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

• “Game of Thrones” Leadership” Chaos Is a Ladder August 7, 2026
  Few lines from modern television have penetrated strategic and leadership discourse as deeply as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish’s observation in Game of Thrones: “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them.” Delivered in Season 3 during a private exchange […]
  Charles Faint
• The Beer I Waited Eight Weeks For August 7, 2026
  A few years back, I was watching a documentary on the border and the drug trade. I heard a leading expert on the subjects say something along the lines of, “Americans are huge patriots; they love their country. But only when they are drunk or high.” I don’t recall his name or the exact quote, […]
  Nader Gamez
• What Will My Death Be? August 7, 2026
  I wonder if I will meet my death in old age, a small gathering of stalwarts at my funeral. Will it be a tragic accident along the way, leaving questions of why and the randomness of the world? Will it highlight the reality of how fragile life truly is? Will I die in uniform, performing […]
  Jake Smith
• Accountability Is the VA’s Rarest Preexisting Condition August 6, 2026
  America has reached that invigorating stage of institutional failure when somebody suggests abolishing the Department of Veterans Affairs, because apparently the surest way to repair a hospital is to remove the hospital and introduce veterans to the warm humanitarian embrace of commercial insurance. The proposal has undeniable political appeal. Erase three letters, unveil a new […]
  Tammy Pondsmith
• Hard to Explain August 6, 2026
  By Benjamin Davis Where the Longs Peak Trail crosses the creek and turns right toward Battle Mountain, I stopped and let him catch up. I could no longer hear him, but I could see light coming from his headlamp, shining on the rocks and on the trees. He was thirty seconds back. Maybe a minute. […]
  Special Guest