Keep Going

My head hangs low
Breathing heavy
Heart rate high
Memories flowing

I close my eyes
As the sweat drips down my face
Keep going
I say to myself

I rub some chalk on my hands
I grip the bar and feel the texture
My mind connected to my body

My feet are rooted to the ground beneath
I solidify my body
my will
my resolve

I squeeze the bar
brace and lift
Every inch I lift the bar
I feel my muscles tighten
Until I hit the top of the lift
I then lower the bar

I sit down,

My head hangs low
Breathing heavy
Heart rate high
Memories flowing

Beads of sweat drip down my face
Each bead of sweat is my pain
Each bead of sweat is my rage
Each bead of sweat is for me
To fight another day

Workout done
Demons tired
I push forward,
For those we lost
I push forward
For my brothers in arms:

Ayman Kafel is the founder and owner of Hybrid Wolf Blue Line Strategies, LLC. A veteran-owned training and consulting company for Law Enforcement officers and agencies. He combines his military and law enforcement experience to bring much-needed cutting-edge training to the law enforcement profession. 

Ayman is not only an active police officer but also a law enforcement instructor and has taught across the East Coast of the United States. He offers a wide variety of training, such as advanced patrol tactics, mechanical breaching courses, designated marksman, and Human Performance under duress. 

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

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.

To reach Ayman, feel free to email him at hwbluelinestrategies@gmail.com

This first appeared in The Havok Journal on June 21, 2022.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.