Max D Lederer Jr, the longtime publisher of the US military publication Stars and Stripes, announced his retirement in a memo to staff on Tuesday, citing fundamental differences with the Department of Defense leadership over the publication's mission and direction.
His resignation comes just weeks after Stars and Stripes and other military outlets broke the story of a severe mental health crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which has been deployed in the Middle East for nearly nine months with only a single two-day port call.
Lederer, who has led the publication for 19 years, will retire on September 30. In his memo, he suggested that his leadership philosophy clashed with the Trump administration's efforts to exert greater control over the outlet, which the Pentagon has accused of promoting 'woke distractions'.
Stars and Stripes, founded in 1861, is a daily newspaper serving about 1.4 million readers, primarily online. It receives roughly two-thirds of its funding from the Pentagon, while the rest comes from subscriptions and advertising, yet it has long sought editorial independence.
The recent reporting on the USS Abraham Lincoln revealed dire conditions: food shortages, broken toilets and showers, and mounting mental health issues among the 5,000-plus crew. One sailor's wife told Navy Times that her husband attempted to jump overboard due to 'severe burnout'.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, noting the carrier has been 'continuously at sea for a record length of nearly seven months' without a port stop, raising questions about the Navy's ability to sustain such operational tempo.
Admiral Brad Cooper, who visited the ship last week, claimed on X that Lincoln has among the lowest number of mental health cases in the fleet, but families and lawmakers remain skeptical, demanding immediate action.
The Pentagon's attempts to defund Stars and Stripes date back to Trump's first term, though Trump later reversed course. In January, after his second term began, the Department of Defense announced a overhaul, vowing to refocus content away from 'woke distractions'.
In April, the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, the publication's independent reader representative, after she warned of 'attempted control' over the newsroom. These developments underscore growing tensions between the military establishment and independent military media, raising concerns about press freedom and accountability.
Source: www.aljazeera.com