Marty Skovlund Jr.

Marty is an author, producer, veteran and former owner of The Havok Journal who is pursuing a career in film and television. He is a veteran of 1st Ranger Battalion and the Syracuse Recruiting Battalion, a former small business owner, and the author of Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror and Ranger Knowledge: The Complete Study Guide. At The Havok Journal, he often wrote about Rangers, military culture, and the transition from service to civilian life.

Scott Faith

Scott is managing editor of The Havok Journal and an Army veteran. Over the course of his Army career, he served in several Special Operations units and completed six combat deployments. His writing focuses largely on veterans’ issues, and for The Havok Journal he also regularly addresses politics, constitutional rights, military affairs, and broader public questions that affect veterans and the country at large. He also helps other veterans tell their stories by publishing some anonymous submissions under his byline.

Scoti Domeij

Scoti serves as vice president and media liaison for the Pikes Peak Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers and is publisher at Blackside Publishing. She is the mother of Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Kristoffer Domeij, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, who was killed in action on October 22, 2011, during his 14th deployment to Afghanistan, and she has worked as an editor and writer for multiple publishers. Her work is grounded in Gold Star family experience, remembrance, and military community life. For The Havok Journal, her essays often address grief, motherhood, service, and the lasting effects of war on families.

Nick Perna

Nick is a police officer with the Redwood City Police Department in Northern California and a team leader on a multi-jurisdictional SWAT team. He has spent much of his law enforcement career as a gang and narcotics investigator, and he previously served as a U.S. Army paratrooper during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He holds a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. For The Havok Journal, he writes from a law enforcement and veteran perspective, with a focus on policing, military culture, and public issues.

J.J. Pinter

J.J. is an Army veteran who serves in a leadership role at Team Red, White & Blue, a nonprofit focused on veteran connection and community. His background in military service and veteran-focused nonprofit work informs his perspective on service, transition, and life after the military. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly about veteran transition, health, fitness, and the importance of community and shared purpose in civilian life. Outside work, he practices yoga and functional fitness and coaches youth sports.

Vincent Vargas

Vincent is an actor, producer, writer, and author, as well as a former U.S. Army Ranger and combat veteran. He served four years on active duty, including three combat deployments with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and later continued in the Army Reserve. In 2009, he became a federal agent with the Department of Homeland Security, where he served as a medic with the Special Operations Group. He is known for Range 15 and Mayans M.C., where he played Gilly and later wrote for Season 5. For The Havok Journal he writes from a veteran’s perspective on service, transition, teamwork, and law enforcement culture.

Matt Trevathan

Matt is senior vice president of technology and architecture at Nymbus, a software-as-a-service banking provider. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Mercer University, holds more than 270 patents, and has traveled extensively in the United States and abroad, including India, Mexico, Europe, China, and Japan. For The Havok Journal, he writes about technology, current events, and broader public issues, bringing a practical technology perspective shaped by travel and an interest in the human side of large issues.

Christopher Paul Meyer

Christopher Paul Meyer writes for The Havok Journal and hosts the Profiles in Havok podcast. He is a former nightclub bouncer, firefighter, corporate security trainer, prison chaplain, and military veteran who spent 33 months in foreign combat zones and received a Bronze Star in Afghanistan. For The Havok Journal, his work often focuses on veteran stories, culture, and contemporary issues, informed by an unconventional background that also includes stand-up comedy, periods of homelessness, and screenwriting. He has written one book, edited another, and is working on a third. He can be reached through Savage Wonder.

Marshall McGurk

Marshall is a contributor to The Havok Journal. He served in the 4th Infantry Division and two Special Forces Groups and is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. For The Havok Journal, his work reflects that background and focuses on international relations, domestic affairs, and veteran transition, especially the practical challenges of moving out of active duty and, in some cases, back into service.

Brandon Young

Brandon is co-founder and principal of Applied Leadership Partners. He is a former U.S. Army Ranger who served 11 years and completed four rotations to Afghanistan. For The Havok Journal, he writes from a veteran perspective on leadership, military service, and the challenges that can follow service, including transition, relationships, and loss.

Charles Faint

Charles is the owner of The Havok Journal. He served more than 27 years in the U.S. Army, including seven combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with various Special Operations Forces units, two assignments as an instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and operational tours in Egypt, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea. He holds a doctorate in business administration from Temple University and a master’s degree in international relations from Yale University. For The Havok Journal, he writes largely on leadership, military and veteran issues, and current affairs.

