Civic Essays
What We Owe the Next Generation
There is a kind of conversation that has gone out of fashion in this country, and we are paying for its absence. It is the conversation older people used to [...]
The Havok Journal | Military & Veteran News, Commentary, Culture
- Gold Star Healer: A Soul-Saving Journey of Redemption October 10, 2026Michael Gerald Reagan, Marine Vietnam combat veteran, and nationally known artist to presidents, athletes, and Hollywood stars, opened his 75-year-old hands and showed his palms to me. “You see these hands?” he said quietly. “It’s the only part of you that you can look directly at. You can only see your face through a mirror. […]Stephen B. Lewis
- The Problem with Extreme “P” and Why Blaming PTSD is a Disservice to Veterans October 10, 2026This morning was an extra shitty morning. I couldn’t stand up because of my spinal cord injuries and my leg wouldn’t snap on because the nubby was swollen. To say that I was hurting this morning would be an egregious understatement and most people would assume I would just say “fuck this” and take the […]Shane Jernigan
- We Are Not All in the Same Boat. We Are Just in the Same Storm. October 9, 2026There is an appealing simplicity to the phrase “we are all in the same boat.” It suggests shared danger, shared sacrifice, and shared responsibility. It reminds us that whatever differences existed before the crisis began, we now face the same wind and waves. The expression is intended to unite us, and sometimes it does. But […]Charles Faint
- Greater Love Hath No Man Than This October 9, 2026Twenty years after Medal of Honor recipient Michael Monsoor gave his life for his brothers, we still carry his sacrifice and the memory of all our fallen who never came home. By Mike Sarraille Navy SEAL Michael “Mikey” Monsoor died on a rooftop in Ramadi, Iraq, on Sept. 29, 2006. In doing so, he saved […]Special Guest
- December 19 October 9, 2026By an Anonymous USAF Brat It was cold. Not the New England kind of cold but the bitter, biting, wind-driven cold on an overcast day that fit what we were doing. As I stood there on the crest of the hill, I surveyed the terrain, looking at avenues of approach, natural lanes of egress, positions […]Special Guest
