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!
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
The new National Security Strategy of the U.S. contains some pretty explicit white nationalism:
“We want to support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of
Europe, while restoring Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity.”
“We want to support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of
Europe, while restoring Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity.”
December 5, 2025 at 5:02 AM
The new National Security Strategy of the U.S. contains some pretty explicit white nationalism:
“We want to support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of
Europe, while restoring Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity.”
“We want to support our allies in preserving the freedom and security of
Europe, while restoring Europe’s civilizational self-confidence and Western identity.”
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Hear his words. This is war in its hilarity, it's gruesomeness, it's plainness.
War is evil, but it is also human. Accordingly all of humanities vices and virtues are on display. This man manages to encapsulate all of it in just a few minutes.
War is evil, but it is also human. Accordingly all of humanities vices and virtues are on display. This man manages to encapsulate all of it in just a few minutes.
@hoosierhomer.bsky.social It gets funny and then something else happens.
www.instagram.com/reel/DO6tMSg...
www.instagram.com/reel/DO6tMSg...
Witness to War Foundation on Instagram: "Don Worrell (I Company, 291st Regiment, 75th Infantry Division) recalls a moment of both humor and horror while in Aachen, Germany, as he and a fellow soldier ...
A Witness to War: WWII Combat Stories is proud to share this incredible story of camaraderie, courage, and the unpredictable nature of war. Join us on a journey through the memories of a WWII veteran ...
www.instagram.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Hear his words. This is war in its hilarity, it's gruesomeness, it's plainness.
War is evil, but it is also human. Accordingly all of humanities vices and virtues are on display. This man manages to encapsulate all of it in just a few minutes.
War is evil, but it is also human. Accordingly all of humanities vices and virtues are on display. This man manages to encapsulate all of it in just a few minutes.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Governments' reliance on defense firms is eroding sovereignty, security, and accountability, as the Ukraine war shows.
For @carnegieendowment.org, Emily Bienvenue, Maryanne Kelton, Zac Rogers, Michael Sullivan, and @warmatters.bsky.social explain this new character of war.
For @carnegieendowment.org, Emily Bienvenue, Maryanne Kelton, Zac Rogers, Michael Sullivan, and @warmatters.bsky.social explain this new character of war.
Private Tech Companies, the State, and the New Character of War
Ukraine’s war offers a window into how governments’ growing reliance on defense firms is eroding national sovereignty, security, and accountability.
carnegieendowment.org
December 4, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Governments' reliance on defense firms is eroding sovereignty, security, and accountability, as the Ukraine war shows.
For @carnegieendowment.org, Emily Bienvenue, Maryanne Kelton, Zac Rogers, Michael Sullivan, and @warmatters.bsky.social explain this new character of war.
For @carnegieendowment.org, Emily Bienvenue, Maryanne Kelton, Zac Rogers, Michael Sullivan, and @warmatters.bsky.social explain this new character of war.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Skeptics see Maginot 2.0. The reality? A modern system built to slow, expose, and punish aggression.
Europe’s New Lines of Defense Are Not Maginot 2.0
Across Europe, nations have signaled a desire to dig, wire, and network their frontiers. From the Baltic Defense Line and the European Union’s proposed
warontherocks.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Skeptics see Maginot 2.0. The reality? A modern system built to slow, expose, and punish aggression.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing scrutiny over an attack on an alleged drug boat. His response included a parody of the kids' book character Franklin, showing the turtle firing at boats. n.pr/4iI8PLR
'Franklin' publisher slams Hegseth for his post of the turtle firing on drug boats
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing scrutiny over an attack on an alleged drug boat. His response included a parody of the kids' book character Franklin, showing the turtle firing at boats.
n.pr
December 2, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing scrutiny over an attack on an alleged drug boat. His response included a parody of the kids' book character Franklin, showing the turtle firing at boats. n.pr/4iI8PLR
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
As always, if you’re a federal worker or someone in tech and you want to talk, you can find me on Signal with a non-work phone at Vittoria89.82
SCOOP from me + @makenakelly.bsky.social: despite recent reports, DOGE isn’t dead—it’s actually everywhere. @wired.com
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
www.wired.com/story/what-i...
DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now
Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.
www.wired.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM
As always, if you’re a federal worker or someone in tech and you want to talk, you can find me on Signal with a non-work phone at Vittoria89.82
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
I really hope we don't have a repeat of the Abu Ghraib prosecution where only enlisted people got sent to prison, officers were given immunity to get higher ups who got off and the prosecutions didn't go any higher.
