Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes’ independence watchdog

The Pentagon recently ousted the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes’ ombudsman, the person meant to monitor the outlet’s editorial independence and report concerns to Congress. 

“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,” Jacqueline Smith, wrote Thursday in an opinion piece published in the newspaper.

Smith said that Defense officials gave no reason for her ouster, set officially for April 28, and that she was told the action “is not grievable.” 

The ombudsman role for the publication, which Smith took on in December 2023, is meant to serve as a watchdog monitoring the paper’s independence. Congress created the position in 1991 after military personnel in the late 1980s attempted on multiple occasions to suppress unfavorable news of the Iran-Contra affair and other issues, she wrote, adding that the ombudsman must report to lawmakers 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,” Smith wrote.

“No........

© The Hill