JC Glick

JC is the chief executive officer of The COMMIT Foundation. He is a former Army officer and leadership consultant who served 20 years in the Army, including more than seven years in the Ranger Regiment, over seven and a half years in command, and 11 operational and combat deployments to Haiti, Bangladesh, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly about leadership, veteran transition, resilience, and life after service. He is the author of two books, an adjunct professor at St. John’s University, and holds a degree in political science from the University of Rhode Island.

Alice Atalanta

Alice is chief executive officer of SOFxLE, a training consultancy that supports the law enforcement community with input from the special operations world. She earned her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and has taught at institutions including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania. For The Havok Journal, she writes from that background on special operations, veteran issues, law enforcement, national security, and the personal and public costs of war.

Chris Mattingly

Chris lives in Texas and works in the oil and gas industry. He is a former U.S. Army soldier who enlisted in 1998, served with the 101st Airborne Division and a Pathfinder detachment, deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and was medically retired after being wounded in Afghanistan in 2012. For The Havok Journal, he writes from a veteran’s perspective on military life, discipline, personal struggle, and related issues affecting service members and veterans.

Mike Kelvington

Mike is a U.S. Army infantry officer from Akron, Ohio. His background includes service in special operations, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency, with twelve deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including service with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He has received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and two Purple Hearts. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Downing Scholar, and holds master’s degrees from Princeton University and Liberty University. For The Havok Journal, he often writes from a grounded military perspective on war, service, military history, faith, and the veteran experience.

Chad H. Lennon

Chad is the director of the Veterans and Servicemembers’ Rights Clinic in New York and a major in the Marine Corps Reserve. Formerly a prosecutor and defense attorney, he also serves on bar association committees and advises the Bob Feller Act of Valor Foundation. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly about veterans’ benefits, veterans treatment courts, and related legal issues affecting veterans and servicemembers. He also competes as a Community Athlete to raise awareness and money for the Semper Fi Fund.

Michael “Bama” Katt

Michael writes for The Havok Journal and makes gear as Crimson Tied Paragear. His background includes work as a rodeo cowboy, a professional stuntman, and a longtime bouncer in biker bars and juke joints across the Deep South. For The Havok Journal, his writing often draws on personal experience and a direct, lived-in perspective to cover culture, politics, family, and everyday life. He also credits knots he learned from an Army Ranger Scoutmaster at Boy Scout summer camp in Okinawa in 1972 as the foundation for the work he does through Crimson Tied Paragear.

Ben Buehler-Garcia

Ayman Kafel

Ayman is a patrol sergeant, combat veteran, and founder of Project Sapient, with more than 20 years of operational experience. He served in Iraq as a U.S. Army soldier and translator and has worked in law enforcement roles including SWAT, DEA task force work, and plainclothes interdiction; he also holds a master’s degree in counterterrorism. For The Havok Journal, he writes from that background on law enforcement, service, training, stress, resilience, and national security, often focusing on the physical and psychological demands of high-stress work. Follow Project Sapient on Instagram, YouTube, and all podcast platforms for engaging content. He can be reached at ayman@projectsapient.com.

Dave Chamberlin

Dave runs a consulting and training company and brings more than 40 years of civilian and military aviation experience to his work. He retired as a Chief Master Sergeant after 38 years as an aircraft crew chief in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, and has also worked in technical, instructor, consultant, and leadership roles. He holds an FAA Airframe and Powerplant license and a master’s degree in aeronautical science, and his writing often focuses on military issues, especially those affecting aircraft maintenance personnel.

Lori Butierries

Lori is a full-time caregiver to two children with disabilities and a contributor to The Havok Journal. She previously served as a Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy and draws on both that experience and her family life in her writing. For The Havok Journal, her work centers on disability, caregiving, mental health, and military and veteran life, often from a personal perspective; she also writes for AwareNow Magazine and The Mighty, and her children’s picture book GIFT FROM GOD was a finalist in two categories in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

David Hartmann

David oversees his firm’s engineering department after decades working as a consulting civil engineer in communities across the American West. He is a 1994 graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and spent 12 years in the Army and Army Reserve as an Engineer Officer before that career ended because of injuries sustained in Afghanistan. For The Havok Journal, he writes largely from the perspective of an engineer and Afghanistan veteran, with recurring work on military service, veteran life, engineering, and occasional personal reflection.

