Stars and Stripes remains under fire from Pentagon, raising red flags about press independence and censorship

Stars and Stripes was never meant to be the Pentagon’s mouthpiece. It exists to serve as an independent voice for those who serve, and for the military families who depend on its reporting to understand the decisions shaping their lives. The Pentagon’s firing of the publication’s publisher, editor and a Middle East reporter now puts that independence, and the trust it has earned over 164 years, in jeopardy. E&P Editor-in-Chief Gretchen A. Peck examines what these actions mean for the future of Stars and Stripes and the people who rely on it.