The Aiming Circle
@aimingcircle.bsky.social
We illuminate markets, contests, & other resources for writers of military fiction, non-fiction, history, analysis, poetry & more. Patreon-supported community of practice. Admin: Charlie Sherpa. Visit: linktr.ee/aimingcircle
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Here’s our latest salvo of RESOURCES, TIPS, and MARKETS for writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scholarship, and more!
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
Here’s our latest salvo of RESOURCES, TIPS, and MARKETS for writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scholarship, and more!
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
January 30, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Here’s our latest salvo of RESOURCES, TIPS, and MARKETS for writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scholarship, and more!
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.
January 25, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
U.S. sailors on unaccompanied tours in the Middle East are in for a major upgrade to their living quarters after Naval Support Activity Bahrain broke ground this month on a $15.8 million renovation of its housing facilities, part of a Pentagon push to improve barracks.
Navy base in Bahrain breaks ground on $15.8 million barracks renovation
Unaccompanied sailors in Bahrain are in for a multi-million upgrade to their living quarters as part of a Pentagon push to spruce up barracks.
www.stripes.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:43 PM
U.S. sailors on unaccompanied tours in the Middle East are in for a major upgrade to their living quarters after Naval Support Activity Bahrain broke ground this month on a $15.8 million renovation of its housing facilities, part of a Pentagon push to improve barracks.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
US military assets heading to Middle East even as Trump backs off toughest Iran rhetoric reut.rs/49Ox3A2
US military assets heading to Middle East even as Trump backs off toughest Iran rhetoric
A U.S. military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets will arrive in the Middle East region in the coming days, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, even as U.S. President Donald Trump voices hopes of avoiding new military action against Iran.
reut.rs
January 22, 2026 at 11:50 PM
US military assets heading to Middle East even as Trump backs off toughest Iran rhetoric reut.rs/49Ox3A2
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Left: NATO fatalities in Afghanistan.
Right: Coalition fatalities in Iraq.
Some of us, at least, remember.
Right: Coalition fatalities in Iraq.
Some of us, at least, remember.
January 22, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Left: NATO fatalities in Afghanistan.
Right: Coalition fatalities in Iraq.
Some of us, at least, remember.
Right: Coalition fatalities in Iraq.
Some of us, at least, remember.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
The ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, the deployed servicemember's paper of record, writes in its pages that the publication "is in peril of losing its editorial independence and becoming nothing more than a public relations arm of the Pentagon."
www.stripes.com/opinion/2026...
www.stripes.com/opinion/2026...
Pentagon wants a ‘refocus,’ but Stripes hasn’t wavered from its true mission
www.stripes.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:50 PM
The ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, the deployed servicemember's paper of record, writes in its pages that the publication "is in peril of losing its editorial independence and becoming nothing more than a public relations arm of the Pentagon."
www.stripes.com/opinion/2026...
www.stripes.com/opinion/2026...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Citing soldier safety, the 101st Airborne Division will pause a major exercise during the upcoming weekend as a massive winter storm bears down on Fort Campbell.
101st Airborne pauses major training exercise ahead of massive winter storm
Freezing temperatures, snow and ice are in the forecast, forcing Fort Campbell to pause Operation Lethal Eagle.
www.stripes.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Citing soldier safety, the 101st Airborne Division will pause a major exercise during the upcoming weekend as a massive winter storm bears down on Fort Campbell.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Army leaders met Tuesday with troops to detail their plans to house single soldiers during a planned buildup of roughly 690 service members this year.
Army doubling up soldiers in Hawaii barracks to meet housing demand
Army leaders met Tuesday with troops to detail their plans to house single soldiers during a planned buildup of roughly 690 service members this year.
www.armytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Army leaders met Tuesday with troops to detail their plans to house single soldiers during a planned buildup of roughly 690 service members this year.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
It is even worse than it looks
The Old World Order is Dead
Unipolarity was given, not taken
open.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:19 PM
It is even worse than it looks
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
The United States is shuttering its Afghan resettlement operation in Qatar and plans to relocate the hundreds of evacuees there who are awaiting transfer to the U.S.
More than 150 immediate family members of U.S. military personnel are currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah.
More than 150 immediate family members of U.S. military personnel are currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah.
Closure in works at Qatar camp whose Afghan evacuees include dozens of US forces’ kin
More than 150 immediate family members of U.S. military personnel are among those currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah.
www.stripes.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:39 PM
The United States is shuttering its Afghan resettlement operation in Qatar and plans to relocate the hundreds of evacuees there who are awaiting transfer to the U.S.
More than 150 immediate family members of U.S. military personnel are currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah.
More than 150 immediate family members of U.S. military personnel are currently housed at Camp As Sayliyah.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
"This film is dedicated to the brave Mountie fighters of Canada"
NEW: This is a REAL story in The Globe and Mail today.
Canadian Armed Forces are modelling responses to a US military invasion from the south.
They expect Canadian forces to be overrun in a fortnight, so the plan centres on Afghanistan-style insurgencies to inflict mass casualties on US troops
👇
Canadian Armed Forces are modelling responses to a US military invasion from the south.
They expect Canadian forces to be overrun in a fortnight, so the plan centres on Afghanistan-style insurgencies to inflict mass casualties on US troops
👇
January 20, 2026 at 5:43 PM
"This film is dedicated to the brave Mountie fighters of Canada"
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Gorka: "Read a little bit of history. What happened when another nation tried to encroach on Greenland and in fact invaded Denmark? The Third Reich"
January 20, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Gorka: "Read a little bit of history. What happened when another nation tried to encroach on Greenland and in fact invaded Denmark? The Third Reich"
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
A vocal critic of President Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard, Sen. Tammy Duckworth is traveling to Poland and Portugal to highlight what she believes Illinois National Guard members “should be doing."
