美国海军宣布将停止公开发布水手的服役历史信息[1]。海军上将约翰·罗宾逊上周发布政策要求删除所有关于指挥官的公开信息，随后海军人事主管部门将这一限制扩大至所有水手的服役信息[1]。
根据该新政策，海军发言人Candice Thresh表示，仅在信息被认定为"高度公共利益"且相关威胁已消除的情况下，才会提供水手身份确认[1]。这包括限制披露水手的军衔、职务分配、奖项和服役状态等信息[1]。
这项举措是国防部长Pete Hegseth推动的一系列媒体接触限制措施之一[1]。五角大楼声称此举基于安全威胁和骚扰顾虑[1]，但与官方规定相冲突——五角大楼隐私计划本规定服役成员的军衔、职务分配、奖项和服役状态应为"正常可披露"信息[1]。
第一修正案律师Floyd Abrams对这一政策提出强烈批评，称其"与《第一修正案》完全不符"，并称这是"防止对政府行为进行质疑的明显努力"[1]。新闻自由倡导者认为该政策违反了言论自由精神[1]。
上月军方曾请求国会赋予国防部长豁免某些未分类记录公开的权力[1]。去年五角大楼试图对记者施加重大限制，导致大多数新闻机构退出并交回通行证[1]。
The U.S. Navy has announced it will no longer publicly release service history information for sailors, including their unit assignments and awards.[1] The policy, which represents an expansion of earlier restrictions, was initially issued by Navy Admiral John Robbin last week for commanders before being extended to all sailors by the service's personnel office.[1]
Navy spokeswoman Candice Thresh stated that sailor identity confirmation will only be provided in cases deemed to be of "high public interest" and only after threats have been resolved.[1] The restriction comes despite Pentagon privacy guidelines that classify sailors' ranks, job assignments, awards, and service status as "normally releasable" information.[1]
The move is part of a broader series of access limitations driven by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which officials justify on grounds of security threats and harassment concerns.[1] However, First Amendment lawyers have criticized the policy as unconstitutional. Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment attorney, characterized the restriction as completely inconsistent with the First Amendment and an "obvious effort to prevent scrutiny of government actions."[1]
The Pentagon recently requested that Congress grant the Defense Secretary exemptions from disclosing certain unclassified records.[1] Last year, the military attempted to impose significant restrictions on journalists, prompting most news organizations to withdraw and return their credentials.[1]