Kudos to CBS Sunday Morning for an informative segment detailing the rich history and current struggles of The Stars and Stripes. Watching it sparked my deep curiosity about the escalating conflict between the independent military newspaper and the Pentagon. As an ordinary citizen who values deep-dive research over emotion-driven content, I wanted to investigate the friction between statutory independence and fiscal leverage.
Here is a look back at how this unique publication came to be, the legal battles it faces today, and why its current vulnerability might be engineered by its very own financial architecture.
The Stars and Stripes: A Look Back
The Stars and Stripes is an official yet editorially independent military newspaper serving U.S. Armed Forces personnel worldwide. While it operates under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Media Activity, it is mandated by law to remain free of military censorship—making it a unique, First Amendment-protected voice for service members.
Its historical journey spans four major eras:
- The Civil War (1861): The paper was born on November 9, 1861, when Union soldiers—who were printers by trade—requisitioned an abandoned printing press in Bloomfield, Missouri. This initial iteration published only four editions as a short-lived regimental novelty.
- World War I (1918–1919): General John J. Pershing authorized reviving the paper in Paris as an eight-page weekly for the American Expeditionary Forces. Staffed entirely by enlisted men, its newsroom featured prominent future journalists like Harold Ross (founder of The New Yorker) and legendary sports writer Grantland Rice.
- World War II (1942–1945): General Dwight D. Eisenhower championed its return to boost morale, famously stating, “A citizen-soldier is entitled to his own newspaper.” Re-established in London in April 1942 as a weekly, it quickly expanded into a daily tabloid. At its peak in 1945, it published dozens of localized editions for millions of service members across the European and Pacific theaters.
- Post-WWII to Present: The Stars and Stripes has remained in continuous publication ever since, launching a Pacific edition in 1945 and a Middle East edition in 2003.
Financial Control: The “Power of the Purse”
To understand why the paper is currently in jeopardy, you have to look at how it is funded. The Stars and Stripes operates as a Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI), utilizing a hybrid financial structure:
- Partial Subsidies: The federal government directly provides 30% to 50% of the paper’s annual budget through taxpayer-appropriated funds. This money primarily covers the incredibly expensive logistics of printing and physically distributing newspapers into global combat zones.
- Self-Generated Revenue: The remaining balance of the operating budget is self-funded through commercial advertising, print subscriptions, and digital access fees.
Because the paper relies heavily on millions of dollars tucked inside federal defense bills to survive, the Executive Branch and Congress hold ultimate financial leverage over its existence. While the Pentagon has attempted to completely defund the newspaper in the past to re-prioritize defense spending, bipartisan interventions by lawmakers have repeatedly restored the subsidies.
The 2026 Conflict: Censorship vs. Modernization
The current legal battles unfolding in federal court stem from aggressive operational updates initiated by the Pentagon. In early 2026, the DOD rescinded long-standing federal regulations guaranteeing that the paper operate “without news management or censorship.”
This was quickly followed by a March 2026 memorandum titled “Modernization of Stars and Stripes Operations.” The directive sought to purge the newspaper of what officials labeled “woke distractions,” refocusing content strictly toward topics like weapons systems, fitness, and lethality. The Pentagon also voiced its intent to shift the paper’s primary authorship to active-duty service members and the Defense Department.
This radical shift has triggered two major federal lawsuits:
1. The Advisory Board Lawsuit (Dardarian v. Department of Defense)
Filed by two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists serving on the newspaper’s publisher advisory board, this suit challenges the strict operational limits imposed by the new memorandum.
- The Government’s Action: Under the new mandate, the Pentagon banned the publication of syndicated Sunday comics and prohibited the newsroom from using paid wire services like the Associated Press (AP News) and Reuters. Furthermore, the memo dictates that all content must be “consistent with good order and discipline of the military”—a phrase traditionally reserved for court-martials.
- The First Amendment Argument: The plaintiffs argue that the DOD is engaging in unconstitutional prior restraint and viewpoint discrimination. They assert that stripping the paper of wire services deliberately blunts its ability to cover breaking, unbiased national security news, effectively forcing it to become a public affairs propaganda machine.
- The Administrative Law Argument: The lawsuit also alleges the Pentagon violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by wiping away decades of regulatory protections arbitrarily, without the legally required public notice, comment period, or newsroom input.
2. The Ombudsman Retaliation Lawsuit (Smith v. Department of Defense)
In April 2026, the Pentagon abruptly terminated Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper’s congressionally mandated ombudsman.
- The Alleged Retaliation: Smith filed a separate lawsuit alleging a direct violation of her First Amendment rights. Her termination came without explanation exactly 10 days after she published an opinion column fiercely criticizing the Pentagon’s new operational restrictions.
- The Core Claim: The suit argues her firing was an illegal, retaliatory act meant to silence the independent watchdog role created by Congress specifically to investigate military interference and report directly to lawmakers.
The Historical Context of Military News Management
This hard-fought history is exactly why the 2026 lawsuits are viewed as a constitutional crisis for the paper. Congress enacted specific laws protecting The Stars and Stripes in 1990 and 1991 precisely because military commanders historically treated the newspaper as a command public relations tool.
- The Vietnam War Era: During the Vietnam War, a severe rift opened between ground journalists and military leadership. Editors faced immense pressure from the chain of command to bury high casualty counts, ignore systemic drug issues among troops, and hide the growing unpopularity of the war. Reporters who resisted were occasionally reassigned to dangerous combat duties or transferred out of theater.
