Stars and Stripes, in its print form, is not distributed in the United States. But an important part of its congressionally mandated mission is to keep its readers abroad up to date on what is happening back home. A large amount of its content comes from syndicated outlets whose writers are mostly serving up news and information to a domestic audience. Sending that content abroad lets Stripes’ customers read the same things their countrymen are reading back home.

The Defense Department is embarking on a far-reaching consolidation of its information units. Many entities, ranging from the American Forces Radio and Television Service, the DefenseLink Web site, the various service magazines, the Pentagon Channel -- and Stars and Stripes -- will now fall under a new organization called Defense Media Activity (DMA). (The unit already has been formed but for now lacks a director.)

Here’s a question that nettles newspaper editors: How far out do comments by a reader have to be to be considered unfit for general consumption? The answer, usually, is pretty far out.