The Havok Journal

The Voice of the Veteran Community

West and Dunn

Saudi Women and the War on Terror

Saudi Women and the War on Terror by Mike Kelvington In the masculine-driven nation of Saudi Arabia, women are subordinate men and the state, yet, in the eyes of both, they serve as an important role within their society.  Historically and contextually, the Saudi government sees women as weak and “depicted as needing to be protected, controlled, and guided within an … [Read more...]

A Middle Eastern Veteran’s Struggle with His Own Community

A Middle Eastern Veteran’s Struggle with His Own Community by Aymen Kafel My squad drives along MSR (main supply route) Dover, en-route to Camp Anaconda. I am standing in the gunner’s position, wearing my face mask and goggles. Dust hits my face and uniform as the sweat from the desert heat trickles down my face and back. I'm wearing 50-pound IBA (individual body armor) … [Read more...]

Ulama in the Kingdom: Useful Pawns or Strategic Partners?

Ulama in the Kingdom: Useful Pawns or Strategic Partners? by Mike Kelvington This first appeared in The Havok Journal April 19, 2017. Prior to reading portions of Nabil Mouline’s The Clerics of Islam I did not see the ulama, or Islamic clerics of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as anything more than religious pawns for the royal Saudi family to use when they needed to … [Read more...]

Joyriding in the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia’s Lower-Class Gateway Drug

Joyriding in the Kingdom: Saudi Arabia's Lower-Class Gateway Drug by Mike Kelvington This first appeared in The Havok Journal April 11, 2017. In reading the chapter “Street Terrorism” out of Pascal Menoret’s book, Joyriding in Riyadh, I found it striking how an authoritarian state tied to religious ulema could fail to tamp down and limit a socio-economic culture … [Read more...]

Everything I Needed to Know About COVID-19, I Learned in Kindergarten

Everything I Needed to Know About COVID-19, I Learned in Kindergarten by Scott Faith “Wisdom from the mouths of babes.” In trying to absorb all of the (mis)information being thrown my way about the Chinese coronavirus/novel coronavirus/COVID-19/whatever we’re calling it these days, I’m reminded of Robert Fulghum’s seminal work, “All I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in … [Read more...]

“No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor”

"No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor" by Gunnery Sergeant L. Christian Bussler Editor's Note: These excerpts are from the multi-award winning book “No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor” and were provided by the book's author, Gunnery Sergeant L. Christian Bussler, who retains the copyrights. This an exclusive look into the world of a how the Marine Corps took care of our fallen … [Read more...]

Hong Kong: Harbinger of Southeast Asia’s Future

Hong Kong: Harbinger of Southeast Asia's Future by Anonymous This first appeared in the Havok Journal April 3, 2016. Police forces march in on crowds during the First Day of the Chinese New Year of the Monkey. Locals and tourists watch in shock as police begin man-handling food sellers, claiming lack of work permits. Within an hour, the scene degenerates into violent … [Read more...]

Calm in Crisis: 5 lessons from Gunfights | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship

Calm in Crisis: 5 lessons from Gunfights | Special Forces and Entrepreneurship by E.M. Burlingame “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.” This line has stuck with me for decades from one of my all-time favorite comedians and one of humanity’s all-around greatest thinkers, George Carlin. Like virtually all younger people, much of my life I … [Read more...]

Importing the Muslim Brotherhood: Creation of the “Sahwa” in Saudi Arabia

Importing the Muslim Brotherhood: Creation of the “Sahwa” in Saudi Arabia by Mike Kelvington A movement known as the Islamic Awakening (al-Sahwa al-Islamiyya) or Sahwa quickly established itself as a counter-culture to the religious establishment in Saudi Arabia over the course of only a few decades, starting in the mid-1950s.[1]  During this time, the Muslim Brotherhood … [Read more...]