Affected service members and employees would be compelled to sign an NDA that "prohibits the release of non-public information without approval or through a defined process," a draft memo obtained by the newspaper said.
Last month, the Pentagon said it would require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release - including unclassified information.
Journalists who don't abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon, under a 17-page memo distributed Sept. 19 that steps up media restrictions imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
"Information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified," the directive states. The signature form includes an array of security requirements for credentialed media at the Pentagon.
Advocates for press freedoms denounced the non-disclosure requirement as an assault on independent journalism. The new Pentagon restrictions arrive as Trump expands threats, lawsuits and government pressure as he remakes the American media landscape.
"If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see," said National Press Club President Mike Balsamo, also national law enforcement editor at The Associated Press. "That should alarm every American."
Hegseth says no more permission to 'roam the halls'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel personality, highlighted the restrictions in a social media post on X.
"The 'press' does not run the Pentagon - the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility," Hegseth said. "Wear a badge and follow the rules - or go home."
The Pentagon this year has evicted many news organizations while imposing a series of restrictions on the press that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort - areas where the press had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world's most powerful military.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.