Pentagon dismisses Stars and Stripes leadership after editor, reporter oppose military interference

Chicago – August 22, 2026

The Pentagon has fired the publisher, editor-in-chief and a reporter at Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military’s longtime newspaper, after they publicly opposed efforts to exert editorial control over the outlet.

Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said he was terminated for “insubordination” after telling CBS News last month that any censorship of news for service members would be a “red line.” Publisher Max Lederer, who had already announced his retirement for late September, was also removed after stating his leadership philosophy and understanding of the paper’s mission “differ in fundamental ways” from Pentagon direction.

Middle East correspondent Lara Korte was dismissed as well, saying she was fired for telling CBS she works for Stars and Stripes, “not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policymaker.”

The Defense Department has previously criticized the congressionally mandated, taxpayer-funded publication as promoting “woke distractions,” and the latest moves are seen as part of a broader push to curtail its editorial independence. Slavin maintained that Stars and Stripes must remain independent “as required by law and by the department’s own policies.”