The Oklahoma City bombing was a catalyst that drove Firefighter Chris Fields to finally deal with the demons accumulated after several decades of witnessing human suffering. Chris Fields There are over 1.1 million firefighters in our nation, seventy percent of whom are members of volunteer departments. Every day they can face a roller coaster of emotions from a successful rescue to having to cut a deceased teen out of a vehicle right when the parents arrive on the accident scene. Chris was a Captain with the Oklahoma City Fire Department on April 19th when a truck bomb was [...]

Veterans Portrait Project founder Stacy Pearsall knew she would join the military – members of her family had served since the Revolutionary War.  She wanted to do something creative and became an Air Force combat photographer. She was a good one, practicing her craft in over 41 countries and twice winning the National Press Photographers Association “Military Photographer of the Year” award. Stacy and "Charlie" War is gruesome. An added challenge for combat photographers is that they often have to relive those moments while reviewing the photographs Stacy spent her three combat deployments on the ground and in [...]

“Cocktails From Hell; Five Complex Wars Shaping the 21st Century” provides a concise and sobering examination of the five complex wars shaping the 21st century.  Retired Army Colonel Austin Bay   crafts a textbook examination of the most troubling regions and shares his thoughts with our listeners. Bay derived the book title from the idea that there are usually several factors involved in the mix of a geopolitical conflict, a "cocktail" if you will. For observers of recent history, some of the potential tinderboxes are obvious like Korea and Chinese expansion in the South China Sea.  Some others may not be [...]

Our last update of 2018 with Havok Journal Editor Scott Faith centers on leadership subjects. The show is introduced with “Five Military Leadership Lessons from a Man with a Beard”, written by Havok Journal founder Marty Skovlund, Jr.  These five tips apply to everyone, regardless of whether they are wearing a uniform or not. Next we touch upon the recent resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis.  Havok Journal contributor Greg Dobny proposes that the loss of Mattis is not necessarily a bad thing. Greg highlights the “schizophrenia” that can sometimes emerge in the Veteran/Military community when it comes to [...]

The Reagan Legacy Foundation was created by Michael Reagan and his wife in order to advance the causes that his father, President Ronald Reagan, held dear and to memorialize the accomplishments of his presidency. He was inspired by a conversation he had in the hospital with his sister Maureen just before she passed – she asked him to consider doing something to carry on their father’s legacy. Michael Reagan The Walkway to Victory campaign kicked off on in June with the objective of creating a lasting tribute to honor American, British and Canadian soldiers who gave of themselves [...]

John "Tig" Tiegen John “Tig” Tiegen was one of a handful of warriors that kept the September 11 2012 attacks on the US Consulate and CIA Annex in Benghazi from turning into another “Alamo”. Tig enlisted in the Marines at 17 in the delayed entry program and when the recruiter’s call came he literally walked out of class to prepare for boot camp. Following his service in the Marines, Tig began working as a contractor for private security firms before taking an interest in the CIA Global Response Staff.  The CIA required 8 years of Special Forces experience [...]