Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has done it again.
As his latest outrage touched off an unprecedented revolt by almost every media outlet covering the Pentagon, I once again was reminded of my own Army days when we called it the “five-sided funhouse,” although not within earshot of the “brass,” our superior officers.
The headquarters of America’s military didn’t sound like much fun as dozens of reporters on the military beat turned in their press passes after major news outlets and some media watchdog groups refused to sign Hegseth’s restrictive new press policy regarding coverage of military affairs.
I could see trouble coming last month after Hegseth’s press office unveiled new rules to sharply restrict reporting, for which military reporters need press credentials to allow physical access to the Pentagon complex.
The most objectionable of the rules forbids reporters from obtaining or using any unauthorized material, even if it is not classified, without permission. Media outlets called that a violation of First Amendment rights. Almost all refused to sign.
The new policies “appear designed to stifle a free press” and “further isolate reporters” who are trying to do their jobs, the Pentagon Press Association, which represents Pentagon beat reporters, said Wednesday in a statement.
“Limiting the media’s ability to report on the U.S. military fails to honor the American families who have entrusted their sons and daughters to serve in it, or the taxpayers responsible for giving the department hundreds of billions of dollars a year,” the statement added.
Understandably, I agree. Yet, as someone who has become accustomed to Hegseth’s past excesses, I sort of saw it coming.
Hegseth signaled as much last month when he addressed a captive audience of hundreds of generals, admirals and other senior military officers flown in from around the globe, largely to dress them down about the need to tighten up on such questionably urgent issues as grooming and fitness standards. No more “beardos” or “fat generals,“ among others Hegseth would rather not see, despite criticism from civil liberties and religious groups.
Yet, at the same time, it is no small matter that Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees all operations in Central and South America, announced he was stepping down.
This is happening while the Pentagon has rapidly built up some 10,000 forces in the region to fight what it terms “narcoterrorism.” On Sept. 2, after the first of several deadly airstrikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea, President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “Earlier this morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” Eleven people were killed in that airstrike, and 16 more have been killed in subsequent strikes.
Critics have questioned the legal justification for the attacks. In an exchange on the social media platform X, journalist Brian Krassenstein argued that killing “civilians without any due process is called a war crime,” to which Vice President JD Vance replied, “I don’t give a s––– what you call it.”
It was unclear why Holsey is suddenly departing, as The New York Times put it, “less than a year into what is typically a three-year job, and in the midst of the biggest operation in his 37-year career.”
But, for what it’s worth, Holsey had raised concerns about the mission and the attacks on the alleged drug boats, according to The New York Times, citing anonymous U.S. officials. With a free and unfettered press, it’s likely we will learn more about the story. And, frankly, there is a lot more we need to know.
In a statement on social media, Hegseth made no mention of any friction with his four-star commander. “On behalf of the Department of War,” he said, using the name of the department he now prefers, even if Congress has yet to agree, “we extend our deepest gratitude to Admiral Alvin Holsey for his more than 37 years of distinguished service to our nation as he plans to retire at year’s end.”
In other words, despite the Trump administration’s wish to impose new press restrictions, we Americans will continue to depend on unnamed sources to inform us about what our government is doing with our tax money and with the lives of the young people serving in our military. Sometimes unofficial channels are the only way vital information can get through to the public.
That’s why an independent free press matters, in war or peace. Citizens deserve the chance to judge which news sources are credible. And journalists deserve the freedom to gather information in good faith to inform their audiences. To have these rights taken away is the real peril to our nation.
Email Clarence Page at cptimee@gmail.com.
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