politics
Pentagon Memo Adds Restrictions on Stars and Stripes Content
The Defense Department rescinded a regulation protecting editorial independence and issued new limits on the military newspaper. Two advisory board members sued, and the former ombudsman was fired after publishing a column.
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The Pentagon ended a federal regulation that required Stars and Stripes to operate without news management or censorship in January. A March 2026 memo from the deputy secretary of defense then barred the paper from running comics and stories from paid wire services.
Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said the changes made it more difficult to cover breaking news. The memo also stated that content must be consistent with good order and discipline of the military.
Two members of the paper's advisory board filed a lawsuit accusing the Defense Department of violating the First Amendment. The Pentagon declined an interview request, citing ongoing litigation. Former ombudsman Jacqueline Smith wrote a column in April that referenced the restrictions and was fired two weeks later. Smith has filed a separate lawsuit challenging her dismissal.
Stripes was first published during the Civil War and revived in World War I. It reaches an average of 1.4 million readers daily, mostly online, and continues a print edition for service members in areas with limited internet access. Slavin stated that replacing independent reporting with Pentagon-written content would cross a line he would not accept.
