Desert Storm and Forward

Credit: US Air Force Did you know the FIRST military helicopter rescue mission took place in World War II? It was flown by an Air Commando. How can you not love a unit that began by being told by their Commander “..to hell with paperwork – go out and FIGHT!” Col. Brenda Cartier - Vice Commander, Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center shares some insights into this special group and talks about one of my favorite airplanes - [...]

“Tyler Mack” spent 10 years in the US Army, five as a member of the elite Green Berets.  As a member of the elite 3rd Special Forces Group he had two deployments to Iraq and one deployment to Afghanistan.  Due to the nature of his service, he appears on American Warrior and Havok Journal under an assumed name. He discusses the subject of the things he carried while an officer with the Green Berets and the things that carried him [...]

Sebastian Junger never wore the uniform but he HAS seen war up close.  As an award winning journalist and special correspondent at ABC news, he has covered many conflicts. His documentary “Restrepo” about his time embedded with a US Army unit in the Korengal valley of Afghanistan was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. His other film credits include “Korengal” and “Which Way is the Front Line From Here?” Junger [...]

Jeff Struecker was a 24 year old sergeant and member of one of our nation’s most elite fighting forces. In 1993 he was assigned to Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu as part of the 75th Ranger Regiment.  He participated in the Battle of Mogadishu, dramatized on the big screen in the movie “Blackhawk Down.”  Struecker led the three vehicle convoy that returned wounded Ranger Pvt. Todd Blackburn to base through intense fire. In was in his Humvee that the first [...]

Army Ranger Marty Skovlund discusses the 75th Army Regiment and its' role in the war on terror. Marty is Founder of The Havok Journal and Author of "Violence of Action; The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror"

Debecka Pass was a historic battle by many standards. Some even call it "The Alamo" of the Iraq War. In what is now considered by many a pivotal point in modern combat, two Green Beret A-Teams and their Peshmerga allies were confronted by a significantly larger force of tanks and armored vehicles. Superior tactics - and the first battlefield use of the Javelin anti-tank missile resulted in a victory for the US forces. Frank Antenori was a member of one [...]

Scott Dearduff is a former Air Force Security Forces Command Chief and retired as the Command Chief Master Sergeant for the entire 9th Air Force. He has authored several books including "Chief: My Journey Through Iraq at the Peak of the War"

The pilot and co-pilot of the para-rescue team that pulled "Lone Survivor" Marcus Luttrell off that mountainside in Afghanistan share their first person recollections about the mission in a two part series. In the summer of 2005, a four man team of Navy SEALS were sent on a mission to photograph or possibly capture a high level Taliban leader. The mission went horribly wrong and three members of the SEALs team were killed.  The fourth team member, Marcus Luttrell was [...]