Pentagon Moves to Tighten Oversight of Stars and Stripes

S. , on Wednesday seeking to block Pentagon efforts to reshape Stars and Stripes. The suit argues the Pentagon violated the Administrative Procedure Act by removing longstanding Stars and Stripes regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations without a public notice-and-comment process.

The deleted regulation had outlined the publication’s operations and independence. Dardarian is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former editor and senior vice president at the Minnesota Star Tribune. Church is executive editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican.

They are represented by Democracy Forward. The lawsuit asks a federal judge to rule the Pentagon’s removal of the regulation unlawful and to block later directives that the plaintiffs say increased Defense Department control over the newspaper. Defense Department leaders announced plans in January to modernize Stars and Stripes, refocus reporting on warfighters, and move away from what officials called woke distractions.

Subsequent directives restricted certain content, limited the use of paid wire services, eliminated comics and other syndicated features, and required content to be consistent with good order and discipline. The Pentagon removed Stars and Stripes Ombudsman Jacqueline Smith in April. Congress created the ombudsman position in 1991 to monitor threats to the free flow of news to service members.

Democratic senators introduced legislation aimed at protecting the publication’s editorial independence after the removal. Stars and Stripes, which is not a party to the lawsuit, issued a statement saying its mission remains rooted in independent journalism for the military community.

“Stars and Stripes has a long-standing mission to provide independent journalism to the military community, and that independence is fundamental to our credibility and our purpose,” the statement said.

The publication added that it acknowledges the concerns raised and remains focused on serving service members and their families with accurate, fact-based reporting. Stars and Stripes traces its roots to the Civil War and has published continuously since World War II.

Though authorized by the Defense Department and staffed largely by civilian journalists who are federal employees, it has long held a unique role in military journalism as a government-supported news organization protected from direct editorial control.