“ASY has been in someone’s crosshairs for years.” A question then is why did S&S decide to do another story about Barber and ASY?
Without actually asking them, we'll not know the answer to that question. Allison is their boss. She didn't kill the story. I think there can be some conclusions drawn from that, if you wish.
But again, it's all speculation.
If there were indeed improprieties (or illegalities) in funding, the DOD IG would have been all over it by now, and we'd be hearing about an investigation rather than complaints from a functionary.