January 22, 2026 / Emily Graham  -  Moms shape children’s earliest ideas about conflict long before a kid can explain what “war” even is. The toys we buy, the jokes we laugh at, and the stories we put on in the background quietly teach what problems “look like” and how people “solve” them. When play is saturated with enemies, domination, and “win by force,” kids can start treating antagonism as the default script—regardless of gender. The good news: you don’t need a perfect home or a screen-free childhood to steer play toward creativity, mutual care, cooperation, and emotional awareness. Small, repeatable choices—made consistently—add up.

A quick snapshot you can use today is that the aim is to reduce play patterns that normalize violence or enemies as entertainment. The idea is to replace them with play that builds imagination, teamwork, repair, and empathy. When you do that, kids still get excitement and challenge, but their “problem-solving reflex” becomes collaboration instead of conquest.

Amid an ICE crackdown in her area, an Oregon National Guard recruiter offers U.S. citizens a way to save their immigrant parents.

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Jan. 12, 2026 / Greg Jaffe / New York Times - Greg Jaffe spent eight days in The Dalles, Ore., with a recruiter from the Oregon National Guard. She believed that the key to being a good recruiter was not just selling the military and its benefits, but herself. Sgt. First Class Rosa Cortez wanted potential recruits to notice the pictures of her smiling children, her college diploma and the awards she had earned in the course of her nearly 20 years with the Oregon National Guard.

Her goal was to “radiate positivity,” she said. “People will see it and want to align with you.”

Lately though, she, along with hundreds of other recruiters around the country, had been offering something else: protection from the government she served.

President Trump’s second term has been defined by an extensive crackdown on undocumented immigrants that has set off waves of fear in places with large Hispanic populations. In many of these areas, a little-known government program called Parole in Place has become a refuge of last resort and a powerful recruiting tool.

Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to enlist in the military. The Parole in Place program, launched in 2013, provides the undocumented parents and spouses of service members protection from deportation, and an expedited pathway to permanent residency.

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January 09, 2026 / NNOMY staff / National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth - Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the conservative youth‑mobilization organization founded by Charlie Kirk, has dramatically expanded its presence in American high schools. While this development is often framed as a political or cultural phenomenon, its implications reach far beyond partisan organizing. TPUSA’s school‑based activities intersect with a broader national trend toward youth militarization, particularly under the Trump 2.0 administration, which has embraced policies that expand JROTC, increase recruiter access, and embed military programs more deeply into public education. This report examines how TPUSA’s presence in high schools contributes to a cultural, institutional, and political environment that increases the likelihood of military enlistment among young people. Drawing on academic research, independent media, and counter‑recruitment scholarship, it argues that TPUSA’s expansion is not merely a political project but a structural shift that places high‑school students at heightened risk of recruitment.

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January 08, 2026 / NNOMY staff / National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth - For decades, the decision to join the U.S. military was often framed as a clear-cut path to stable benefits and a way to serve a non-partisan national interest. However, as of 2026, the landscape has shifted. With the "Trump 2.0" administration aggressively reshaping the Department of Defense (DoD), many potential recruits and their families are questioning whether the current environment aligns with the traditional "warrior ethos."

In early 2026, the traditional pitch for military service—defending the Constitution, securing global stability, and upholding a non-partisan honor code—has undergone a jarring metamorphosis. Under the "Trump 2.0" administration, the Department of Defense is no longer merely a shield for the nation; it has been refashioned into an instrument of unilateral executive will that frequently operates outside the boundaries of international law. For a young American standing at a recruiting station today, the decision to enlist is no longer a simple act of patriotism. It is an entry into a legal and ethical "grey zone" where the consequences of one’s actions may follow them long after they hang up the uniform.

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Jan 5, 2026 / Kelsey Baker / businessinsider.com - Recruiting new Marines can be so challenging in parts of the US that some recruiters have resorted to fraud to meet their monthly goals.

Business Insider obtained a 2023 Marine Corps investigation into one area of the Rust Belt that found widespread rule-breaking, including fabricated police records and fake medical notes. Two recruiters who were fired as part of the probe spoke to Business Insider about the pressures of recruiting and what drove them to fake records. One of them, Staff Sgt. Calvin Grimes, shared a collection of electronic templates that helped fellow recruiters forge doctors' notes, high school diplomas, and other documents.

"You have to live with that feeling that your heart's beating out of your chest ready to explode," former Gunnery Sgt. Logan Krivak said of falsifying records. "You know it's wrong, and you just have to live with that."

Overall, 10 Marines who recruited in the region between 2018 and 2024 told Business Insider they faced a desperate struggle to hit their quotas of signing up two new recruits each month. Five admitted to taking shortcuts or falsifying records. The others said they knew fraud was happening within recruiting ranks. In 2021, all the leaders in one recruiting hub were relieved for fraud, or for failing to catch it, sources told Business Insider.

The Rust Belt issues spotlight a problem that persists in some areas today, recruiters told Business Insider.