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
Pinned
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
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
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Meet “Charlie Sherpa” @fobhaiku.bsky.social, the GWOT mil-blogger who originated the “Sherpatudes”!
Part lessons-learned guy & unit historian, part war poet, part “brigade staff jester”! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—you just might learn something to boot!
FIND ALL HIS BOOKS:
amzn.to/3Kd6kUU
Part lessons-learned guy & unit historian, part war poet, part “brigade staff jester”! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—you just might learn something to boot!
FIND ALL HIS BOOKS:
amzn.to/3Kd6kUU
November 25, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Meet “Charlie Sherpa” @fobhaiku.bsky.social, the GWOT mil-blogger who originated the “Sherpatudes”!
Part lessons-learned guy & unit historian, part war poet, part “brigade staff jester”! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—you just might learn something to boot!
FIND ALL HIS BOOKS:
amzn.to/3Kd6kUU
Part lessons-learned guy & unit historian, part war poet, part “brigade staff jester”! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—you just might learn something to boot!
FIND ALL HIS BOOKS:
amzn.to/3Kd6kUU
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Military Families—we see you! @lisasticepoet.bsky.social is a poet, editor, literary activist, mother, military spouse, and the author of multiple full-length poetry collections!
FIND ALL HER BOOKS HERE:
amzn.to/48gYrpu
FIND ALL HER BOOKS HERE:
amzn.to/48gYrpu
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Military Families—we see you! @lisasticepoet.bsky.social is a poet, editor, literary activist, mother, military spouse, and the author of multiple full-length poetry collections!
FIND ALL HER BOOKS HERE:
amzn.to/48gYrpu
FIND ALL HER BOOKS HERE:
amzn.to/48gYrpu
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
This should enrage everyone.
Kelly didn’t do anything wrong here, and he certainly didn’t do anything worthy of a court martial
Kelly didn’t do anything wrong here, and he certainly didn’t do anything worthy of a court martial
Hegseth is now threatening to recall Sen. Mark Kelly to active duty in order to court martial him.
November 24, 2025 at 5:56 PM
This should enrage everyone.
Kelly didn’t do anything wrong here, and he certainly didn’t do anything worthy of a court martial
Kelly didn’t do anything wrong here, and he certainly didn’t do anything worthy of a court martial
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
Hegseth responded to Kelly telling the military not to obey illegal orders by . . . illegally ordering the military to investigate Kelly.
apnews.com/article/pent...
apnews.com/article/pent...
Pentagon says it's investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders'
The Pentagon says that it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S. t...
apnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Hegseth responded to Kelly telling the military not to obey illegal orders by . . . illegally ordering the military to investigate Kelly.
apnews.com/article/pent...
apnews.com/article/pent...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
"Sarita Hernandez and Selva Zafiro, co-founders of Marimacha Monarca Press in McKinley Park, were working at a community art event when members of the Southwest Rapid Response team—part of the immigrant coalition—approached them with an idea."
Signs across Chicago mark locations of ICE arrests
Signs resembling temporary no parking notices serve as reminders for the thousands of people arrested by federal immigration authorities under "Operation Midway Blitz" and the pain left behind for lov...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
"Sarita Hernandez and Selva Zafiro, co-founders of Marimacha Monarca Press in McKinley Park, were working at a community art event when members of the Southwest Rapid Response team—part of the immigrant coalition—approached them with an idea."
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
RFKJr discredits the research and conclusions of CDC on its own website, posting ani-vaxxer bullshit. The revisions show that the “CDC cannot currently be trusted as a scientific voice,” said Demetre Daskalakis, who led the agency’s center responsible for respiratory viruses and immunizations.
CDC in turmoil after agency backpedals on debunking vaccines-autism link
The CDC’s website now says health authorities ignored evidence of a potential connection between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies showing no link.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
RFKJr discredits the research and conclusions of CDC on its own website, posting ani-vaxxer bullshit. The revisions show that the “CDC cannot currently be trusted as a scientific voice,” said Demetre Daskalakis, who led the agency’s center responsible for respiratory viruses and immunizations.
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
The top U.S. envoy to NATO said that he is eager for a German general to eventually take command of all allied forces, a job that has been held by an American officer since the bloc’s founding nearly 80 years ago.
www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...
www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...
US ambassador wants Germany to take over NATO commander role
The U.S. NATO envoy supports a German general taking command of all allied forces, a job that has been held by an American officer.
www.stripes.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The top U.S. envoy to NATO said that he is eager for a German general to eventually take command of all allied forces, a job that has been held by an American officer since the bloc’s founding nearly 80 years ago.
www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...
www.stripes.com/theaters/eur...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
I’m breaking my “no Xmas before Thanksgiving” rule: my #ManeuverWarfare #cardgame from @thedietzfoundation.bsky.social is a great stocking stuffer for the #wargamer in your life. Crunchy like a big game but slides into your cargo pocket—or stocking!
dietzfoundation-org.square.site/product/mane...
dietzfoundation-org.square.site/product/mane...
November 20, 2025 at 2:44 PM
I’m breaking my “no Xmas before Thanksgiving” rule: my #ManeuverWarfare #cardgame from @thedietzfoundation.bsky.social is a great stocking stuffer for the #wargamer in your life. Crunchy like a big game but slides into your cargo pocket—or stocking!
dietzfoundation-org.square.site/product/mane...
dietzfoundation-org.square.site/product/mane...
Reposted by The Aiming Circle
New from me:
Kash Patel is engaged in purges, removal of real accountability, and impunity for loyalists at the FBI.
Researchers told me that these are the exact patterns that create abusive national security organizations under authoritarianism. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...
Kash Patel is engaged in purges, removal of real accountability, and impunity for loyalists at the FBI.
Researchers told me that these are the exact patterns that create abusive national security organizations under authoritarianism. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...
How the FBI Became the Face of Deprofessionalization
What research tells us about national security under authoritarianism
donmoynihan.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
New from me:
Kash Patel is engaged in purges, removal of real accountability, and impunity for loyalists at the FBI.
Researchers told me that these are the exact patterns that create abusive national security organizations under authoritarianism. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...
Kash Patel is engaged in purges, removal of real accountability, and impunity for loyalists at the FBI.
Researchers told me that these are the exact patterns that create abusive national security organizations under authoritarianism. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...