The Pentagon is trying to silence me

A recent opinion column I wrote as the Stars and Stripes ombudsman began with this: “Pete Hegseth doesn’t want you to see cartoons in this newspaper anymore.”

Apparently the Pentagon also doesn’t want you to hear from me anymore about threats to the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes.

They fired me.

This happened in the coldest way possible: DA Form 3434 stated that my last day as ombudsman for Stars and Stripes is April 28. (They have to give five days’ notice.) No reason is given. But: “This action is not grievable.”

No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence. For nearly a year, Pentagon leadership has placed more and more restrictions on the mainstream media. The New York Times sued and when the Defense/War Department lost in court, instead of following the judge’s ruling Secretary Hegseth and company pivoted, finding another way to restrict journalists. The judge rejected that attempt, too.

The laser beam turned to Stars and Stripes on Jan. 15 when Sean Parnell posted on X four paragraphs announcing a “refocus” of the newspaper. Parnell is Assistant to the Secretary of Defense/War (Public Affairs); my firing notice came from his office.

Since his “refocus” post, I’ve been outspoken in my columns, media interviews, talks with national free press groups and communications with Congress about the Pentagon’s moves to take control of Stripes’ content. This administration reveals policy through social media so Parnell’s post had to be taken seriously. On the same day as the X post, the Pentagon rescinded the process in the Code of Federal Regulations that would have given Stripes legal protection from interference. Their move is illegal because there was no opportunity for public comment as required through the Administrative Procedures Act, among other violations. This sounds dry, but it’s important.

Without codifying Stripes’ operation in the Federal Register, the operating policy reverted to an outdated, decades-old directive that could be changed on a whim by the DOD. And that’s exactly what they did in an interim policy issued March 9 by Deputy Secretary of Defense/War Steve Feinberg.

Some in Congress objected.

The House and Senate Armed Services committees have long had an interest in ensuring that unfiltered news went to the troops who are fighting for our country and deserved to read the truth, not propaganda. In the late 1980s Congress was alarmed at attempts of military personnel to “suppress unfavorable news” of the Iran-Contra affair and other issues. Congress mandated that Stars and Stripes be editorially independent and created the position of ombudsman in 1991 to monitor the situation and report to Congress at least once a year.

As required, I have told the House and Senate Armed Services committees in recent months of my great and growing concern about attempted control of the newspaper by the Pentagon.

On April 8, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter signed by four other Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee to Feinberg.

“DoD’s new policy threatens the credibility of Stars and Stripes, and the reliable flow of unbiased news to service members, and contradicts decades of Congressional reforms that guard against censorship at the paper. We urge you to immediately rescind DoD’s new policy and restore editorial independence guaranteed by the First Amendment to Stars and Stripes.”

The five-page letter contains seven questions; to my knowledge, no answers have been provided.

The senators underscored the value of Stripes. “The mission of Stars and Stripes to provide ‘independent news and information to the U.S. military community’ is more important now than ever as tens of thousands of service members are deployed in the Middle East. In times of war and limited access to media, Stars and Stripes is distributed freely to deployed troops — serving as a vital, independent link that keeps service members informed about the government and country for which they put their lives on the line,” the letter states.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also on Armed Services, is leading efforts to introduce a bill that would protect Stripes from censorship. I encourage Republicans on the committee to co-sponsor the bill and show that an independent press — protected by the First Amendment — is not a partisan issue.

The House, too, is concerned. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent a strongly worded letter April 15, signed by 38 other House members, to Hegseth expressing “great alarm” about “reports of political interference with the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes and restrictions placed on members of the Pentagon press corps. …

“The ombudsman is charged with safeguarding the editorial independence of the newspaper and reports directly to Congress, specifically to prevent interference from the Department,” the letter reminds Hegseth. “The current ombudsman has forcefully denounced your Department’s plans for Stars and Stripes in multiple interviews, raising the alarm about your announced changes and their consequences for the news organization. Any effort to censor, influence, control or suppress the paper’s reporting raises profound constitutional and institutional problems.”

Six days later I was fired.

I think that Hegseth and company are trying to get around Congress by not eliminating the position, just getting rid of the outspoken present ombudsman.

It took four months from the time I applied and went through a series of three interviews before I was selected from a field of 20 applicants and brought onboard. This is a critical time for the newspaper to be without an ombudsman who can fight against censorship and control.

Don’t worry about me. I’ve had a long and satisfying career in journalism. I knew there would be perils for speaking out against Pentagon attempts to control the news, but I expected some communication or questions or warning first. Nothing, just Form 3434.

Ironically, my three-year term would have expired at the end of this year anyway. They couldn’t wait.

I was immensely honored to be chosen as the 13th, and first female, ombudsman for Stars and Stripes. I’ve come to appreciate the many talented and dedicated journalists and staff at Stripes — it’s more than a job for them wherever they are stationed around the world. I’ve been fortunate to meet or hear from innumerable veterans, officers and enlisted personnel and military spouses. I’ve even respected the colonels who I tangled with over the rights of Stripes reporters to cover public gatherings on bases.

What you can worry about is the future of Stars and Stripes. This newspaper has a long history of commitment to the military community and to journalistic values. Please don’t let it be controlled by Pentagon brass.