Jacqueline Smith, the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, has been fired from her position protecting the newspaper's editorial independence. She received DA Form 3434 notifying her that her last day would be April 28, 2026, with no reason provided and marked "not grievable." The notice came from the office of Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, who had announced a "refocus" of the newspaper in January.

The Pentagon moved to strip Stars and Stripes of its legal protections on the same day Parnell posted his announcement. They rescinded the regulatory process in the Federal Register that had provided the paper protection from interference, bypassing public comment requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act. Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg issued an interim policy on March 9 replacing those protections with outdated directives. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal objected, and 38 House members backed Rep. Jamie Raskin's letter to Hegseth six days before Smith's termination.

Congress created the ombudsman role in 1991 specifically to shield Stars and Stripes from military interference, after concerns about suppression of Iran-Contra coverage. Smith's three-year term was set to expire at year's end, yet the Pentagon pushed her out mid-term anyway. The paper has provided independent journalism to deployed troops since World War I, and this dismissal raises serious questions about the future of press freedom within the Defense Department.