The Department of War intends to shape the independent military publication Stars and Stripes to reflect the ethos of Pete Hegseth‘s Pentagon.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell laid out the Defense Department’s editorial plan in a social media post on Thursday, in which he vowed to bring the paper — which traces its roots to the Civil War — “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,” Parnell wrote on X.
He promised the military outlet, under Pentagon stewardship, “will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”
That, according to Parnell, means giving no print space to “repurposed DC gossip columns” or Associated Press reports.
While the outlet’s publisher didn’t immediately address Parnell’s announcement, Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith was caught off-guard by the Pentagon’s declaration. She also took issue with the content being described as “woke.”
“I think it’s very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” the Connecticut newspaper veteran said.
Smith, whose role was created by Congress decades ago to ensure the publication’s editorial independence, reports to the House Armed Services Committee. Roughly half of Stars and Stripes’ budget is provided by the Pentagon.
Hegseth — a former weekend Fox News host appointed by President Trump to run the Defense Department of — endorsed Parnell’s announcement on X by posting a “100” emoji.
With News Wire Services
