The Havok Journal | Military & Veteran News, Commentary, Culture

• America’s Four-Year Experiment in Presidential Puppetry May 19, 2026
  In 1968, Star Trek aired one of its nastier little morality plays, an episode called “Patterns of Force,” in which a Federation historian tries to impose Nazi-style order on a chaotic planet and ends up creating exactly the sort of mechanized evil he was arrogant enough to think he could control. By the time Captain […]
  Tammy Pondsmith
• Private Andy Andrews May 19, 2026
  He’s just a stooped old man to some.To the ravages of age he slowly succumbs.Death is coming to the generation he belongs to.To me he is a hero, still brave and strong. He is the only one still living todayof five Andrews brothers who went awayto Europe to help right a terrible wrong.To me he […]
  Lou Marin
• Select-in vs. Weed-out May 19, 2026
  “I have applied to 25 jobs and was denied them all.” “The recruiter called me and said I was not a good fit.” “The hiring manager told me I didn’t have the requisite skills for this position.” The list goes on… these are all things said by transitioning veterans just in the past week. But […]
  JC Glick
• Explaining Iran’s “These Hands Are Rated E for Everyone” Strategy May 18, 2026
  To most Americans, Iran’s foreign policy often looks less like grand strategy and more like a drunken bar fight. Missiles at Israel. Proxy attacks on U.S. bases. Harassing Saudi Arabia. Backing the Houthis. Threatening the Strait of Hormuz. Launching drones at commercial shipping. Attacking merchant vessels from… …South Korea? Wow. OK. That’s pretty […]
  Charles Faint
• In Leadership, Ego Kills May 18, 2026
  When it comes to podcasts, I am a gluttonous consumer. I have to start with a plug to one of the best law enforcement tactical/leadership podcasts I have ever heard, The Debrief with Jon Becker. I highly recommend it to any officer, especially leadership and tactical officers, veterans, and military personnel. While many of the topics are LE-specific, […]
  Jake Smith