Military newspaper editor says he was fired for raising concerns about Pentagon censorship

Stars and Stripes, a newspaper that has served American troops for generations, recently experienced leadership upheaval. Its publisher was fired, and its editor and a reporter were removed, raising questions about the publication's future. Stars and Stripes is funded in part by the Pentagon, but it is protected from military censorship and editorial control.

Erik Slavin, the editor, discussed the situation with Geoff Bennett. Slavin was fired for insubordination, citing his CBS interview where he stated that hypothetical censorship would be a personal red line. This firing comes amid broader Pentagon actions, including the firing of the publisher after his retirement announcement and the dismissal of the newspaper's ombudsman, whose role was to safeguard editorial independence.

Slavin believes all these events are connected, as he noticed a Pentagon tweet in January coordinating the rescission of the Code of Federal Regulations, which spelled out the freedoms guaranteed to Stars and Stripes. At the same time, there were leaks about getting rid of overseas reporters and replacing them with military reporters.

Slavin also mentioned that Stars and Stripes was the first to break significant reporting about issues on the USS Lincoln, which he considers a fundamental benefit for U.S. service members. He emphasized that Stars and Stripes must remain independent from the military chain of command, as its editorial content must remain so for it to be credible.

Slavin hopes that the tradition of Stars and Stripes remaining separate from military interference continues.