Category: Veterans

I Hear Ghosts

Commentary One of my favorite movies is “Twelve O’Clock High,” starring Gregory Peck, who, along with Jimmy Stewart, happens to be one of my favorite actors of all time. I recommend the movie if you haven’t seen it, and if you haven’t seen it then please watch the movie before reading on, or don’t be…


When Does the Hand-Holding Stop? Instilling ‘Unresiliency’ in Our Troops

Commentary The Air Force says it wants to have resilient troops. Mostly, this is in reaction to the high suicide rate. It’s terrible, and wanting to reduce suicides is admirable and critical. But, in typical Air Force fashion, it resorts to training to fix a problem, and truthfully, the other branches probably do the same…


To Address Veteran Depression, Disconnect and Reconnect

Commentary After coming home from Iraq in 2009, I spent the next 8 years in what I call a hyper-connected state: professional and personal efforts combined into my being plugged into the world of social media almost continuously during that time. From politics to Ranger Up and now Havok Media, Facebook and other outlets consumed…


Mandatory Awards: ‘No Thanks … Oh, It’s Either That or an Article 15?’

Taken from the Air National Guard Yellow Ribbon webpage: “The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 established the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program (YRRP) to assist National Guard and Reserve members as they transition between their military and civilian roles. By providing deployment cycle information, resources, and programs, YRRP addresses the unique challenges facing the Guard…


‘A Deck of Many Things’: Reflections on Colin Powell and Iraq, 20 Years Later

Commentary Editor’s Note: February of 2023 marked the 20th anniversary of then-Secretary of State Colin Powell’s now-infamous speech to the United Nations, which is seen as a decisive point in the U.S. decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.  In this jointly-written article, The Havok Journal’s owner, Charlie Faint, and editor-in-chief, Mike Warnock,…


Could Vitamin D Help Save Our Veterans?

Findings from a new study have shown that vitamin D may lower the risk of suicide and suicide attempts in U.S. veterans with low vitamin D levels. The study found that veterans who received vitamin D had a 64 percent lower risk of suicide than those who did not receive supplementation. The study was published…


‘You Are Not a Mother; You Are a Soldier’

Commentary “You are not a mother, you are a soldier!” I will never forget those words. That was in 2007, in Mosul, Iraq, my first of many deployments. I was a newly pinned staff sergeant (SSG) and for the first time in my adult life was in a place without my family for a very…


America’s War Machine is More Human Than Machine

Commentary In January 2003 we were deployed to Incirlik AB Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch. Most of us had a pretty good inkling that Saddam Hussein was getting tired of the 12 years of the Northern and Southern No-Fly Zones established in the airspace over Iraq, and that things were going to turn…


Missing the Military: When You’re No Longer Part of the Machine

Commentary I’ve read accounts where amputees will feel sensations where their missing limbs used to be. One of the phrases describing it is “phantom pain.” The Amputation Coalition describes it this way: “Phantom limb pain (PLP) refers to ongoing painful sensations that seem to be coming from the part of the limb that is no…


Understanding Veteran TBI: Hormone Imbalances Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Commentary It has been known for over 80 years that following a head injury there is dysfunction in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 80–85 percent of traumatic brain injury (TBI) sufferers are classified as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI). Approximately 80–85 percent of MTBI patients recover from their…