The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

Sean Parnell

No One Likes Being a “Has Been”

“I Was” . Depending on what your profession was these can be the two saddest words in the English language. No one likes being a “has been”. For those who served their country this is especially true. When the glory days of riding in helicopters, shooting belt fed weapons and facing deadly threats are in the past, we feel diminished. For some, being an, “I was” is intolerable, … [Read more...]

Army Life: This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Written by Nick PernaIf you take two privates and lock them in a closet with a five hundred pound steel BB, when you come back an hour later they will either have broken it or lost it.”As quoted from my first Platoon Sergeant We truly get the best and brightest in the armed forces. But, along with them, comes everyone else…For every budding Rhodes Scholar who joins … [Read more...]

Newsflash: The News is For Profit

In school, I remember learning about the Spanish-American War. One of the reasons cited for the US going to war against Spain was the alleged sinking of the USS Maine by the Spaniards. What actually happened to the Maine is unclear (many assume it was accident that caused it to sink), but what is clear is the part the Media played in the war. Newspapers at the time wrote … [Read more...]

3 Bad Habits I Picked Up In The Military

Bad habits I picked up in the army which helped me in civilian lifeFor the old timers out there, you’ll remember the commercial for the United States Army which said, “You’ll have skills that four out of five employers are looking for.” So, I don’t know about you but at no point in my civilian life have I ever operated a buffer or assembled an OE 254 antenna.I picked up … [Read more...]

“The 90% Solution:” Managing Your Boss’s Military Ego

"The 90% Solution:"  Managing Your Boss's Military Ego by Nick PernaEvery organization has an internal hierarchy. Whether it be the US Army, Hewlett Packard, or the Federal government they all have a multi-tiered chain of command through which all concepts, products, ideas, memos, projects and so on need to be routed through.Battalion Commanders, C.E.O.s, Chiefs Of … [Read more...]

Special Order/Special Interest: A Satirical Political Rant Targeting… Everybody

Special Order/Special Interest: A Satirical Political Rant Targeting... Everybody by Nick Perna“Well, the one on the right was on the bottom And the one in the middle was on the top And the one on the left got a broken arm And the guy on his rear, said, "Oh dear" From the song, “The one on the right” by Johnny Cash. _____ A man walks into McDonald’s.“Can I take your … [Read more...]

“We the people of the United States…”

Way back in the 1970s when I was a kid a record came out entitled, “Free To Be, You and Me”. It had such hit songs as, “It's All Right to Cry” and other snowflake soliloquies. It was revolutionary in the fact that it explored gender equality issues and other sensitive topics for the first time. One of the main themes throughout the record was the importance of being unique, an … [Read more...]

“Thank You For Your Service.” Yeah, Right.

This article first appeared in The Havok Journal on 21FEB15. _____ By the time I deployed I had served in the Army in some capacity for over 10 years. I spent 3 years on active duty with the 82nd Airborne in the post-Gulf War era where I fully expected to go to war but never did. I left active duty in 1996 and spent time in various National Guard and Reserve Units. I always … [Read more...]

Search Warrants: The Fruit of The Poisonous Tree

Written by Nick PernaThere has been much said, written and posted recently about the Nunes letter that made allegations regarding the veracity and integrity of the FISA warrants that launched the Russian Collusion investigation. What’s come into question is the credibility of the Fusion GPS report that provided at least some of the probable cause necessary to get the … [Read more...]