Jacqueline Smith: Hegseth forcing Stripes to toe Pentagon PR line

About the writer: Jaqueline Smith holds a B.A. in journalism from Southern Connecticut State and an M.A. in writing from Wesleyan. She began her career at the Meridian Record-Journal, a Connecticut daily where she worked her way up to city editor and Sunday editor. Before taking the ombudsman post at Stars and Stripes, She moved to the Danbury News-Times, another Connecticut daily, as managing editor.

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 doesn’t want you to hear from me anymore either, about threats to the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes. I’ve been fired.
This happened in the coldest way possible: DA Form 3434 stated that my last day as ombudsman for Stars and Stripes would be April 28 — five days’ notice.
No reason was given. But the form warned, “This action is not grievable.”

No one should be surprised that the Pentagon is kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting the editorial independence of the newspaper serving our troops. For nearly a year now, Pentagon leadership has also been placing more and more restrictions on the mainstream media.

The New York Times sued. 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. But 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On the same day as the X post, the Pentagon rescinded a process in the Code of Federal Regulations that would have given Stripes legal protection from interference. The move was 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 policy reverted to an outdated, decades-old directive that could be changed on a whim by the DOD. And that’s exactly what it did in an interim policy issued March 9 by Deputy Secretary of Defense/War Steve Feinberg.

The House and Senate Armed Services committees have long had an interest in ensuring unfiltered news went to the troops fighting for our country, believing they deserved to read the truth, not propaganda. So some in Congress objected.

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 warned 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., responded by sending a letter to Feinberg that was also signed by four other Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“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,” they said. “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, saying:

“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.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., also a member of Armed Services, is leading efforts to introduce a bill protecting 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 to Hegseth on April 15, signed by 38 other House members, 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.

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 on board.
This is a critical time for the newspaper to be without an ombudsman who can fight against censorship and control. But 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, though I expected some communication or questions or warnings first. But there was nothing, just Form 3434.

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

I was immensely honored to be chosen as the 13th ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, and the first female. 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 itself.

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.