Cold Bore

Before Iraq, Jesse Johnston was a kid from rural Idaho who knew how to shoot. The Army taught him how to become something different-a scout, a paratrooper, and eventually a sniper.At nineteen years old, Johnston deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division for the invasion of Iraq. What followed were three combat deployments that would take him from Baghdad and Ramadi to Mosul and Tal 'Afar, first as a young sniper behind an M24 he called Cindy Lou, and later as a sergeant responsible for training and leading the next generation of snipers.But COLD BORE isn't a story about pulling triggers.It's about everything that comes before-and everything that follows.It's about the endless hours behind the glass. The patience to watch and wait. The judgment to know when not to shoot. The dark humor that kept young soldiers sane. The mistakes, the friendships, the responsibility of leadership, and the men whose names and faces remain long after the war is over.Raw, personal, and often unexpectedly funny, COLD BORE tells the story of young men growing up in a place where growing up could happen very quickly. Johnston writes about the soldiers who taught him, the soldiers he later taught, and the brothers he would carry with him long after leaving Iraq.This is not a story about becoming a legend.It is the story of becoming a sniper-and discovering that the hardest things to carry home aren't measured in pounds.Some shots end when the bullet stops. Others echo for a lifetime.