The Blair community is excited to welcome back security and foreign policy expert Jason Howk to Skeptics on Tuesday, March 31. At Blair, Mr. Howk has spoken on a wide variety of timely national security and foreign policy topics, including the war in Afghanistan and Islamic affairs.

For his seventh Skeptics talk, Mr. Howk will elaborate on the full cost of wars. Not only will he examine the expected impacts, such as casualties and financial tolls, but he will also consider the lesser known costs and broader burdens.
Aside from his work deciphering the aftermath of the events of Afghanistan and other conflicts, such as the repercussions of key Pakistani political activist Gilaman Wazir’s death in Middle Eastern international affairs, the veteran speaker has also recently collaborated with prominent leaders on how to build a more inclusive, national network of organizations aimed at suicide prevention among veterans and military members. 

“We’ve continued to use our song and musical performances to engage our audiences about the suicide crisis, and help them find solutions,” he shared in a pre-event interview. ‘Our song “Hold On, Reach Out’ is available everywhere for those who would like to listen.” 

In February 2025, Mr. Howk and his planning team held a summit dedicated to military mental health in Nashville, Tennessee. It included a day-long guided discussion between 50 different organizations from across the country. After a serendipitous realization, that involved music legend Jon Bon Jovi (whose parents served in the Marine Corps), the team was invited to hold a concert at Mr. Bon Jovi’s Nashville eatery.

“The concert included four bands, and many of the musicians were veterans. It was a great mixer for all the teams that had gathered.”

Though the topics for his discussions change, Mr. Howk’s affinity and admiration for Blair students and their eagerness never fades. 

“One reason I love returning to Skeptics is because of Blair students. They are hungry to learn about diverse ideas and challenge their own views on various topics and I am humbled to get to help them think about ideas they may not have encountered yet,” said Mr. Howk. “It’s a great honor to spend time with such inquisitive young people, who are not afraid to ask challenging and smart questions, and I find myself learning a lot from each of my discussions.”

When he is not speaking to students, Mr. Howk writes as a columnist for ClearanceJobs News and is an Islamic and Afghan studies professor at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School. Additionally, he works as a contributing writer for over two dozen journals and regularly appears on news outlets to discuss Afghanistan. 

Mr. Howk holds a master’s degree in Middle Eastern and South Asian studies and served as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies and studied Afghan Farsi (Dari) and Arabic. 

All are welcome to hear him speak in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

History of Skeptics
 
The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.