Department of War Intends to De-Woke Stars & Stripes

The few times this editor has done a post on Stars & Stripes, he's been struck by how left-wing it is. President Donald Trump obviously had respect for the publication:

The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch. It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2020

This goes back to 2021, but we published a post on a Nation of Islam follower who killed a Capitol Police officer with his car and attacked another with a knife before being gunned down. In true "austere religious scholar" fashion, here's how Stars & Stripes described the cop-killer:

Noah Green, who was in his early 20s, was remembered as a stalwart defensive back on the Christopher Newport University football team before he slid into deep religiousness and paranoia that left family and friends concerned about his mental state. https://t.co/pvatXdjWcO
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) April 3, 2021

What?

Now, the Department of War has announced that it's going to root the "woke" out of the publication.

STATEMENT:

The Department of War is returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters.

We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale,…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) January 15, 2026

… and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members.
Stars & Stripes will be custom-tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.
Stars & Stripes has a proud legacy of reporting news that’s important to our service members. The Department of War is committed to ensuring the outlet continues to reflect that proud legacy.

No more Associated Press reprints? That's a huge win right there.

Fantastic! It’s been a liberal rag for years!
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) January 15, 2026

Much needed, thanks.
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) January 15, 2026

Awesome… remember it well and it’s very needed for our troops.
— Diane 🇺🇸 America First (@Lowcountry1Girl) January 15, 2026

For the last 15 years, @starsandstripes has been the most leftwing media outlet in the English language.
— ReporterMcCabe (@ReporterMcCabe) January 15, 2026

Long overdue! As bad as NPR/PBS!
— SailorB (@skipper1184) January 15, 2026

Good.

Nothing woke should exist within or surrounding our military.

Including woke individuals, regardless of their rank.
— MAGA_Cat (@_maga_cat_) January 16, 2026

Good! It became complete trash!
— My Sons Call Me Helga (@fee_mum) January 15, 2026

Thank goodness - I had quit reading it years ago.
— WVJewels 🇺🇸 (@WVJewels) January 16, 2026

Covering itself, Stripes notes:

"The statement appears to challenge the editorial independence of @starsandstripes, which...has long retained independence from editorial oversight from the Pentagon under a congressional mandate that it be governed by First Amendment principles." https://t.co/wXCwSOAzFa
— Konstantin Toropin (@KToropin) January 15, 2026

This is the way. The two week old Stars and Stripes copies making their way to us in Iraq in 2003 were the connection back home but also around the world.

Somewhere they lost their way and I am looking forward to seeing a return to their proper mission.
— Eric🎙️ (@ThereWBBourbon) January 15, 2026