Overview
- Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the outlet will prioritize warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality and survivability, and will drop Associated Press reprints and “repurposed DC gossip columns.”
- Stars and Stripes leaders and its ombudsman said they were not consulted and warned that the plan appears to challenge the publication’s independence guaranteed under federal law.
- The Pentagon’s announcement followed revelations that USAJobs applications for Stars and Stripes asked how candidates would advance the president’s executive orders, a prompt OPM says is optional and not an ideological test.
- Ombudsman Jacqueline Smith called the hiring question inappropriate for a journalism job and said editorial direction dictated by the department would undermine credibility with service members.
- NOTUS reported, citing Daily Wire sourcing, that officials may use active-duty personnel and department-generated material for roughly half the content, a developing plan the Pentagon has not detailed publicly.