The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

West and Dunn

4 Things to Know About the Way of the World

4 Things to Know About the Way of the World by Boone Cutler People think that the world is a complicated place. It's not. What's happening on the world stage makes perfect sense. You just need to understand four things: 1) Killing is a natural occurrence. It's a natural way to establish dominance. Either kill or be killed; the winner lives and the loser has no say-so … [Read more...]

Weaponizing the Influencers: Strategy in a time of “COVID”

Weaponizing the Influencers by Ben Buehler-Garcia What if I told you I could hamstring the world’s top super power without firing a single shot in anger? We may be seeing the blueprint for just such an action playing out at this moment. I am neither a physician nor a military strategist, but over the years I have developed a hobby of connecting seemingly unrelated dots, … [Read more...]

Why You Should Be More Afraid of Apple than the Federal Government

Why You Should Be More Afraid of Apple than the Federal Government by Michael Kane As most of you are probably aware, there was a major court battle between Apple and the Federal Government. In this letter from Apple, (that can be found here) Apple eloquently explains their side of the story. Apple explains that it has provided everything the FBI has requested regarding … [Read more...]

Why the Islamic State Hates Shrines and Kills Those Who Worship There

Why the Islamic State Hates Shrines and Kills Those Who Worship There by Michael Kelvington On 16 February 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device that killed at least 83 Pakistanis at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a Sufi shrine in Sindh Province. It was a catastrophic attack which also wounded over 200 other innocent worshippers, and has already been claimed by … [Read more...]

“Never Forget”: Rising Up to Call Genocide ‘Genocide’

“Never Forget”: Rising Up to Call Genocide ‘Genocide’ by Scoti Domeij I’ll never forget standing outside the gates of the Mathhausen concentration camp to tour the prison camp at noontime. The tour guards said, “We’re closing for lunch. You can come back after lunch or if you want to tour Mathhausen right now, we’ll lock you in while we go eat lunch.” On a tight deadline … [Read more...]

The “Poor Game” of the Modern U.S. Way of War

The “Poor Game” of the Modern U.S. Way of War by Scott Faith This first appeared in The Havok Journal March 23, 2014. The modern U.S. military is preoccupied with non-military goals and is hobbled by inhibiting complications inflicted on the military from the outside, chief among them the following: risk aversion, casualty avoidance, and over-indulgence in the … [Read more...]

The Battle of Air Base 594: What War with Iran Might Look Like… On The Ground

The Battle of Air Base 594: What War with Iran Might Look Like by MAJ J.A. Lyons He lay prone on his back looking skyward with collapsing tunnel vision; his pulse was weakening as multiple types of United States rotary wing aircraft were converging on the rising green smoke encircling him. In the orange and pink twilight of the morning sunrise he squinted his eyes trying to … [Read more...]

Assessing Trust in the Afghan Peace Deal

Assessing Trust in the Afghan Peace Deal by Kerry Patton Trust. It’s a mysterious term and rarely understood. Per its definition, key attributes exist such as reliability, truth, ability, and strength. Contrary to popular belief, trust is not earned but rather obtained through a leap of faith. It is natural and can easily be broken. When it comes to the Afghan Peace Deal, … [Read more...]