The Pentagon has fired the editor-in-chief, publisher and a reporter at Stars and Stripes for insubordination, effective Friday, after the newspaper reported on deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its extended Middle East deployment.
Editor-in-chief Erik Slavin said he was dismissed for stating in a CBS interview that censorship of news for service members would cross a red line, while reporter Lara Korte said she was terminated after telling CBS she worked for Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon. Publisher Max Lederer received a separation notice despite announcing his retirement just days earlier. The notices allow five days to appeal.
Navy Captain William Urban has been appointed deputy publisher. Three Democratic senators have demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the newspaper's eroding independence.