Jay Lajoie

Jay is a retired Canadian Army sergeant and a contributor to The Havok Journal. He served 25 years in the Canadian Army and completed multiple domestic and overseas deployments, including the Balkans and Afghanistan. His work for The Havok Journal often reflects on military life, leadership, Afghanistan, veteran identity, and mental health, drawing on long service and lived experience. Outside of writing, he coaches little league baseball, competes nationally in service rifle, pistol, and precision long-range shooting, and spends time hunting and outdoors with his family.

Wendy Arena

Wendy is a writer and registered nurse whose work is shaped by more than two decades in health care and life in a military family. She has worked in mental health nursing, including on an inpatient psychiatric unit, and is married to an Army veteran. Wendy has two grown daughters, one of whom serves in the Army. For The Havok Journal, Wendy writes about military family life, caregiving, mental health, and the pressure that service-related trauma can place on relationships at home.

Stephen B. Lewis

Stephen is a Connecticut educator and athletic coach with nearly 30 years of experience. He spent much of that time coaching high school and college football, and after seeing many former athletes join the military after September 11, 2001, and return changed, he became involved in veteran advocacy efforts, including the Comfort Walk and CT Run for the Fallen. For The Havok Journal, he writes about veteran advocacy, military matters, and related stories, reflecting a published body of work centered on veterans, service, and remembrance.

Ben Varlese

Ben is a security consultant and former U.S. Army mountain infantry platoon sergeant. He served in domestic and overseas roles from 2001 to 2018, including time as a sniper section leader, and later worked on the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq’s protective security detail. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in intelligence studies from American Military University, along with a graduate certificate in cyber security from Colorado State University. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly on national security, intelligence, political violence, information warfare, media, and protective security.

Joshua A. Lyons

Joshua is a U.S. Army air defense officer currently managing the Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) family of systems. He most recently served as deputy chief of staff for a division-level unit and previously spent three years in the Army Asymmetric Warfare Group as an operational advisor, troop commander, and Group S-3. For The Havok Journal, he writes about Army readiness, air defense, leadership, and national security. A graduate of Indiana University, he was commissioned after five years in the enlisted ranks and later earned a master’s degree from the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College.

Nader Gamez

Nader is a contributor to The Havok Journal with a background in Wisconsin law enforcement, corrections, and mental health settings. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has worked with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the Waukesha Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and Mendota Mental Health Institute. He has also competed in amateur boxing and played rugby with local clubs. For The Havok Journal, he writes personal essays, commentary, and poetry that often reflect on hardship, identity, resilience, and mental health.

Clay D

Clay D is a father and military veteran who writes for The Havok Journal. He describes himself as a veteran of five war zones with nine combat deployments, and says he spent most of his adult life in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. For The Havok Journal, his work is largely personal and reflective, focusing on combat, grief, fatherhood, family, and the lasting effects of war on veterans and the people around them long after deployment ends.

Heath Hansen

Heath is a former 82nd Airborne Division infantryman who now lives in Europe and travels internationally. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, later left the military after a parachuting injury, and earned a bachelor’s degree in business–financial services from San Diego State University. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly on military and veteran subjects. His published work has included reflections on veteran life, conflict-related topics, book commentary on resistance and warfare, and first-person writing on endurance and fitness.

Jake Smith

Jake is a law enforcement officer and former Army Ranger. He deployed to Afghanistan four times during his Army service. For The Havok Journal, he writes from the perspective of both military service and law enforcement, often on military life, leadership, loss, and transition.

Frank Pauc

Frank is a former Army aviator, a longtime trucking-company supervisor, and a contributor to The Havok Journal. A West Point graduate from the Class of 1980, he completed the Military Intelligence Basic Course and flight school, served with the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany and the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, and left the Army in 1986. He later taught citizenship classes through Voces de la Frontera in Milwaukee, took part in peace and protest work, and writes largely about veterans, family, grief, and the long aftermath of military service.

Scott Chapman

Marco A. Bongioanni

Marco is a licensed mental health counselor and a Readjustment Counseling Therapist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where he has worked since 2014. He served as an active-duty U.S. Army officer from 2001 to 2010 and continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve; his military service includes two combat deployments to Iraq and assignments in the Republic of Korea, Germany, Egypt, Djibouti, and Kuwait. For The Havok Journal, he writes mainly about mental health, human behavior, and the ways military experience shapes relationships, perspective, and everyday life.

Geoffrey Robinson

Geoffrey is a published author and contributor to The Havok Journal. He retired from the military after multiple combat tours and later spent a career in the contract industry, and he has lived in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. For The Havok Journal, he generally writes commentary on politics, government, public affairs, and military-related issues, drawing on a perspective shaped by military service and time abroad. He affectionately calls Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, home and now lives in Maryland near his children and grandchildren.

