Commentary We ran ammo bunker “missions” all the time. It was really more of a work detail. In the early days of 2003, the Afghan National Army (ANA) was still in its infancy, being stood up and mentored by the U.S. and NATO partners. Part of standing up was to stockpile equipment and ordnance for…
Afghanistan: We Gave You Our Dead, You Give Them Their Meaning
April 13, 2023
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AfghanistanAfghanistan WarArchivedBattlefieldsBattlefields ProjectInternationalOpinionThe Havok JournalUSVeteransWorld
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Commentary I write this today, not as an individual, but as a veteran of the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ve compiled some thoughts of the community to share some of the more prescient points and the general feelings of Afghan War Vets, Wounded Warriors, Gold Star Families, and Afghans living in the United States….
Dog and Pony Shows, Elephant Walks, and Other Air Force Circuses
Commentary What I’m about to say applies to any VIP, including civilians, and some of it will be tongue-in-cheek, but please try to see the underlying concept without taking offense. Firstly, let me get a personal beef off my chest. In the year 2022, with all the talk of having good leadership principles, why are…
How I Stayed Grounded With 40 Years’ Experience in Civilian and Military Aviation
April 7, 2023
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Air Force AircrewAir Force careerArchivedBattlefields ProjectDave ChamberlinOpinionThe Havok JournalThunderbirdsVeterans
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Commentary Just as a preface, this story has a point. Mainly that there are lessons I learned early in life that have stood me in good stead. Such as the need to be patient and calm when things are going sideways, and also to keep my mouth shut unless I have something of real value…
What It Means to Be an ‘Educated’ Warfighter
April 6, 2023
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ArchivedBattlefieldsBattlefields Projecteducated warrioreducation in the militaryOpinionThe Havok JournalVeterans
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Commentary So, what does “education” for a warfighter look like? In today’s military, many lament the tremendous amounts of time spent on what seems to be useless teaching—SHARP (Sexual Harassment / Assault Response and Prevention), EO (Equal Opportunity), “don’t-rape-that-person-or-that-one,” etc.—and a lack of relevant training. Whether or not the former examples are pointless is, although…
Trust, COVID, and the General Who Cried ‘Wolf’
Commentary Once upon a time, there was an Air Force general in the Pentagon who was in charge of all the F-16s in the Air Force, and he found out about a very dangerous problem that the aircraft had developed. He brought in experts from Lockheed Martin and the Depot and they met to determine…
Air Force and Air National Guard: Stop Treating Part-Timers Like They’re Subjects in a Social Experiment
Commentary This post popped up on my feed today on a business networking site where a mom was talking about her young daughter getting older. “’It’s easier and faster if I just do it myself,’ I say this way too much. My daughter has been teaching me a valuable life lesson without even knowing it….
Afghanistan: When ‘Humanitarian’ Projects, Aren’t
Commentary Engineers, especially civil engineers, build things. It’s what we do, and we consider each project, large or small, “our” project. Being a civil engineer in the Army engineering branch was especially rewarding. We played with bridge sets, construction equipment, and building parts. Army combat engineering also meant building structures for war: runways, fighting positions…
The ‘Sheepdog’ Analogy is Deeply Flawed
Commentary Just about everyone in the military is familiar with the sheep, wolves, and sheepdog analogy, as popularized by LTC (Ret) Grossman in his book “On Combat.” We all fit into one of those categories, he says—we need protecting, we are a predator, or we are a protector. While Grossman’s analogy has a lot to…
Spot the (Military) Poser
March 25, 2023
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ArchivedBattlefieldsBattlefields ProjectDave Chamberlainmilitary posersOpinionThe Havok JournalVeterans
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Commentary I’ve mentioned before that I really enjoy observing human behavior and one of my favorite scenarios is group interactions. Some of the best and most fruitful locations are military and civilian staff meetings. It’s great fun picking out the players and the posers and classifying them into their respective categories. Let’s just look at…
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