War on Two Fronts: An Infantry Commander's War in Iraq and the Pentagon

by Christopher P. Hughes

Winner of The Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award for Excellence in U.S. Army History Writing- Journals, memoirs and letters, June 2008

Shortly after the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war in Iraq became the most confusing in U.S. history, the high command not knowing who to fight, who was attacking Coalition troops, and who among the different Iraqi groups were fighting each other. Yet there were a few astute officers like Lt. Col. Christopher Hughes, commanding the 2d Battalion of the 327th Inf. Regiment, 101st Airborne, who sensed the complexity of the task from the beginning.

In "War on Two Fronts" Col. Hughes writes movingly of his "No-Slack" battalion at war in Iraq. The war got off to a bang for Hughes, when his brigade command tent was fragged by a Muslim sergeant in the 101st, leaving him briefly in charge of the brigade. Amid the nighttime confusion of 14 casualties, a nearby Patriot missile blasted off, panicking nearly everyone while mistakenly bringing down a British Tornado fighter-bomber.

As Hughes' battalion forged into Iraq they successfully liberated the city of Najaf, securing the safety of Grand Ayatollah Sistani and the Mosque of Ali, while showing an acute cultural awareness in doing so that caught the world's attention. It was a feat that landed Hughes within the pages of Time, Newsweek and other publications. The "Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne then implemented creative programs in the initial postwar occupation, including harvesting the national wheat and barley crops, while combating nearly invisible insurgents.

Conscious that an army battalion is a community of some 700-plus households, and that when a unit goes off to war the families are intimately connected in our internet age, Hughes makes clear the strength of those connections and how morale is best supported at both ends.

Transferred to Washington after his tour in Iraq, Hughes then writes an illuminating account of the herculean efforts of many in the Pentagon to work around the corporatist elements of its bureaucracy, in order to better understand counterinsurgency and national reconstruction, which Lawrence of Arabia characterized as "like learning to eat soup with a knife." To read this book will help understand the sources of mistakes made--and still being made--and the process needed to chart a successful strategy.

Written with candor and no shortage of humor, intermixed with brutal scenes of combat and frank analysis, this book is a must-read for all those who seek insight into our current war in the Mideast.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932033815
• ISBN13: 9781932033816
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Casemate
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Book!

As someone who will be attending Officer Candidate School, I recommend this book! Col. Hughes is an excellent officer and he details his experiences in great detail! Recommend to anyone interested in the Iraq War and the fight to win it on the battlefield and in the Pentagon.

The straight skinney from a straight shooter

In "War on Two Fronts," Col. Christopher Hughes provides a raw, honest account of not only what transpired during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 but also a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Pentagon. Written with clarity and closeness, he brings us along for a look into a very different world than what was many times presented in the mainstream. After all, few writers or commentators bear as much responsibility for their actions as a man in Hughes's position. Written with refreshing honesty, Hughes is neither cheerleader nor detractor; he merely tells it like he saw it. It is a work that shares with us a view from high enough on the "Food Chain" to provide a broad perspective of operations, but at the same time close enough to the ground to smell the cordite. We at once see the larger strategies of his commanders that he is tasked to carry out, while at the same time feel the jarring discomfort of trucks designed for a dozen men carrying twice that number. We can walk the ground as actions with global impact play out in an area ground the size of a typical city block. We share the palpable relief when conventional ground fighting ceases, but feel the stress as the daunting task of being responsible for the civil welfare of a population across an area of 11,000 sq kilometers is suddenly thrust upon one man. And this has to be performed with less than 1,000 men. Then, from the dust and flies into the polished halls of the Pentagon...and it's oftentimes even more polished, Byzantine ways. Such is the unique fate of infantry battalion commanders. Throughout, Hughes presents his odyssey with a clarity and frankness that makes this one of the most educational books on the Iraq conflict to date. Whatever your position on Iraq, "War on Two Fronts" will give you fresh perspective on the realities of war on the ground amidst an ancient and complex civilization, and the mechanisms of one of the largest, and deadliest, organizations ever build by man. You will find it hard to put down.

