Engineers, especially civil engineers, build things. It’s what we do, and we consider each project, large or small, “our” project. Being a civil Continue Reading
Trick the Angry Old Man
As decades compound, nearly everyone is justified in being bitter, callous, jaded to allWe’ve seen muchEven with plenty of good, the bad still haunts, Continue Reading
Be Careful What You Ask For
If you want to shock a weeknight staff meeting of reservists and full-timers, have your company commander lead with this: “First, some news, they’re Continue Reading
The Power of a Patch
“What are you doing?” a little boy asked me as I tapped an Army patch hanging in the doorway at our gym. He, like many kids, was hanging out, playing Continue Reading
The Ghazni Eight
We ran ammo bunker "missions" all the time. It was really more of a work detail. In the early days of 2003, the Afghan National Army (ANA) was still Continue Reading
Santa’s Security Detail
Editor's Note: This is a tale from the "old days" in Afghanistan, back when the uniforms were tan and the vests were green. Check out more of David Continue Reading
Afghanistan: Then and Now
This first appeared in The Havok Journal on August 22, 2021. ___________ My Afghanistan time was in 2003-2004 so it’s been a while. It was my Continue Reading
So You Want to be a Beekeeper?
This originally published in Dave Hartmann's blog, Dave's Stories on July 12, 2020. It is re-published here with the author's permission. “Save The Continue Reading
A Teaching Moment: Reflections on Afghanistan
This originally appeared in Dave's blog on March 19, 2012. It is republished here with the author's permission. It has been many years now, but I Continue Reading
Military Veterans and “Fresh Air Poisoning”
Originally published by Dave Hartmann on his blog, "Davestories." This first appeared in The Havok Journal on January 15, 2019. _____ “I never saw a Continue Reading
Sleep is Precious, Prescriptions are Expensive, and Bourbon Gives Me a Morning Headache
Many people have trouble sleeping for many reasons. But a reason that I hear frequently is something to the effect of "I just can't turn off my Continue Reading
How to be a Time Zone Ninja
For years now, most military personnel, with our units and assets spread around the globe, have taken great pains to synchronize meetings spanning Continue Reading