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

An Infantry Commander's War in Iraq and the Pentagon

Nonfiction, History, Middle East, Modern, Military
Cover of the book War on Two Fronts: An Infantry Commander's War in Iraq and the Pentagon by Christopher Hughes, Casemate
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Christopher Hughes ISBN: 9781612000930
Publisher: Casemate Publication: November 30, 2007
Imprint: Casemate Language: English
Author: Christopher Hughes
ISBN: 9781612000930
Publisher: Casemate
Publication: November 30, 2007
Imprint: Casemate
Language: English

Winner of The Army Historical Foundations 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 madeand still being madeand 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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Winner of The Army Historical Foundations 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 madeand still being madeand 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.

More books from Casemate

Cover of the book With Musket and Tomahawk by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Foot Soldier For Patton The Story Of A "Red Diamond" Infantryman With The U.S. Third Army by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Surprised at Being Alive by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book D-Days in the Pacific With the US Coastguard by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Hidden Battles On Unseen Fronts Stories Of American Soldiers With Traumatic Brain Injury And Ptsd by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Spain in Arms by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Fighting With The Screaming Eagles With The 101st Airborne From Normandy To Bastogne by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book General Fox Conner by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book If Chaos Reigns by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Behind the Lines by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book The Day the World was Shocked by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book The True Story of Catch 22 by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Jungle Survival Manual 1944 by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book Roer River Battles Germany's Stand At The Westwall. 1944-45 by Christopher Hughes
Cover of the book From Moscow to Stalingrad by Christopher Hughes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy