The Department of Defense dismissed the publisher, editor, and a reporter from the military newspaper Stars and Stripes on August 21. The personnel changes followed the publication of reports regarding living conditions on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The newspaper had documented food and water shortages, plumbing issues, and mental health concerns among sailors deployed since November.
Stars and Stripes is a daily tabloid that has been published continuously since World War II and is partially funded by the Department of Defense. While a 1993 department directive stated the paper must provide a free flow of news without censorship, the Pentagon ended this policy in January. Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell stated via social media that the department would "modernize" the outlet and "refocus its content away from woke distractions."
Under the new directives, Stars and Stripes is prohibited from publishing content from The Associated Press, a global nonpartisan news service. Additionally, the paper's ombudsman was fired in June after warning that the new policies threatened the publication's editorial independence. The former ombudsman subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department.
The personnel and policy changes specifically impact civilian employees within the Department of Defense who manage the newspaper's editorial content. Under the new "modernization" plan, the department now holds the authority to manage news flow and prohibit the reporting of unfavorable events. This shift represents a departure from the 33-year-old directive that previously prohibited the "calculated withholding of unfavorable news" from service members.
The dismissal of the ombudsman and the subsequent lawsuit will likely test the legal boundaries of the Pentagon's control over the publication's editorial independence. The lawsuit, filed in June, remains ongoing. Future oversight may depend on the next presidential administration in 2029, as current President Donald Trump has actively sought to reduce federal funding for other media outlets like NPR, PBS, and Voice of America. Currently, the Defense Department maintains its new policy of refocusing content to serve a "new generation of service members."