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

• Veterans: If You’re Not Changing It, You’re Choosing It July 1, 2026
  Military veterans have earned the right to complain about a lot of things. The VA can be a bureaucratic nightmare. Civilian employers often don’t understand military experience. Some marriages don’t survive the transition. Some wounds don’t show up on an X-ray, and there are plenty of people making decisions about veterans who have never worn […]
  Charles Faint
• Nobody Joins a Cult July 1, 2026
  The people who eventually died in a remote South American jungle were not looking for death. They were looking for hope. Some were struggling financially and worried about how they would provide for their families. Others were lonely, discouraged, or searching for purpose in a world that seemed increasingly uncertain. Some longed to belong to […]
  Dave Chamberlin
• The Ring Gives Pressure Rules July 1, 2026
  By Al Franco There’s a moment, right before the bell, when a fighter’s body stops asking permission. The heart rate spikes. The mouth goes dry. Vision narrows to whatever is just a few feet in front of you. It is not so different from the moment before a convoy rolls out, or the moment a […]
  Special Guest
• The Lab-Leak Heresy Had Sponsors and Side Effects June 30, 2026
  Remember when asking whether COVID might have leaked from a lab was treated like showing up to a pediatric appointment with a corkboard, red yarn, and a ferret named Substack? Good times. For years, America’s credentialed lecture goblins told the public that the lab-leak question was for conspiracy trolls, political cave painters, and whichever uncle […]
  Tammy Pondsmith
• I Don’t Want to Die at a Desk June 30, 2026
  For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to live a creative life. I know it’s cliché, but I have always felt I had more to offer the world than just punching a clock and retiring. Maybe this is misguided idealism. Perhaps it’s an unmet calling. Either way, most of my life has found […]
  Stan Lake