The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family. Martha Raddatz. G.P. Putnam's Sons. 310 pages; photographs; maps; $24.95.
Reviewed by Col. Gregory Fontenot, U.S. Army retired

The war in Iraq has stimulated the publication of a great many books that debate policy, the accuracy of U.S. intelligence, the efficacy of using force, the nature of the global war on terrorism and military decision making. Now there are even a few entries on who "lost" Iraq. Far fewer are books on the lot of soldiers in combat. With The Long Road Home Martha Raddatz, in part, redresses the balance. She does this by letting soldiers and their families tell their stories—stories that need to be heard by the vast majority of Americans who don't have anything to do with the armed forces or even know anyone who serves. It is also an important read for soldiers and their families because it is their story—they will recognize themselves in this compelling account of courage both in Iraq and at home. If reading this book does not elicit an emotional response, nothing will.

Raddatz is the White House correspondent for ABC News, but her resume warrants the title of "war correspondent" as well. She reported ably on the early effort in Bosnia, when the conditions of that mission were unclear. Her understanding of what happened in Iraq in 2004 appears to be informed by that earlier experience. In December 1995 and for most of the next year no one could say whether there would be ambushes and attacks against the implementation force. Accordingly, American units in Bosnia equipped and trained for combat operations and/or stability operations. It seems likely that Bosnia affected the way Raddatz sees the problem of stability operations. Arguably, she developed her affinity and obvious respect for soldiers by getting to know them as they adapted to the ambiguous mission in Bosnia. Wherever she learned to care about soldiers as individuals, it is apparent in The Long Road Home that she does. The same can be said of her presentation of family members she interviewed. Such attention to the individual is one reason why this is an important book.

The Long Road Home is an account of a serious fight in Iraq—nearly a year to the day after the fall of Baghdad—that marked a turning point in the war. On Sunday, April 4, 2004, the newly arrived 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry fought a difficult battle against a well-organized and large-scale enemy. The battle began with an ambush of a single platoon as it executed a humanitarian mission. The enemy nearly overwhelmed the platoon, surrounded them and attacked with unrelenting persistence. The enemy, composed of at least some trained soldiers and hundreds of others, then proceeded to ambush the relieving forces. Ultimately, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, had to mount a full-scale battalion-sized operation to free the ambushed platoon. Some soldiers who fought and died on what became known as "Black Sunday" had arrived in Iraq just four days earlier.

There are compelling characters in this story, ranging from 5th Cavalry leaders to the fine young soldiers who fought and died in Sadr City on Black Sunday—including Eddy Chen, the first soldier killed that day, and Cindy Sheehan's son Casey.

Raddatz is unobtrusive in the story of Black Sunday, but her point of view is unequivocal. "Black Sunday," she says, marked a "turning point." The 1st Cavalry Division, the Army and perhaps the entire military found itself "ambushed, unprepared, bloodied and alone." The troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division believed they were coming to Iraq on a peacekeeping mission, or at least that is what those in the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry believed. Moreover, 1st Cavalry (and everyone else for that matter) were organized to do just that—peacekeeping. Accordingly, the cavalry left most of their tanks and Bradleys at home. The 1st Cavalry's mission turned out to be peace enforcement and ultimately counterinsurgency, both of which require a sophisticated tack including the application of combat power. This requires a balanced approach in how units organize and train for stabilization missions, which by definition are ambiguous and dynamic. As Raddatz notes, "The enemy gets a vote."

The book also raises questions like the one posed by a young trooper after the fight, when he wondered why they had not brought all of their tanks. Since he fought from the back of a light, unarmed, unarmored truck instead of a combat vehicle, he had reason to ask. The Long Road Home also raises the question of why, in 2004, the Army would organize and train to do peacekeeping instead of preparing units to operate anywhere on the continuum of stability operations. This is a particularly good question given the Army's experience in Bosnia, Haiti, Kosovo and Somalia.

Raddatz puts the reader in the fight as effectively as Mark Bowden does in Black Hawk Down and with the compassion of Hal Moore and Joe Galloway in We Were Soldiers Once...And Young. In many ways the The Long Road Home is similar to We Were Soldiers Once...And Young. Raddatz goes a bit further in developing the story of family support groups and the way the rear detachment and families coped with the devastating news that followed Black Sunday. Here she does yeoman service to the long-suffering spouses and soldiers who remain at home but are connected directly, and often painfully, to what happens in the field.

The Long Road Home is a must-read book that illuminates the superb quality of the young soldiers and officers who are in the thick of it in Iraq and Afghanistan.