Inherent Resolve: Top Guns, Black Hearts, and Going Viral at War in Iraq

In 2016, at the age of 25, 1st Lt. Daniel Johnson found himself dropped into Iraq with a mission he wasn’t prepared for: being the only military journalist on the ground with the Black Hearts of the 101st Airborne Division as it worked to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, battling threats ranging from drones, information warfare, and chemical attacks.

With no photojournalism experience or training, the young man soon found himself in a situation over his head as the conflict escalated and the Pentagon began to rely on him to help fight their information war and become a trusted source of information on the U.S. Army’s efforts in in the Third Iraq War. Drawing upon the author’s news stories, interviews, and images of the conflict from multiple locations in Iraq, this book is part narrative journalism, part military history.

In it, the author describes the experiences of military personnel serving in the Third Iraq War , through boredom, excitement, and humorous moments. #Inherent Resolve is a story of how war has gone digital, with the weapons being hashtags, social media posts, and narratives. It also describes an oft forgotten part of armed conflict: what happens to service members once they return from war, and how their leaders help, or hinder them.

Above all, this is a story of the service men and women who have, continue, and will always strive to accomplish whatever mission their nation asks of them.