The Pentagon has reportedly fired the publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes, the US military news outlet, citing insubordination. Publisher Max Lederer and editor Erik Slavin received termination notices, with five days to appeal, according to CBS News.
Dismissals Follow USS Abraham Lincoln Report
The dismissals came days after the publication reported on crew conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which raised concerns among veteran and military health experts. The outlet's reporting on the Lincoln, published on 12 August, coincided with similar reporting in the Navy Times. The ship was heading to port in San Diego after an extended deployment in the Middle East as part of the war in Iran that the Trump administration started in February alongside Israel.
Donald Trump dismissed concerns about conditions on the Lincoln, saying the crew's deployment had been "not nearly long enough."
Lederer's Statement and Pentagon Tensions
Lederer, who served as publisher for 19 years and was scheduled to retire in September, said in a letter to staff posted on X: "It has become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of value and mission of the Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction of the leadership of the Department of Defense."
The Pentagon, led by Trump appointee Pete Hegseth, has not commented on the dismissals. The outlet's reporting on the Lincoln is not the only issue to have placed it in conflict with the Trump administration, which has restricted press access and demanded journalists not seek confidential sources.
Broader Conflict with the Administration
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X a pledge to bring "Stars & Stripes into the 21st century," saying, "We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members."
In July, Slavin hinted at tensions, saying the "foxhole" he would die in would be over editorial independence from the Pentagon, which provides about 65% of Stars & Stripes' funding. "We need to be able to provide independent news to service members," he said. "If we can't do that, if we were turned into something other than that, if we were public relations? Yeah, that's the foxhole."
Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith was fired in January after writing a story critical of Pentagon press restrictions; she later sued the Pentagon, alleging retaliatory termination. The publication reaches about 1.4 million readers daily online and via an overseas print edition, and was first published during the US civil war, which began in 1861.
