Stars and Stripes exists to provide independent news and information to the U.S. military community, comprising active-duty, DoD civilians, contractors, and their families. Unique among the many Department of Defense authorized news outlets, only Stars and Stripes is guaranteed First Amendment privileges that are subject to Congressional oversight. Stars and Stripes has published a newspaper continually since World War II. Our unique military coverage first became available online in 1999. Today, Stars and Stripes operates as a multimedia news organization.