According to a memo first reported by The Daily Wire, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell outlined “updated physical control measures for press/media access within the Pentagon.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth initially shared the information in May, but the memo issued Thursday formalizes those directives. Credentialed media are now required to sign new documents reaffirming the guidelines for entry.
An official familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire that members of the press previously had broad access to the building. Reporters could move through the Pentagon in a manner similar to their access at the U.S. Capitol, observing senior military officials in select meetings or entering classified areas.
This level of access allowed journalists to report on the Pentagon’s internal operations with relative ease.
The memo also included specifics about the new identifying badges that members of the press will be issued and required to display upon entering the Pentagon.
The department also asked media outlets to ensure their staff members are “aware of the physical control measures, including the requirement to provide escorts for any media coming into your spaces for approved interviews.”
The memo further directs that if DOW (Department of War) personnel “see any news media outside of the areas depicted in Appendix D that do not have an escort, they should direct them back to the designated ‘no escort required’ areas and alert the Pentagon Press Operations office.”
“Up until now, the press could wander all around the Pentagon with no oversight,” Parnell explained in May. “Even outside of sensitive/classified areas. So moving forward, they’ll need an escort to access those areas.
They still have access to the entire defense press office, the press secretary, & my office, as well as much of the rest of the building.
These are pragmatic changes to protect operational security & ultimately brings the Pentagon in line with other government buildings.”
Some reporters have criticized the decision.
In May, journalists from the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and Aviation Week objected to the new requirements. A CBS News reporter suggested the changes were “aimed at making the Pentagon as difficult to cover as possible.”
“The next step is to ban reporters entirely from the Pentagon,” said CBS’ Dan Martin at the time.
“Such a stupid narrative,” Parnell responded. “Here’s the policy in a nutshell: Wear a media credential. Have an escort for sensitive areas. Just like every other U.S. military base on planet Earth. That’s it.”
Sec. Hegseth posted on his personal social media account on Friday that “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home.”
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