The Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes, the military’s century-old independent newspaper, to shut down at the end of September, after slashing its budget earlier this year.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper decided to cease publication as part of his department-wide budget review, according to a memo signed by Army Col. Paul Haverstick, acting director of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity.
Plans to shut down the paper are due on Sept. 14 and the final issue of the newspaper will be on Sept. 30.
The move comes after the Pentagon earlier this year cut the $15.5 million in funding for the paper from the Defense Department’s budget — which members of Congress have objected to for months.