The U.S. Department of Defense has fired three employees of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, including its editor-in-chief and longtime publisher. The decision comes as the Pentagon is implementing major changes at the publication.
Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte received notices of termination on August 21. Insubordination was cited as the reason, while the journalists who were dismissed believe the decision is linked to their public defense of the newspaper’s editorial independence.
The Defense Department has not publicly released a detailed explanation of all three cases. According to CBS News, the employees were given time to challenge the decision. 
Dispute Following CBS Interview
Slavin said the notice he received referred to his July appearance on CBS Sunday Morning. During the interview, he was asked what would constitute a line he would not cross in his relationship with the Pentagon.
As an example, he described a hypothetical situation in which the Defense Department asked the newsroom not to publish an accurate story, but instead to run a version prepared by the Pentagon. Slavin said that would be a “red line” for him.
In the same report, Lara Korte said she worked for Stars and Stripes, not for the Pentagon, a particular administration or any politician. She described her job as reporting on the military community and the issues that matter to it.
Korte says her appearance was later characterized as insubordination.
Korte: No One Told Me What to Write
Three days after the Pentagon’s decision, Korte spoke to CBS again on August 24 and revealed an important detail about her work at the newspaper. She said no one had attempted to stop her from pursuing a particular story or instructed her on what she should publish.
Until her dismissal, Korte said she believed the editorial independence of Stars and Stripes remained intact. She also said her supervisors knew about the CBS interview and that she had discussed the appearance with them beforehand.
Her statement is significant because there is currently no public confirmation that the Pentagon attempted to prevent the publication of any specific story. The dispute primarily concerns the newspaper’s future direction and employees’ public statements about the limits of Defense Department influence over the newsroom.
Editor-in-Chief Did Not Expect to Be Fired
Erik Slavin also spoke to CBS again on August 24, describing his dismissal as a “real shock.”
Slavin had worked at Stars and Stripes for more than two decades, beginning as a reporter in Japan in 2005. He reported alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, worked in South Korea and later led newsrooms in Europe and the Middle East. He became editor-in-chief in September 2025.
Slavin maintains that his answer during the CBS interview was hypothetical and that he was simply explaining where he believed the boundary of editorial independence should lie. In his view, opposition to censorship does not violate Defense Department rules.
Pentagon Has Been Reshaping the Newspaper for Months
The dismissals did not come without previous disagreements. For months, the Pentagon has been announcing changes to the way Stars and Stripes operates and the type of content it publishes.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell previously said the newspaper should focus more heavily on subjects directly relevant to members of the armed forces. These include warfare, weapons systems, physical fitness and combat effectiveness.
At the same time, the Pentagon criticized content it believes distracts from the newspaper’s core mission. It also announced plans to reduce reliance on material produced by other news organizations and wire services.
According to Korte, new memoranda also indicated plans to stop carrying certain content from the Associated Press and The Washington Post. She argued that such material was useful to the newspaper’s readers.
Changes had already begun before the August dismissals. In April, ombudsman Jacqueline Smith was fired from a position that included oversight related to the newspaper’s editorial independence.
Publisher Had Already Announced His Departure
Max Lederer’s case is particularly unusual. He spent more than three decades at Stars and Stripes and had served as publisher since 2007.
Just days before receiving his termination notice, Lederer announced that he would retire on September 30. He cited fundamental differences between his view of the newspaper’s mission and the direction in which the Defense Department wanted to take it.
The Pentagon had previously appointed active-duty Navy Capt. William Urban to the newly created position of military deputy publisher. The move also attracted attention in Congress, with three Democratic senators seeking an explanation from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Following the personnel changes, Urban published an open letter outlining his priorities for the newspaper’s future. They included preserving high-quality independent journalism, expanding digital content and modernizing business operations.
The new leadership has therefore maintained that the personnel changes do not mean abandoning the newspaper’s editorial independence.
Dispute Over Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln Also in the Background
Reporting on conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during its lengthy deployment in the Middle East has brought additional attention to the dispute.
Stars and Stripes reported on concerns among sailors’ families about mental health and the risk of self-harm. Media reports also raised questions about supply and communication problems during the extended deployment.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao called some of the coverage “dishonest” and argued that certain circumstances had been misrepresented. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump also addressed and disputed some of the claims appearing in media reports.
There is, however, no evidence that the stories about the Abraham Lincoln were the formal reason for the dismissals. Based on the information currently available, insubordination was the immediate justification given in the cases involving Slavin and Korte, linked to their public appearance on CBS.
Stars and Stripes Between the Pentagon and Editorial Independence
Stars and Stripes occupies an unusual position in the American media landscape. It is neither a conventional privately owned news organization nor a typical government publication.
Roughly half of its annual budget of about $29 million comes from the Pentagon, while its employees are Defense Department personnel. At the same time, the newspaper has special protections for its editorial independence, including rules designed to shield its newsroom from interference outside its established editorial chain.
According to CBS, Stars and Stripes content reaches an average of about 1.4 million people each day. Its print edition also continues to play an important role for U.S. service members stationed overseas, particularly in areas with limited internet access.
That unusual status is at the heart of the current dispute. The Pentagon provides a significant portion of the newspaper’s funding, and its employees formally work within the Defense Department. At the same time, editorial independence is built into the rules under which the publication operates.
It remains unclear how the personnel changes will affect the newsroom. Korte has said the impact on editorial independence will become apparent over the coming months, while Slavin has expressed hope that Stars and Stripes will be able to preserve it.
