WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy has ended its long-standing practice of routinely releasing service history information for sailors, significantly limiting public access to military personnel records that journalists and the public have traditionally been able to obtain upon request.
Navy officials said the change is intended to address evolving security threats and concerns about harassment. The move follows a series of broader Defense Department actions under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that have restricted media access to military information and facilities.
Under the new policy, the Navy will no longer routinely disclose information such as a sailor’s duty assignments, awards, promotions or previous units. Officials said the service will generally confirm only whether an individual is a sailor, and only when requests are considered to be of “high public interest.”
Capt. Candice Thresh, spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Personnel, said the policy expands an earlier directive requiring commands to remove publicly accessible information about commanding officers.
She said the revised approach applies the same disclosure standard across the Navy.
Thresh said additional service information will be released only if a sailor is considered a public figure or if extenuating circumstances exist. She added that the restrictions will remain in place until what the Navy described as an unspecified security threat has passed.
Policy Marks Shift From Longstanding Disclosure Practices
The new policy represents a significant departure from existing Pentagon privacy guidance, which identifies information such as military rank, duty assignments, awards and service status as details that are generally releasable because they do not normally constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
For journalists, access to service records has long provided essential background when reporting on military operations, accidents, disciplinary cases and other events involving service members.
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First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams criticized the policy, saying it could make reporting on wounded or injured sailors substantially more difficult.
He argued that restricting information that has historically been public is inconsistent with First Amendment principles and could reduce public oversight of government decisions involving military personnel.
Blue Angels Inquiry Highlighted the New Restrictions
The policy drew broader attention after The Associated Press requested the biography of a pilot assigned to the Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team following a controversial maneuver over a crowded beach.
According to the AP, the Navy initially declined to release the pilot’s biography despite similar information already appearing on the official Blue Angels website, including the pilot’s name, photograph and service history.
Thresh later provided the biography directly after the news organization sought clarification regarding the new policy.
Rear Adm. John Robinson, the Navy’s chief spokesman, had previously directed commands to remove publicly accessible information about commanding officers.
His office did not respond to questions regarding the broader expansion of the policy.
Pentagon Continues Broader Transparency Restrictions
The Navy’s decision comes as the Defense Department pursues additional measures that could further limit public access to military information.
Last month, the Pentagon asked Congress to authorize new legal protections allowing certain categories of controlled unclassified information to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
The proposal, first reported by CBS, would create a new section of federal law permitting the defense secretary to withhold specified categories of controlled unclassified information from public release.
Transparency advocates, along with the Pentagon’s inspector general, have previously warned that the controlled unclassified information designation has sometimes been applied inconsistently and more broadly than necessary, potentially limiting public access to government records.
The latest developments follow earlier efforts to tighten media access inside the Pentagon.
Last year, revised rules governing journalists working inside the building prompted most news organizations to surrender their press credentials rather than accept the restrictions. That policy remains the subject of ongoing federal litigation.
More recently, the Pentagon designated its press office as a classified space, making it inaccessible to credentialed journalists.
This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.
Article Topics: U.S. Navy | Pentagon | Press Freedom | Military Transparency | Freedom of Information | Defense Policy | Media Access
