, social, cultural, and military factors that interact in unpredictable ways. The inherent complexity of today’s operations has underscored the need for the Army to expand beyond its traditional approach to operational planning. In March 2010 in FM 5-0: The Operations
In the Arab world in late 2010, starting in Tunisia and flowering in Egypt, a movement of people frustrated by their governments, corrupt leaders and a lack of jobs suddenly felt safe to take to the streets. The Arab Spring began when a young Tunisian man set himself on fire to protest government corruption and poor economic conditions. This action inspired a wave of protests across Tunisia, which ultimately resulted in the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power.
Freedom: something taken for granted by citizens all over the first world countries. The struggle for freedom all around the world is a very real one. Recently, the fight for freedom has taken the oppressed by storm. All over the globe, there have been many examples of people fed up with corruption and ready to take control of their lives and the lives of their children. This is evident through the struggles for freedom seen in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and most recently Ukraine. It’s 2014 and governments controlled by a central authority or dictator are still prevalent. Countries all over the world have been isolated and stripped of their individual voices. The struggle for freedom coexists with the struggle of finding a voice. A voice is what the Libyan people found in February of 2011 when they started protests against a regime that ruled for forty-two years in isolated dictatorship. Three years later, the very same voice that liberated them is one of the gigantic obstacles they’re facing in establishing a functioning government in the country. This emphatic voice that has been silenced for 42 years by an iron-fisted rule is now louder than ever. The consensus is that they want an operational democracy in place as soon as possible. But three years have passed, and the country is more restless than ever. The country is completely dysfunctional and there is no telling what the people will do next if a stable democratic constitution isn’t in place soon. They’ve just ousted their fourth prime minister in less than three years and casualties are increasing by the day. The current Libyan situation is widely attributed to the 2011 revolution. That being said, understanding how the 2011 revolution happened and why it unfolded the way it...