- The Late 1980s Scandals: The breaking point occurred when military personnel repeatedly attempted to censor and suppress unfavorable coverage regarding the Iran-Contra affairs and deep institutional mismanagement. News stories casting doubt on leadership or exposing defense contract corruption were routinely spiked or heavily edited by senior officers.
- The 1988 GAO Investigation: Alarmed by these blatant acts of “news management,” Congress ordered the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate. The GAO confirmed widespread military censorship and undue command influence over editorial decisions.
- The Statutory Mandate & The Ombudsman: In response, Congress legally codified the paper’s freedom via a 1990–1991 statutory mandate requiring complete editorial independence from the chain of command. To enforce this, Congress established the independent ombudsman role in 1991—giving the position a fixed term completely outside the military chain of command to submit unfiltered annual reports directly to Congress.
Today, the Pentagon is actively rolling back the exact regulatory firewalls Congress put in place to end decades of military censorship.
AP News No Longer Welcome & Sunday Comics Banned
As part of the new mandate to refocus the military newspaper away from “woke distractions,” The Stars and Stripes will no longer publish material from AP News or Reuters.
Furthermore, the March 20, 2026 Sunday comics lineup was completely eliminated. That banned lineup consisted of beloved titles including: Beetle Bailey, Doonesbury, Zits, WuMo, Loose Parts, The Other Coast, Marvin, Baldo, Carpe Diem, The Argyle Sweater, Pearls Before Swine, B.C., Over the Hedge, Speed Bump, Strange Brew, Frazz, Garfield, Red and Rover, Crabgrass, JumpStart, and Prickly City.
The Broader Friction: AP News & The Trump Administration
The decision to cut paid wire services from The Stars and Stripes is deeply intertwined with a broader public dispute between the current presidential administration and global news agencies.
The Associated Press has recently been categorized by some media analysts as having a “Left-Leaning Bias.” While the AP’s hard news coverage is historically viewed as centrist and highly factual, its updated editorial guidelines and staff leanings are what tipped the categorization.
However, the very public friction between the current administration and the news agency began with the AP’s refusal to follow White House guidelines ordering journalists to use the term “Gulf of America” rather than “Gulf of Mexico.”
In retaliation, the Trump administration promptly blocked AP journalists from traveling on Air Force One and attending specific pooled White House press events. This restriction led to the Associated Press suing the administration, arguing that stripping White House press credentials based on editorial decisions rather than security or conduct is viewpoint discrimination and violates constitutional press rights.
As of July 2026, AP journalists and photographers can still cover large-scale, general White House press briefings and events in the East Room. However, the AP is currently excluded from close-quarters “pool” reporting, meaning they cannot travel on Air Force One or attend restricted, small-group gatherings with the President. For these events, the AP must rely on secondary footage and shared notes from other news outlets. A final, definitive ruling on the full merits of the AP’s First Amendment lawsuit is still pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals
My Perspective: The Financial Flaw of “Independent” Press
I am no legal expert; I am an ordinary citizen who researches serious subjects. I cite information from a variety of sources: official government sites, law reviews, the SCOTUS blog, court documentation, and various news sources representing different perspectives (right, centrist, left). I present facts and background history, formulate opinions, and strive to minimize emotion-driven content.
(As a side note, I do have a specific “Unfiltered” series on my blog where I write shorter articles and allow my feelings to be woven into the narration. Those articles are always labeled as such. Today’s article is not one of them.)
My take on this situation concerns the paradox between statutory independence (what the law says) and fiscal leverage (who holds the purse strings). The core vulnerability of The Stars and Stripes is not a lack of legal protection, but a fatal flaw in its financial architecture. Congress designed the paper to be editorially independent, yet structurally dependent.
As a Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality, the paper relies on the Pentagon to subsidize its most expensive burden: physical distribution into global combat zones. In any corporate or governmental structure, a backer providing nearly half of the operational budget will eventually demand editorial alignment. Even with a congressional firewall, the executive branch will always view its financial underwriting as a right to executive oversight. True independence cannot be sustained on a subsidized lifeline from the very institution being covered.
Why Sunday Comics Matter to a Soldier
Eliminating all Sunday comics is completely baffling to me.
In all fairness, while I do not condone the decision, I can see how the current administration might take issue with a comic strip like Doonesbury. That comic never shied away from perceived institutional failings and freely directed criticism toward the government. But how can comics like Garfield and Red and Rover be determined as dangerously “woke” cartoons intending to defy military regulations and disrupt combat readiness? Really? I find this astonishing.
I was just an 18-year-old kid myself when I was stationed in Germany for the very first time. I am not ashamed to admit that I looked forward to the Sunday comics. They provided enjoyment and levity, and they helped me feel connected to my home in Michigan, where I had read many of those same Sunday comics every week for years.
The Stars and Stripes made it possible for a very young and green soldier to keep a simple weekly routine as a beloved and welcome respite. Stripping that away ignores the fundamental human needs of the troops on the ground, and one of the most important needs of the troops is morale.
Discussion
What are your thoughts about the DOD mandate eliminating Sunday cartoons and syndicated news articles in The Stars and Stripes? Please feel free to share your opinion, or ask questions in the comments below.
A Note on Community Moderation: I welcome civil debate and differing perspectives. However, dehumanizing language, personal attacks, or misinformation will be removed. Let’s focus on ideas, not insults.
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