Pentagon Vows to Save Iconic ‘Stars and Stripes’ Military Newspaper from Itself, Will Bring Back from ‘Woke Distractions’
The Pentagon announced plans to refocus Stars adn Stripes on its core mission of reporting for service members, saying it will be modernized and stripped of what officials called “woke distractions” that hurt morale. Pentagon representative Sean Parnell tweeted the paper will be “custom tailored to our warfighters,” concentrating on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and other military topics, and eliminating reprints and political or DC gossip coverage.
The move prompted pushback from the outlet’s ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, who emphasized the importance of Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence as the basis of its credibility. Veteran reporter Kevin Baron and others warned the Pentagon’s asserted editorial control could be illegal: Congress in the 1990s established a legal firewall intended to protect the paper from direct Pentagon interference. Stars and Stripes, with a history dating to the Civil War and a primary audience of overseas service members, receives about half its budget from the Department of War and its staff are classified as department employees, but its mission statement affirms editorial independence and First Amendment principles.
The announcement has sparked a debate over how to balance modernization, morale, and military priorities with legally protected press independence for a long-standing military publication.
The storied military publication Stars and Stripes will be making war on “woke,” according to the Pentagon.
“The Department of War is returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters,” Pentagon representative Sean Parnell posted on X.
“We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” the post added.
“Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”
The post said content will be overhauled.
STATEMENT:
The Department of War is returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.
We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale,…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) January 15, 2026
“No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints,” the post said.
“Stars & Stripes has a proud legacy of reporting news that’s important to our service members. The Department of War is committed to ensuring the outlet continues to reflect that proud legacy.”
Jacqueline Smith, the outlet’s ombudsman, meanwhile insisted there is nothing “woke” about Stars and Stripes.
“I think it’s very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” Smith said, according to PBS.
Journalist Kevin Baron also fired back in response to a Stars and Stripes post that said the Pentagon would assume control of editorial content.
So this is illegal. Stars & Stripes is protected from Pentagon interference by law. I know. I was a Stripes reporter for three years. I’m available for comment. https://t.co/cwaAoTKAqx
— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) January 15, 2026
“So this is illegal. Stars & Stripes is protected from Pentagon interference by law. I know. I was a Stripes reporter for three years,” he posted on X.
Stars and Stripes, which has existed in some form since the Civil War era, has published since World War II with its chief audience being service members posted overseas, according to CBS.
About half of its budget comes from the Department of War, and staffers are considered War Department employees.
The mission statement of Stars and Stripes says it is “editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command” and that it is “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”
Congress sought to create a firewall between military leaders and the publications in the 1990s to limit Pentagon involvement in content decisions.
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