A look at the History and the Future of America's War in Iraq & beyond

I met Chris Hughes in June of 2002 at Ft. Campbell when he and No Slack (2/327th INF) were preparing for the deployment that would become "OIF" the following March. As a Vietnam Veteran of No Slack having served with its Alpha Company in 1969 & 70 I was impressed with the soldiers who were filling the boots of my old unit and its sister battalions (1 & 3/327Th) that comprised the 1st Brigade (The Bastogne Bulldogs) of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). I left LTC Hughes that day knowing that he and his troops were ready to write their own pages of No Slack's history. This book is an eyewitness to that history. It speaks well of the resourcefulness of the finest Army America and the world has ever seen. From the confusion of having an imbedded terrorist strike just days before the war begins to the resourcefulness of the men and their leaders as they adapt to the ever changing situations that comprise combat. Reading the first half of the book made me proud of my old unit and to be an American. But there is so much more here. Chris's analysis after he returns to the states, what we are doing right, what needs to be changed and what he and others who are serving have proposed to ensure that we win is insightful. Much of what Col Hughes lays out in this piece is already operational and current events have proved him to be right in his assessment and planning. You will not be able to put War on Two Fronts down once you start reading it. It's a historical record and a look at the future as we continue the fight against America's deadliest enemy, fanatical Islam. To "The Hammer", I thank you for your continued service and for this outstanding book. No Slack, Sir! Yankee Jim

Exceptional reading!

I highly recommend this book to any Patriot, man or woman, who wants a vivid insight on the true account of one hero's experience on and off the battle field. You won't regret reading this.

In Iraq and on the Home Front

How do you meet an Ayatollah? Chris Hughes had to find an answer and fast. Anyone who knows Chris appreciates the extraordinary nature of this sterling man: a natural and gifted leader of great poise, keen insight, swift reactions and a profound sense of humanity, the last of which pours out of his account of his campaign in Iraq and service at the Pentagon and at the National War College. As the commander of "No Slack" (2nd Battalion 327th Airborne Infantry) in the 101st "Screaming Eagles" Chris relates about how the families girded for the deployment by sewing patches on the new camouflage uniforms in an ad hoc organization that came to be known as the "Stitch and Bitch." He then recounts the fragging of his brigade commander and staff, how he led the liberation of an-Najaf, securing the Mosque of Ali and ensuring the safety of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who invited Chris to a private meeting which got spoiled by a near riot in the marketplace. "Take a knee, and smile," Chris calmly ordered his men, as the world's media looked on. He defused a tense situation, and though he never got to meet the seniormost Shiite cleric, did get a fatwa from the clergyman instructing the Shiites to stand aside and let the Americans continue their mission. One of Chris' most powerful assets was his translator/advisor, Kadhim al-Waeli, who now serves as senior cultural advisor to Lt Gen Ray Odierno, in Baghdad. Chris then writes about starting the first post-Saddam municipal government, while avoiding the trap of appointing "bad guys" to that governing body. Up country with the rest of the division, Chris and his colleagues organized the national wheat and barley harvest and he set up a regional council of municipal mayors, known as "The Tigris River Valley Council," giving those delegates all the honors the president receives on "Marine-1." He also recounts an effort to put a stop to Kurdish looting from the refinery in Beiji. In Part II -"A Footstool at the Seat of Power," Chris recounts efforts to set up the Army IED Task Force and the Iraq Cultural Advisory Task Force with help from Kadhim and "Major Bob" Bevelacqua. He also writes of the cancellation of the Comanche helicopter program and some of the pitfalls in the Pentagon system. Chris then narrates his experiences at the National War College, where he and his classmates forced change on the faculty, in order to refocus on the problems of insurgency and counter-insurgency and away from the Cold War. That coup produced an anthology,Fresh from the Fight: The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq: An Anthology of National War College Studies by American Combat Commanders. The book concludes with serious thoughts on how to counter Iraqi IED bombing teams and how to plan and execute an orderly withdrawal from our current war-time footing in Iraq. War on Two Fronts includes dispatches from reporters, some e-mails and an interesting monograph on field sanitation from one of his NCOs that flesh out the nar