Sen. Duckworth travels to Portugal, Poland to strengthen Illinois National Guard ties
chicago.suntimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:41 PM
A vocal critic of President Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard, Sen. Tammy Duckworth is traveling to Poland and Portugal to highlight what she believes Illinois National Guard members “should be doing."
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“We have done so much for America”: Denmark fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan. Now, as Trump eyes Greenland, the families of fallen soldiers have a message for him, @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social reports: theatln.tc/I8nGcxwO
January 19, 2026 at 5:45 PM
“We have done so much for America”: Denmark fought alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan. Now, as Trump eyes Greenland, the families of fallen soldiers have a message for him, @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social reports: theatln.tc/I8nGcxwO
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If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to use force to gain Greenland, it could set in motion a disastrous chain of events, @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues: theatln.tc/nM4fmwGc
January 19, 2026 at 8:15 PM
If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to use force to gain Greenland, it could set in motion a disastrous chain of events, @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues: theatln.tc/nM4fmwGc
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
If senior officers carry out what Trump is threatening against NATO, “the officers and enlisted people below them will likely obey the chain of command”—and “such an outcome would be a tragedy, and potentially a global catastrophe,” @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues.
The Military Is Being Forced to Plan for an Unthinkable Betrayal
Attacking an ally would be a perversion of everything the armed forces have been trained to do.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 9:35 PM
If senior officers carry out what Trump is threatening against NATO, “the officers and enlisted people below them will likely obey the chain of command”—and “such an outcome would be a tragedy, and potentially a global catastrophe,” @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Just hours after Renee Good was shot, one member of Customs and Border Patrol’s elite tactical team on an adjacent street fired a less-lethal weapon five times in less than five minutes, with four shots aimed at the faces of protestors. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Analysing One Federal Agent’s Use of Less-Lethal Launcher in Minneapolis
After the fatal shooting of Renee Good, Border Patrol agent "EZ-17" was filmed shooting less-lethal munitions at protesters five times in five minutes.
www.bellingcat.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Just hours after Renee Good was shot, one member of Customs and Border Patrol’s elite tactical team on an adjacent street fired a less-lethal weapon five times in less than five minutes, with four shots aimed at the faces of protestors. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/01...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
For decades, much of the world accepted America as the head of the global order, despite the country’s flaws and errors, "because it did not act solely out of narrow self-interest—much less in the narrow, selfish interest of a single ruler. That era is over," Robert Kagan argues.
Every Nation for Itself
President Trump wants to return to the 19th century’s international order. He will leave America less prosperous—and the whole world less secure.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 4:00 PM
For decades, much of the world accepted America as the head of the global order, despite the country’s flaws and errors, "because it did not act solely out of narrow self-interest—much less in the narrow, selfish interest of a single ruler. That era is over," Robert Kagan argues.
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"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.” Letter from the Birmingham Jail
www.learningforjustice.org
January 19, 2026 at 3:47 PM
"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.” Letter from the Birmingham Jail
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The Global South has entered a new state of vulnerability: algorithmic neo-colonialism.
In the Data Age, Digital Sovereignty is a Decolonization Project
In the age of digital neo-colonialism, the Global South is fighting for data sovereignty as part of a decolonization struggle.
inkstickmedia.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:09 PM
The Global South has entered a new state of vulnerability: algorithmic neo-colonialism.
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"Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize… I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace," Trump wrote in a message to the Norwegian Prime Minister. n.pr/3Zlfzq4
Trump says he's pursuing Greenland after perceived Nobel Peace Prize snub
"Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize… I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace," Trump wrote in a message to the Norwegian Prime Minister.
n.pr
January 19, 2026 at 4:09 PM
"Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize… I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace," Trump wrote in a message to the Norwegian Prime Minister. n.pr/3Zlfzq4
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
This is what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. ICE snatched a human being off of our streets, roughed them up badly, and then pepper sprayed legal observers as they documented it all. This is a daily occurrence happening all throughout Minnesota right now.
January 19, 2026 at 3:46 PM
This is what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. ICE snatched a human being off of our streets, roughed them up badly, and then pepper sprayed legal observers as they documented it all. This is a daily occurrence happening all throughout Minnesota right now.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Anne Applebaum: "Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize." I fully subscribe to this analysis.
Trump’s Letter to Norway Should Be the Last Straw
Will Republicans in Congress ever step in?
www.theatlantic.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Anne Applebaum: "Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him. Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize." I fully subscribe to this analysis.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
At the cemetery historically known as the Field of Mars, a sea of flags snap and ripple in the wind, and names appear faster than the city can make space for them.
The Ukrainian war cemetery that can't stop growing
At the cemetery historically known as the Field of Mars, a sea of flags snap and ripple in the wind, and names appear faster than the city can make space for them.
Photographer Anastasiia Smolienko, ...
kyivindependent.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:41 PM
At the cemetery historically known as the Field of Mars, a sea of flags snap and ripple in the wind, and names appear faster than the city can make space for them.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
When Washington stepped back from feeding the world, others stepped in with strings attached.
The New Food Powers: How China and Russia Are Filling America's Retreat
In January 2025, when the Trump administration froze nearly all foreign aid, more than 1,000 emergency communal kitchens in Sudan shut down within weeks.
warontherocks.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:45 PM
When Washington stepped back from feeding the world, others stepped in with strings attached.