The Department of Defense launched a sneak attack last month on one of the American military’s proudest legacies — the editorially independent news organization Stars and Stripes. The top leadership of the world’s strongest military is so afraid of Stripes’ long record of truthful reporting to service members that they are blowing up its historic free press mission and dictating what it can publish and not publish.
The victims will be the American military community, especially overseas — service members, families, civilian Department of Defense employees, contractors and veterans who benefit from Stripes’ “local” coverage of their special world. In place of impartial news and accountability, they will get the company line — or worse. As Gen. Dwight Eisenhower told brass-hat critics of Stripes in World War II, “It must be kept free of censorship or propaganda. Its purpose is to tell the truth — good or bad — to the men and women who serve.”
This fresh attack flagrantly ignores the will of Congress, which years ago mandated that Stripes deliver a free flow of news and information to readers without command interference or censorship. Those who regard the free press as “the enemy of the people” believe they can rewrite Stripes’ legal charter overnight by decree — without notice, without Congress, without public input, without shame for destroying what should be a source of pride.
Before irreparable damage is done, Congress must assert its authority and apply bipartisan leverage. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has joined other senators in challenging this hostile takeover. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Jennifer Kiggans, R-2nd, a member of that committee, must also defend Stripes’ independence.
Likewise, an urgent challenge must be taken to court to block the Pentagon’s arbitrary and unlawful cancellation of the regulation that for decades has defined and governed Stripes’ independent operations. For such a change, the Administrative Procedure Act requires formal public notice, explanation, public comment and rational consideration — none of which is satisfied by a Pentagon social media tweet.
On Jan. 15, top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declared on X, “Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”
Parnell must not read Stars and Stripes. It already covers “ALL THINGS MILITARY” — everything he names, and much more, on stripes.com, on its mobile app, in daily e-mails, and in a print edition prized by service members on remote deployments with limited or no digital access. In addition to stories for and about trigger-pullers, a complete news report tailored to the American military community must deliver news — good and bad — about other elements of military life. Stripes readers are informed about housing conditions, Defense Department schools their kids attend, health care gaps overseas, unfair taxation by host countries, and many more issues. Without Stripes, such local stories from bases around the world go unreported.
As citizens, readers benefit from Stripes’ coverage of military topics in Congress, plus national and international news curated from wire services, such as the Associated Press. Readers don’t see gossip columns or what Parnell’s post calls “woke distractions” — unless he means verified news accounts about such subjects as sexual assault in the military or racism in the ranks.
Parnell’s post addressed no operational details, and follow-up requests have gone unanswered since. The Daily Wire cited unnamed Defense officials that the department would provide half of the content of the “refocused” Stripes. That’s like your local newspaper letting the mayor spoon-feed half of its reporting about your city; it would kill credibility.
Stars and Stripes serves the American military community with the spirit and knowledge of a reliable local news organization — except its “local” community is spread around the globe, united by shared commitment, experience and sacrifice. That special American community should not suffer the insult of having its independent, impartial and credible news organization turned into a mouthpiece for this administration or any other.
Ernie Gates of Williamsburg is a former ombudsman for Stars and Stripes and a member of its Publisher’s Advisory Board. He is the former editor of the Daily Press.
