With the approval of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973, authorizing states to protect Libyan civilians from the regime and otherwise ensure the public welfare, U.S. Africa Command stood up Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn. In coordination with coalition forces, the command successfully carried out its first major contingency operation. A variety of factors are discussed that either retarded or advanced the mission. A major contributor was the joint experience, training, and education of the joint task force headquarters staff as well as longstanding relationships formed during previous joint and combined assignments. The result was that despite the operation’s complexity, the coalition went “from nothing to kinetic strike operations in three weeks” and controlled the pace of events for many weeks to follow.