Entire Chain of Command Could Be Held Liable for Killing Boat Strike Survivors, Sources Say
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s actions could spark investigations for war crimes or outright murder, sources told The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2025/12/02/h...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s actions could spark investigations for war crimes or outright murder, sources told The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2025/12/02/h...
Entire Chain of Command Could Be Held Liable for Killing Boat Strike Survivors, Sources Say
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s actions could spark investigations for war crimes or outright murder, sources told The Intercept.
theintercept.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I really hope we don't have a repeat of the Abu Ghraib prosecution where only enlisted people got sent to prison, officers were given immunity to get higher ups who got off and the prosecutions didn't go any higher.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
I wrote about the dirty, demeaning, absolutely booming business of turning something like a shitty bigoted college essay into a shitty public career as a bigot, and also estimated how old Marine Todd would be today. defector.com/the-conserva...
The Conservative Grievance Business Is Always Hiring | Defector
Given his age when he first came to the world’s attention and assuming continued good health in the intervening decade and change, Marine Todd would be in his late 30s today. That would be if he was a...
defector.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I wrote about the dirty, demeaning, absolutely booming business of turning something like a shitty bigoted college essay into a shitty public career as a bigot, and also estimated how old Marine Todd would be today. defector.com/the-conserva...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Excellent piece. “…What are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?”
How wretched that so many people acknowledge this truth, yet so few are the ways to remedy the problem.
How wretched that so many people acknowledge this truth, yet so few are the ways to remedy the problem.
“'Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?' Augustine made this suggestion in The City of God. In the country of Trump, we’re getting a convincing demonstration. Justice has been removed and a gang of criminals are in charge."
www.thebulwark.com/p/sex-crimes...
www.thebulwark.com/p/sex-crimes...
Sex Crimes. State Crimes. War Crimes.
We’re detecting a pattern with this administration.
www.thebulwark.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Excellent piece. “…What are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?”
How wretched that so many people acknowledge this truth, yet so few are the ways to remedy the problem.
How wretched that so many people acknowledge this truth, yet so few are the ways to remedy the problem.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Steve Cousineau, The New Yorker
November 30, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Steve Cousineau, The New Yorker
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
November 29, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Here’s our latest salvo of RESOURCES, TIPS, and MARKETS for writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scholarship, and more!
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
November 30, 2025 at 3:30 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!
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
Find all our November 2025 stories here (1/3):
www.aimingcircle.com/2025/11/a-ro...
#milwriters #veterans #milfamilies #militarylife
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Thought experiment: January 2021 we tell all our Afghan interpreters and security forces and etc none of them will get refugee status - they're staying in Afghanistan forever. How does this affect the next eight months of US withdrawal?
"we should have screwed over all the locals we recruited to help us" should work out great next time we're in a conflict.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Thought experiment: January 2021 we tell all our Afghan interpreters and security forces and etc none of them will get refugee status - they're staying in Afghanistan forever. How does this affect the next eight months of US withdrawal?
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
It’s really funny how a generation will roll its eyes at parents who watch Fox News but doesn’t see why being immersed in Twitter is having the same effect. Lots of serious people show up on Fox News too but that shouldn’t be your primary source on the news.
November 27, 2025 at 9:52 AM
It’s really funny how a generation will roll its eyes at parents who watch Fox News but doesn’t see why being immersed in Twitter is having the same effect. Lots of serious people show up on Fox News too but that shouldn’t be your primary source on the news.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
RESILIENCE = RESISTANCE !!! For readers and writers of modern military life & what comes after! Great reads & gifts!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
@bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
@bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
November 27, 2025 at 4:36 PM
RESILIENCE = RESISTANCE !!! For readers and writers of modern military life & what comes after! Great reads & gifts!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
@bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
@bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
“In June, when Steve Beynon learned that a Canadian media company called Valnet was buying his employer, Military DOT com, he had no idea what that meant. “And then I googled them,” Beynon said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, this is the worst-case scenario.’”
www.cjr.org/feature/mili...
www.cjr.org/feature/mili...
The vanquishing of Military.com.
Former staffers say a new owner dealt the respected publication a death blow when service members and veterans needed it most.
www.cjr.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:56 PM
“In June, when Steve Beynon learned that a Canadian media company called Valnet was buying his employer, Military DOT com, he had no idea what that meant. “And then I googled them,” Beynon said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, this is the worst-case scenario.’”
www.cjr.org/feature/mili...
www.cjr.org/feature/mili...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
"ON WARS ... & AFTER-WARS!"
