In a surprise announcement last week, the Pentagon said it wants Stars and Stripes to “refocus its content away from woke distractions.”
Stars and Stripes is perhaps most famous for being read by frontline G.I.s during World War 2. It can trace its beginnings all the way back to the U.S. Civil War, when it was published by Union troops to boost morale.
The announcement on X, from Hegseth spokesman Sean Parnell, said the Pentagon “is returning Stars and Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.”
The topic of “warfighters” is a frequent one for Hegseth. From demanding better physical fitness to vowing promotions will only be based on merit, he has vowed to make the armed forces a lethal killing force where left-wing ideology is no longer wanted or tolerated.
Parnell similarly stated Stars and Stripes will focus on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints."
Despite half of its annual budget coming from the Pentagon, Stars and Stripes operates as an independent publication that operates without editorial direction from the federal government.
After going digital more than 20 years ago, the Stars and Stripes website advertises an app to receive the top news stories of the day. It also publishes a daily newspaper whose targeted readership is servicemembers stationed overseas in Europe, the Pacific, and the Middle East.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, has documented years of readiness-destroying liberal ideology going back to the Obama. She is also watching Hegseth vow to focus on “warfighters” in uniform, including in Stars and Stripes articles.
“I could certainly see why Hegseth would like more news about that,” she said, “because we're not reading enough about what's really going on in the military. "
Because of the Pentagon funding, Hegseth is "certainly within his rights" to demand changes to its editorial content, Donnelly added.
In a related story at Military.com, the editor in chief at Stars and Stripes said U.S. servicemembers deserve to get their news from a “free and independent press,” a reference to the publication’s independence.
“We are seeking further details on the Pentagon’s intentions,” the editor, Erik Slavin, told Military.com. “We continue to provide accurate and balanced journalism tailored to the military community, and particularly those serving overseas.”
In similar comments, Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith said trust in the content will be “shattered” if servicemembers are reading content that is “dictated” by the public relations office at the Pentagon.
