I Prepare for the Day

My mind focused.
My determination directed.
My resolve strengthened.
My primal instincts enhanced.

The sounds of iron hitting the floor sounds like a battle of the ancients.
My heart beats as if it is beating the drums of war.
This is what I have become, what I am, where I am the most comfortable.

Screams of pain echo in my head.
Reminds me of a time I first greeted death.
Beads of sweat from my forehead is a reminder of the hardships I have endured and what I will endure.

This is what I have become, what I am, where I am the most comfortable.

I slip on my gear.
Radio check.
Weapons locked and loaded.

Mission brief.
It’s time to greet death once again.
It’s time to play that game we always play.

This is what I have become, what I am, where I am the most comfortable.

__________________________

This first appeared in The Havok Journal on December 4, 2020.

Ayman Kafel is the co-founder and managing partner of Project Sapient Podcast. It is the #1 law enforcement and military podcast with over 12,000 listeners and growing rapidly in just under a year. Project Sapient was founded to engage brothers and sisters in law enforcement and military communities in conversations that need to be had and exemplify the positive and unpack the controversy plaguing the profession and our society.

Ayman has seen the ugliness of war and evil in the world. He has survived two civil wars prior to immigrating to the United States in the late eighties.

In addition, Ayman is an Army Combat Veteran who was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. He became a police officer in 2007 after 8 years of service in the Army.

Ayman has been a police officer for over 15 years. He has worked as a patrol officer, plain-clothes officer, detective, fire investigator, Metro SWAT operator, DEA Task Force Officer, DEA Special Response Team assistant team leader.

His current position is the commander of his department’s Problem-Oriented Policing Unit. He leads a team of investigators that employs unconventional methods and Special Forces philosophy in achieving specific objectives in the communities he serves. These unconventional methods range from winning hearts and minds to specific strategic law enforcement actions to arrest and prosecute those who are the root cause of various crimes.

Ayman has made it his mission to use his experience and bring awareness of PTSD, TBI, depression and various other mental health disorders that are very prevalent in the veteran and law enforcement communities. To talk openly and confidently about these things without the stigma of what society labels combat veterans and law enforcement have.