K.C. Aud

K.C. Aud is a U.S. Coast Guard reservist and Navy civilian contractor in the Puget Sound region. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2010 as an Operations Specialist, later served aboard USCGC Active, left active duty after several years, and reenlisted in 2020 as a Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist. Before returning to the service, he worked a range of civilian jobs, including brewing, farm work, machining, and Navy contract support. For The Havok Journal, he writes from Coast Guard and veteran experience, with a focus on military life and maritime service.

Mike Warnock

Mike is the editor-in-chief of The Havok Journal and a retired U.S. Army major and Air Force veteran. He served 20 years on active duty across both branches, led surgical teams as an operating room officer-in-charge, later held clinical, administrative, and inspector general roles, and retired in 2019. A nurse with 23 years of combined civilian and military experience, including two Iraq deployments, he writes from a grounded perspective shaped by military service, medicine, war, and family. He holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a master’s degree in military history from Norwich University.

Diana Nickell

Diana is a contributor to The Havok Journal whose writing centers on veterans, grief, faith, and remembrance. She shared 43 years with her husband, Dennis Nickell, a Vietnam combat veteran who served 14 months in-country and spent his later years reaching out to veterans and their loved ones. Since his death in 2021, she has continued that work through writing meant to educate, encourage, and support people carrying the lasting cost of service.

Jared Prewitt

Jared is a Marine veteran, writer, husband, father, and also a carpenter, teacher, and coach. He served five years in the Marine Corps, leaving as a sergeant with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, and deployed as a designated marksman in the Battle of Ramadi from 2006 to 2007 and as a squad leader in the Battle of Garmsir in 2008 before his honorable discharge in 2009. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in writing, and his work for The Havok Journal generally draws on military service, storytelling, and life after service.

Peyton Knippel

Peyton is a retired Tactical Air Control Party Specialist who lives in Utah with his wife and son. He served as a conventional TACP, a TACP instructor, and with the 17th Special Tactics Squadron supporting 2/75 Ranger Regiment; he deployed eight times to Afghanistan beginning in December 2001 with the 10th Mountain Division and once to Iraq during the surge. For The Havok Journal, he writes from the perspective of a retired combat veteran on war, veteran life, and related public issues, and he works with transition groups including The Honor Foundation and Elite Meet.

Robb Munger

Robb is the founder of North Seeking Arrow LLC, a veteran-owned AI consultancy. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army as a Cavalry Scout, completed multiple combat deployments and leadership assignments, and retired as First Sergeant of Shadow Troop, 1-33 CAV (Rakkasans). After the Army, he worked as a reliability engineer before returning to support warfighters at Fort Bragg. For The Havok Journal, his work generally reflects leadership, military service, technology, and life after service from a veteran’s perspective.

Tab Taber

Tab is a Gold Star father and retired Marine Corps and Army veteran who runs a fourth-generation wholesale plant nursery in Northeast Florida. He served eight years in the Marine Corps and 15 years in the Army before retiring from military service in 2014. For The Havok Journal, he writes personal reflections on grief, remembrance, family, and military loss, shaped by the death of his son, Staff Sgt. George L. Taber V, a Green Beret medical sergeant with 7th Special Forces Group, during Ranger School on Mount Yonah in August 2022. He can be reached at tabtaber7@gmail.com.

Jason Angell

Jason is a former Marine Corps captain and the author of Running Towards Gunfire: Courage and Brotherhood in Ramadi. He served more than ten years on active duty, first as an enlisted Marine and later as a commissioned officer, and completed three combat deployments to Iraq, including the 2003 invasion. For The Havok Journal, he writes from that background on combat, the Marine Corps, and military history. He holds degrees from California State University, Fullerton, and the University of Houston–Downtown.

Jenna Warnock

Jenna is a research assistant at Virginia Tech and a doctoral student in physiology and metabolism. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Appalachian State University in 2024 and grew up in a military family, a background that informs her perspective. For The Havok Journal, she writes about stress, family life, and related health issues from the standpoint of a military dependent, alongside broader interests in hormonal health, functional medicine, and public health. She also volunteers with RD2BE as managing director and hosts and produces the RD2BE Podcast.