For readers and writers of modern military life! Great reads & gifts for those who serve, and those whose lives are touched by military service!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, @bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
For readers and writers of modern military life! Great reads & gifts for those who serve, and those whose lives are touched by military service!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, @bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
November 26, 2025 at 7:46 PM
"ON WARS ... & AFTER-WARS!"
For readers and writers of modern military life! Great reads & gifts for those who serve, and those whose lives are touched by military service!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, @bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
For readers and writers of modern military life! Great reads & gifts for those who serve, and those whose lives are touched by military service!
Available worldwide via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, @bookshop.org, and indie booksellers!
Round-up link: amzn.to/3MbKf9X
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
As Washington warms to Islamabad, an old concern arises. Is supporting Pakistan’s F-16s still worth the risk? (Members Only)
Washington’s Risky Bet on Pakistan and the F-16
In 2022, Sajjan Gohel and Marcus Andreopolous wrote “The F-16 and Nuclear Security: The Fault Lines in the U.S.-Pakistani Relationship,” where they argued
warontherocks.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:15 PM
As Washington warms to Islamabad, an old concern arises. Is supporting Pakistan’s F-16s still worth the risk? (Members Only)
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Tulsi continues her descent into cartoon character craziness. www.thedailybeast.com/tulsi-gabbar...
Gabbard Goons’ Chaotic Hunt for Secret CIA Files Exposed
And no, they weren’t the Epstein files.
www.thedailybeast.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Tulsi continues her descent into cartoon character craziness. www.thedailybeast.com/tulsi-gabbar...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Not the New York Times op-ed by Bret Stephens pushing for regime change!
War in Venezuela, Brought to You By the Same People Who Lied Us Into Iraq
Washington is making big claims to make the case for U.S. intervention. We’ve heard all these arguments before.
theintercept.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Not the New York Times op-ed by Bret Stephens pushing for regime change!
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Social media platforms are retreating from proactive content moderation, creating conditions ripe for state repression and digital authoritarianism.
An investigation by Internet Sans Frontieres and the KenSafeSpace coalition reveals how this is playing out in Kenya, writes Julie Owono:
An investigation by Internet Sans Frontieres and the KenSafeSpace coalition reveals how this is playing out in Kenya, writes Julie Owono:
The Global Retreat from Content Moderation Is Endangering Free Expression: Kenya Shows Why
By abandoning proactive content moderation, platforms are accelerating a global slide toward censorship — the very outcome they claim to oppose.
www.justsecurity.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Social media platforms are retreating from proactive content moderation, creating conditions ripe for state repression and digital authoritarianism.
An investigation by Internet Sans Frontieres and the KenSafeSpace coalition reveals how this is playing out in Kenya, writes Julie Owono:
An investigation by Internet Sans Frontieres and the KenSafeSpace coalition reveals how this is playing out in Kenya, writes Julie Owono:
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
“People who work with Putin know that the main thing for him is always his image, and that in an effort to save face, he — the leader of a nuclear power — won’t stop at anything,” journalist @faridaily_ tells Meduza.
Journalist Farida Rustamova explains how Russia’s elites went from dreading war to fearing peace — Meduza
In his 2024 state-of-the-nation address, Vladimir Putin declared that the word “elite” had lost much of its credibility. “Those who have done nothing for society and consider themselves a caste with s...
meduza.io
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 PM
“People who work with Putin know that the main thing for him is always his image, and that in an effort to save face, he — the leader of a nuclear power — won’t stop at anything,” journalist @faridaily_ tells Meduza.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
The illusion of peacemaking with Vladimir Putin. A very good explanation of what Putin is up to.
Putin to End Hostilities? Think Again
Ukraine may be Russia’s primary military target, but the regime has a much broader range of enemies, such as NATO.
cepa.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The illusion of peacemaking with Vladimir Putin. A very good explanation of what Putin is up to.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
every single thing hegseth says in public reveals a bottomless pit of insecurity
When you draw a platoon leader like Hegseth, it’s your worst nightmare. You just ride it out until he’s gone and gets replaced by someone who isn’t a complete jackass. Only a fool like Trump would put one of them in charge of the entire defense department.
November 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
every single thing hegseth says in public reveals a bottomless pit of insecurity