We are thanked for our service numerous times a day. Sometimes we don’t even know how anyone knew to thank us. Maybe it’s our demeanor, maybe it’s our tattoos, or maybe it is our service dogs that give us away as veterans. Whatever it is, everywhere we go, someone is thanking us for our service.The problem with this?Well, none, really. It doesn’t hurt anyone; it is … [Read more...]
Unboxing Real Potential: In Defense of The “Box-Free” Army Officer Evaluation
Unboxing Real Potential: In Defense of the “Box-Free” Army Officer Evaluation Report By Major Robert “Bobby” AliPerformance evaluation is always a crucial part of keeping organizations effective, especially when it comes to scouting prospective candidates for key leadership positions. Objectivity stands as a key consideration for performance evaluation, whereby evaluators … [Read more...]
Veterans Who Never Met, But Said The Last Goodbye
by Jason Rogers originally published in October of 2017On a Friday morning at the Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery my wife and I, along with prominent Warfighter Rights activist Boone Cutler and our brother in mourning, Troy Kilpatrick, accompanied family and friends to lay to rest Mark Kilpatrick, Troy's father. It was a beautiful and well deserved ceremony for Mark, … [Read more...]
Gun Control And The City
In 1991, I began studying Karate in New York City’s West Village under Seiko Shihan Shigeru Oyama.I first studied Capoeira in 1993 under Mestre Cigano at Capoeira Dos Palmas in the run-down, heroin-riddled Alphabet City section of Manhattan’s lower East Side.I share this with because I’m making a point about gun control.Growing up in NYC, the need to defend … [Read more...]
From Your BROTHER-In-Arms: Veterans, Stop Saying No One Cares About Kaepernick
From Your BROTHER-In-Arms: Veterans, Stop Saying No One Cares About Kaepernick by David A. JacksonEditor's Note: At my suggestion, this first-time Havok Journal author is writing under a pseudonym. I served with him overseas and vouch for both his service and his character. ~Scott Faith_____Fellow veterans please stop saying "no one cares about Kaepernick," … [Read more...]
Blue On Blue: Stolen Valor Fratricide
Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. There is an army depending on us for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the rangers, but don’t never lie to a ranger or officer – Rogers Rangers _____ It is now officially time we all had a talk about this ‘Stolen Valor’ craziness.A while back, I was at the airport in Chicago … [Read more...]
In Special Operations and in Business, Success is Dependent on One Skill Alone
Doesn’t matter whether conducting business or Special Operations, there are quite a number of difficult tasks which must be accomplished simultaneously, each with their own requirements and needed skills and experience. There is one task however which in all environments, and regardless the depth of one’s skills and experience, seems to be the very most difficult. Perhaps it is … [Read more...]
When Lightning Strikes Twice
It is very highly unlikely to achieve the career pinnacle of serving as one of a small handful of coaches at what is arguably the world’s premier boxing gym. At the very least, it’s the boxing gym owned by the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time, if a flawless professional record is any indication. The gym can afford to be selective; there’s no reason why it wouldn’t … [Read more...]
Minimalism as a Way to Address Veteran Depression
I have a theory. Part of it goes like this.A lot of guys join combat arms in the military as a way to seek out adventure.More than “serving my country,” many enlist with the intent of experiencing the stuff movies are made of.For a great many who had this as a motivator in the last 17 years, they were able to experience the very activity that drew them in—combat. … [Read more...]
Nothing Prepares You for War
Written by Noah Smith, The War Horse.We were sailing into the sky, the loud buzz of the plane engine beating against the air. We flew over a vast desert that stretched in front of us. My god, it was beautiful. My colleague, a lifetime adventurer, leaned over and asked, “Aren’t you going to miss it?” He knew the answer, and I do. Every day I miss that life.Those … [Read more...]