#Inherent Resolve

In 2016, 1st Lt. Daniel Johnson was 25 when he was sent to Iraq as the only military journalist with the "Black Hearts" of the 101st Airborne Division. The division was helping to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and its soldiers faced threats that included drones, information warfare, and chemical attacks. Johnson had no training or experience in photojournalism and was unprepared for the assignment.

As the conflict escalated, he found himself in over his head. The Pentagon came to depend on him to help carry out its information war, and he became a trusted source on the U.S. Army's efforts in what he calls the "Third Iraq War."

The book draws on Johnson's own news stories, interviews, and photographs from several locations in Iraq. It is part narrative journalism and part military history, and it records the experiences of the service members he met, from boredom to excitement to moments of humor. It also presents a conflict that has gone digital, where hashtags, social media posts, and competing narratives serve as weapons.

The author also covers a part of war that often goes unremembered: what happens to service members after they come home, and how their leaders either help or hinder them. Above all, the book honors the men and women in uniform who take on whatever mission their nation gives them.