A native of Central Pennsylvania, Lt. Hobart K. Kistler graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins University. From 2013 to 2021, he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, completing three deployments in support of the Global War on Terror, as well as a staff assignment in Washington, D.C., in the Office of Naval Reactors. Hobie passed away in 2021, after completing the first and second drafts of this book. The War They Won was completed in the ensuing years by his brother and editor, Peter Kistler, with help from their family.