There’s a particular kind of optimism that gets people killed. Not hope. Not resilience. Not the stubborn refusal to quit when things go bad. I’m Continue Reading
Leadership
Leadership Is Not A Cause, It’s An Effect.
Leadership is often spoken about as if it were a mission statement or a movement—something you declare, organize around, or demand recognition for. Continue Reading
What Today’s Leaders can Take from Aristotle’s Cardinal Virtues
Modern military leadership is saturated with buzzwords. We talk about agility, innovation, resilience, and adaptability—often in PowerPoint decks Continue Reading
VUCA and the Modern Battlefield: Leading When Certainty Is Gone
The modern battlefield is no longer defined by clear front lines, predictable enemies, or linear cause-and-effect. It is fluid, contested, and Continue Reading
Words Mean Things – Setting the Conditions Before and After Service
The military is very good at setting conditions. We set conditions for success before a mission ever begins, through planning, language, Continue Reading
Maslow Was Right and the Military Still Builds Men
When Abraham Maslow published his theory of human motivation in 1943, he argued that human beings move through a progression of needs: physiological, Continue Reading
In Leadership, the Enemy Is the Perfect of the Good
There is a quiet killer in the military that rarely gets named in after-action reports. It isn’t fear.It isn’t incompetence.It isn’t even Continue Reading
Weaponizing a System That Thrives on Anonymity
The once sanctuary, the seemingly last vestige of honest relief, tainted from within. To be denied the right of comedic relief from the horrific Continue Reading
Roosevelt Knew: Leaders, “Do What You Can, With What You Have, Where You Are”
Theodore Roosevelt is often credited with the quote, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” While the wording has appeared in several Continue Reading
Machiavelli Knew: Those Who Ignore Disorder to Prevent War, First Have Disorder, Then War
There is a seductive belief that stability can be preserved by ignoring disorder at all costs. We that manifested often in the modern United States: Continue Reading
The Burden of Being Called Guru
The word has always weighed heavy on my shoulders. Each utterance has cast upon me a humbling burden. In black and white it is a "mentor, guide, Continue Reading
Certified but Unprepared
Editor’s note: Citation superscripts have been removed to align with The Havok Journal’s formatting. Full references remain listed at the Continue Reading