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Col. Christopher Hughes talks with a group Friday morning in the Kemper Recital Hall on the Missouri Western State University. Col. Hughes, originally from Red Oak, Iowa, is the author or ‘War on Two Fronts: an Infantry Commander’s War in Iraq and the Pentagon.’

Take it from someone who knows, these cadets can compete with the best of them.

Col. Christopher Hughes, a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, earned his commission in 1983 through the Army ROTC’s Pony Express Battalion, which is based at Missouri Western State University and includes cadets from schools across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas.

Mr. Hughes shared his experiences as a battalion commander in Iraq with cadets Friday on the Missouri Western campus.

The colonel made national news in 2003 for his efforts to diffuse a volatile situation in Najaf, Iraq. He led his battalion into Najaf for a scheduled meeting with a Shiite Ayatollah when disaster nearly struck. As U.S. soldiers approached the Imam Ali Mosque — considered the holiest site in Shia Islam — the crowd became outraged that “infidels” were treading on holy ground.

Mr. Hughes ordered his troops to take a knee in the face of a hostile crowd, point their guns to the ground and smile. It worked. The crowd calmed down, at which point Mr. Hughes ordered his troops to turn their backs and walk away. Television cameras captured the scene, which Mr. Hughes showed before his speech.

“The quickest way to win a battle is never to have one,” he told the cadets.

Mr. Hughes left Iraq in June 2003 and took a position in the Pentagon, where he served on a task force to combat the insurgents’ method of using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to attack soldiers.

His book, “War on Two Fronts: an Infantry Commander’s War in Iraq and the Pentagon,” details the struggles and achievements he encountered in battle and bureaucracy.

And it all started in the Pony Express Battalion.

“The playing field is level,” Mr. Hughes said. “It doesn’t matter what college you came from, if you went to West Point or Harvard or Missouri Western. In the Army, we bring everyone in on the same level.”

Mr. Hughes’ visit coincided with President Obama’s announcement Friday of a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

The Associated Press reported between 35,000 and 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq until August 2010. They would be withdrawn gradually until all U.S. forces are out of Iraq by December 31, 2011 — the deadline set under an agreement the Bush administration signed with the Iraqi government last year.

Clinton Thomas can be reached

at clintonthomas@npgco.com.