Pentagon Dispute Leads Stars and Stripes Publisher to Retire After 30 Years

The publisher of Stars and Stripes is retiring after more than three decades with the military newspaper, citing fundamental differences with Defense Department leadership over the direction of the outlet.

Max Lederer Jr. announced the decision in a memo to staff on Tuesday and in an interview with the publication itself, saying he will step down Sept. 30. The Pentagon and Mr. Lederer did not immediately respond to Military.com’s requests for comment.

In the memo obtained by the Associated Press and CBS News, Lederer wrote that it had “become clear that my philosophy of leadership, and my understanding of the value and mission of Stars and Stripes, differ in fundamental ways from the direction the leadership of the Department of Defense has for the organization.”

Lederer has worked for Stars and Stripes since 1992 and served as its publisher since 2007, only the second full-time civilian to hold the role.

“I think the right step is for me to step down, get out of the way, and let different leadership step in,” he told the publication.

His retirement comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon moves to assert more control over the outlet and cut what it has called “woke distractions.”

Patterns of Pressure

Lederer’s exit follows a series of moves that current and former staff have tied to the paper’s editorial independence.

Less than four months ago, the Pentagon fired Jacqueline Smith, the newspaper’s ombudsman, whose job was to safeguard its editorial independence.

“No one should be surprised that they’re kicking out the one person charged by Congress with protecting Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence,” Smith wrote in a column.

More recently, Stars and Stripes reported that it could not confirm an account that the Pentagon had installed a new deputy under Lederer without his prior knowledge.

Credit: U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Hardin

In a letter to congressional leaders seen by the AP, Rufus Friday, chair of the paper’s advisory board of publishers, wrote that the new deputy “threatens Stripes’s editorial independence.”

CBS News reported that Pentagon officials had considered firing Lederer before he announced his retirement.

Independence Is Its Mission

Stars and Stripes has operated independently of the Pentagon under a framework established in 1994, even though roughly 65% of its budget comes from the Defense Department and its staff are counted as department employees, per CBS News.

Its mission statement describes it as editorially independent and “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”

That independence has not always been welcomed. The paper recently covered concerns about the mental health of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during a long deployment. It also has a long record of reporting on military housing failures, barracks conditions and problems at child care centers.

Lederer told Stars and Stripes he does not know whether the Pentagon will keep him through Sept. 30 or name an acting publisher before then. He said that until he leaves, he will work to make the transition smooth for the staff.