Pentagon moves to fire publisher after reports of dire conditions aboard USS Lincoln

The Pentagon is preparing to fire longtime Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer after the military newspaper published reports exposing deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a report says.

Pentagon officials have discussed dismissing Lederer before his retirement next month, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources.

Lederer, who has led Stars and Stripes for 19 years, had previously told staff that fundamental differences with Pentagon leadership had prompted his decision to retire.

“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,” Lederer wrote in a letter to staff.

The reported move comes days after Stars and Stripes published accounts detailing deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is on an extended deployment in West Asia amid the US-Israeli aggression on Iran.

Along with the Navy Times - another leading publication specializing in the US military, Stars and Stripes reported multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses aboard the Lincoln reach a breaking point during its ninth months at sea.

That has prompted US lawmakers to call for an investigation into conditions aboard the carrier, citing reports of low morale among its 5,000 navy sailors and marines.

The crisis extends beyond the Lincoln. A second aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, has been deployed in the Arabian Sea since March, and loved ones of sailors aboard have revealed similarly dire conditions. 

Also, the USS Benfold, carrying about 300 sailors spent four days without power in the Pacific Ocean after a major engineering failure, the Navy confirmed,  requiring assistance from other vessels before being towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines for repairs. 

It suffered a generator-related engineering casualty on July 24, leaving the destroyer without essential services including drinking water, hot meals, functioning toilets and air conditioning.

Stars and Stripes has increasingly clashed with US President Donald Trump’s administration over editorial independence. Last month, Stars and Stripes editor Erik Slavin warned that preserving independent journalism was a line the publication could not cross.

“We need to be able to provide independent news to service members,” Slavin said, adding that if the newspaper were turned into “public relations,” that would be his “foxhole.”

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The Pentagon provides about 65 percent of Stars and Stripes’ funding, while the publication reaches about 1.4 million readers daily through its online platform and overseas print editions.

The Trump administration has already sought to reshape the newspaper, saying it would “modernize its operations” and shift its coverage toward “war-fighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”

In January, Pentagon officials also fired Stars and Stripes ombudsman Jacqueline Smith after she criticized restrictions imposed on the publication.

Smith subsequently sued the Pentagon in June alleging that her termination was retaliatory and violated her First Amendment rights.

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