Pentagon Fires Top Stars and Stripes Editor, Publisher and Reporter

On Friday, August 21, 2026, the Department of Defense fired Stars and Stripes Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, longtime publisher Max Lederer, and a reporter identified by some outlets as Middle East correspondent Lara Korte. Stars and Stripes is a taxpayer-funded but historically editorially independent military news outlet. Lederer had served as publisher for 19 years and had earlier this week announced plans to retire on September 30, citing fundamental differences with the Trump administration's approach to the outlet. Prior to the firings, CBS News reported, citing anonymous sources, that Pentagon officials were considering dismissing Lederer before his planned retirement, days after Stars and Stripes published reporting on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier. Multiple outlets reported that Slavin and the reporter were dismissed for insubordination after they publicly spoke out against Pentagon interference in the outlet's editorial operations, including in a CBS interview. The dismissals are described by several outlets as part of a broader, monthslong Pentagon effort to alter the news organization's coverage and diminish its editorial independence. As of the latest reporting, all three individuals have been terminated, and Lederer's originally planned September 30 retirement has been superseded by his firing. It remains unresolved whether Lederer's dismissal was formally tied to the USS Abraham Lincoln reporting, to his public comments, or to broader Pentagon dissatisfaction with the outlet's leadership; sourcing on the precise justification varies across reports, with some citing anonymous officials and others citing on-the-record statements about insubordination. The full scope of the Pentagon's plans for restructuring Stars and Stripes' editorial operations going forward has not been detailed.