The Havok Journal | Military & Veteran News, Commentary, Culture

Summer of 2003. A couple of unexpected downturns and one unmitigated disaster left me poor as a church mouse for about 6 months. Not broke, destitute. As in if it wasn’t for my little sister taking care of the cell phone bill… I probably shouldn’t finish that sentence. It was a very ugly summer.

I was standing at a bus stop when I spotted a wallet behind the bench, jus...

I live with a time bomb. He looks like a regular guy. Maybe a little tightly wound: high and tight haircut, rigid posture, authoritative tone. He can’t go anywhere without scoping out the exits and the people who may pose a threat. He relaxes by going to the gym and by lifting weights that are too heavy. He needs to prove to himself that he still can, despite the pain it caus...

During the GWOT era, combat MOS soldiers typically had about two years to attend Ranger School after completing RIP or RASP. This applied not only to infantry, but also to combat medics, forward observers, mortarmen, commo specialists, and others. Failing to attend often meant being Released For Standards (RFS). Completing Ranger School meant earning your tab, making E4 (SPC)...

“A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once”.

William Shakespeare

I’ve had a lot of interesting jobs in the tactical world. The common denominators for these gigs were the fact that they were hard, dangerous and the pay sucked. So, when a guy off...

The character of war has always evolved alongside technology, but its underlying logic has remained remarkably consistent: when the costs and risks of using force decline, the frequency of its use tends to rise. Today, advances in long-range strike capabilities, cyber operations, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the cost-benefit calcu...