Carl Wells

Carl is a retired Army veteran and former Marine sergeant whose career included intelligence work and service in both branches. His background includes assignments in Japan and at Camp Pendleton, intelligence work with the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps, service in the Ranger Regiment, study at the University of Maryland in Heidelberg, and a Desert Storm deployment with 1st Special Forces Command; he later completed a master’s degree in international relations. For The Havok Journal, he writes from that background on military affairs, intelligence, and international security, often focusing on operational questions and current conflicts.

Elaine Jones

Elaine is a retired nurse and educator, and an Army spouse, Army mother, and Army and Marine Corps grandmother. She began her career as a neonatal nurse at Duke University Hospital and later worked as a teacher’s aide and an English as a Foreign Language instructor at Alamance Community College. Her published work includes short stories, poems, and articles, often centered on military family life and personal reflection. She is the author of Granny’s Legacy: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems and remains active in community service.

Shelly Harlow

Shelly works in the mental health field and is the mother of two U.S. Army veterans. For the past 20 years, she has worked with people who have seen and endured more than most people should ever have to, and she says her own background and history inform both her work and her writing. For The Havok Journal, she writes in a direct, reflective voice about healing, pain, family, and the emotional weight that can surround military service. Her perspective is grounded in long experience with human struggle, resilience, and recovery. Shelly can be reached through Calm After the Storm: Trauma Coaching by Shelly Harlow

Shane Jernigan

Shane is a medically retired veteran, nonprofit founder, and adaptive athlete. He served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, the Ranger Training Brigade, and the 173rd Airborne, and after a catastrophic low-altitude malfunction in 1994, remained on active duty for another 11 years before retiring in 2005. Since then, he has worked as an international tech entrepreneur, founded 75th Adaptive Sports & Wellness, and written for The Havok Journal about catastrophic injury, recovery, pain, trauma, and the challenges disabled veterans face.

Stan Lake

Stan is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Bethania, North Carolina. His work has appeared in Dead Reckoning Collective, The Havok Journal, Reptiles Magazine, Lethal Minds Journal, and other outlets, and he directed Hammer Down, a documentary about his 2005 deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with Alpha Battery 5-113th of the North Carolina Army National Guard. For The Havok Journal, he often writes essays and reflections about war memory, veteran life, the outdoors, and everyday experience. You can find his books, collected works, and social media at www.stanlakecreates.com.

Lou Marin

Lou is a writer, photographer, and historian for The American Legion, Department of Maine. Born and raised in western Maine, he spent more than 20 years in the United States Air Force. He is a published poet and short story writer whose work for The Havok Journal is largely poetry and reflective writing on military service, remembrance, and faith. He is also a stringer for Maine Trust for Local News, the author of Dimly Seen Through the Mists and My Lighthouse in Troubled Times, and a resident of Rumford, Maine. He can be reached at mbsphotog@yahoo.com or his Facebook Page.

Aaron Smith

Aaron lives south of Denver, Colorado, with his family and describes himself as a grateful Jesus follower, husband, and father of two boys. He has served in four Special Forces units as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, a detachment member of a Joint Special Operations Task Unit, and a master trainer in deployed operational environments, with seven deployments supporting contingency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and multiple countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. For The Havok Journal, he writes from that background about military experience, loss, endurance, and the aftermath of war, often in a reflective or poetic register.

Daniel L. Dodds

Daniel is an active-duty Military Police senior noncommissioned officer who serves as the director of operations sergeant major for the United States Disciplinary Barracks, the Department of Defense’s only Level III maximum-security prison. He has served in leadership roles from patrolman to battalion command sergeant major. He holds an associate degree from Excelsior University and a bachelor’s degree in leadership and workforce development from the Army Command and General Staff College. For The Havok Journal, he writes primarily on military leadership, military history, national security, and issues related to military corrections and discipline.

Jason Varni

Jason is a U.S. Army veteran and psychology graduate who writes for The Havok Journal. His military background and study of psychology inform a direct, accessible approach to complex ideas. For The Havok Journal, his published work has focused on culture, politics, and mental health, and he writes in plain language to help readers better understand the systems and pressures shaping everyday life without telling them what to think.

Johnathon Miranda

Johnathon is a U.S. Army National Guard combat medic (68W), nationally registered EMT, and EMT instructor with three years of operational field experience. His background includes civilian EMS, military medical units, and high-risk event medicine, with experience in trauma care, hemorrhage control, search and rescue, wilderness medicine, and tactical operations. For The Havok Journal, he writes about emergency medicine, medic training standards, and the overlap between civilian EMS and combat care, bringing a practical, field-based perspective to readers.