I deployed to Tallil Air Base, Iraq in September 2004 as a U.S. Air Force (USAF) Operating Room (OR) nurse with the 407th Expeditionary Medical Group. Continue Reading
What the Air Force Took and What It Left Behind
I saw her in the pre-op holding area one day, and her usual composure was gone. “Are you OK?” I asked. She didn’t answer. She stared past Continue Reading
Before the Cut
The dream is back. I’m an Operating Room (OR) nurse again. The dreams always return when I get too close to the years I’ve sealed away. I’m in a Continue Reading
In the Shadow of JSOC
My Dad was a good man, but for me, his goodness has nothing to do with his work at the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). In fact, my regard for Continue Reading
Humbled by the River
Editor’s Note: In my time as Editor-in-Chief of The Havok Journal, I’ve written only a few personal pieces. One of our writers, K.C. Aud, once said, Continue Reading
The Bravest Thing I Never Saw
She looked at me like I was already gone. I think she was a radiology technician student—young, awkward, and working alongside an older, grizzled Continue Reading
Where Were You When Saddam Hussein’s Statue Came Down?
Saddam Hussein's statue was pulled down on April 9, 2003. I doubt many civilians old enough to remember it could say where they were when they first Continue Reading
Lost Without a Tribe
By the end of 2003, I knew I was getting out of the Air Force (AF). I had been stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska since November 2001 working as an Continue Reading