Subscribe

About Stars and Stripes

News for America's military

Stars and Stripes provides independent news and information to the U.S. military community, including active-duty servicemembers, DoD civilians, veterans, contractors, and their families. Unique among Department of Defense authorized news outlets, Stars and Stripes is governed by the principles of the First Amendment. *

Stars and Stripes has published a newspaper continuously since World War II. Our unique military coverage first became available online in 1999. Today, Stars and Stripes operates as a multimedia news organization. We publish the Stars and Stripes print newspaper edition Monday through Thursday and a special Weekend Edition on Friday. In addition, we publish several weekly and monthly publications and numerous special supplements. On any given day, readers and visitors number about 1.4 million.

"Stars and Stripes is editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command."

Stars and Stripes maintains news bureaus around the world including Europe, Pacific, and the Middle East to provide first-hand reporting on events. In addition to news and sports, Stars and Stripes news products contain all the elements of an American "news organization."

The newspapers for deployed personnel are provided at no charge to servicemembers serving in harm’s way. In Europe and Pacific, the newspaper is sold on base in coin boxes and at military exchanges. Home delivery to subscribers is available in Belgium, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. Stars and Stripes also produces a weekly U.S. edition distributed to more than 25 locations inside the continental United States.

Other publications include special supplements focused on topics of interest to the military community such as education, transition, and retirement planning. In Europe and the Pacific, Stars and Stripes produces a variety of products (print and digital) to help readers explore and enjoy their local communities by providing guides on culture, travel and other leisure activities. View our current Supplement Calendar to see a list of all special publications.

In addition to its print publications, Stars and Stripes delivers breaking news 24 hours a day through its premier Stripes.com website and on mobile applications for iOS and Android.

STARS AND STRIPES FACTS & FIGURES FOR FY 2024

6.2M

Distributed more than 6.2 million editions of our US Weekly edition


3.6M

Printed and distributed over 3.6 million special publications in the US and overseas


250K

Delivered over a quarter of a million Digital Editions


1.7M

Delivered 1.7 million sessions our iOS and Android mobile applications


26M

Delivered 26 million page views on its premier Stripes.com website


14M

Served 14 million unique visitors on Stripes.com


700K

Delivered over 700K page views on our Europe and Pacific community websites


1M

More than 1 million social media users follow Stars and Stripes

* Stars and Stripes is a service of the Defense Media Activity (DMA); the views and opinions expressed do not reflect the views of the Department of Defense, the military services or DMA. The Pentagon funding that makes up roughly half of Stars and Stripes’ annual budget is primarily used to print and distribute the newspaper to troops scattered across the globe, including in warzones. The remainder of the newspaper’s funding comes from advertising and subscriptions. Stars and Stripes is editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command. It provides commercially available U.S. and world news and objective staff-produced stories relevant to the military community in a balanced, fair, and accurate manner. By keeping its audience informed, Stars and Stripes enhances military readiness and better enables U.S. military personnel and their families stationed overseas to exercise their responsibilities of citizenship.

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now