The Pentagon has named Christian Devine, executive director of its own public affairs office, as acting publisher of Stars and Stripes, the independently minded military newspaper that has operated since World War II under a charter invoking First Amendment protections.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the appointment, telling Fox News Digital that Devine, a former Marine Corps colonel, will serve in the interim role while continuing his existing Pentagon duties until a permanent publisher is found.
“As a former Marine Corps colonel and a seasoned public affairs leader, Chris brings unmatched expertise, strategic vision, and a commitment to ensuring Stars and Stripes maintains editorial independence while delivering exclusive, mission-focused reporting that directly serves America’s warfighters and their families,” Parnell said.
Devine himself struck a measured tone in a statement: “It’s a dynamic media organization with a prestigious history and purpose, and I hope I can lend a strong arm during the interim to the men and women who continue to contribute to its notable legacy.”
The appointment comes amid a broader Pentagon push to reshape the publication, which describes itself as providing “independent news and information to the U.S. military community” and which receives roughly half its annual budget from the Defense Department, according to the paper’s own website.
A Promised Overhaul
In January, Parnell laid out the Pentagon’s intentions for the paper in a post on X, framing the changes as a return to basics for troops rather than a general-interest outlet.
“The Department of War is returning Stars & Stripes to its original mission: reporting for our warfighters. We are bringing Stars & Stripes into the 21st century. We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” Parnell wrote.
He added that the paper would be “custom tailored to our warfighters,” focusing on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY,” with “no more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”
Firings and a Pending Lawsuit
The overhaul has already cost several staffers their jobs. In August, the Pentagon fired longtime publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte.
A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital at the time that the dismissals followed Slavin and Korte’s unauthorized appearance in a “CBS Sunday Morning” segment examining the Pentagon’s plans for the paper, and Lederer’s refusal, under instruction from Pentagon leadership, to fire them.
The three have since sued the Pentagon, alleging they face “imminent retaliation and termination in violation of their First Amendment and statutory rights.” In September, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden declined to grant a temporary restraining order that would have reversed the firings, ruling that the plaintiffs “ultimately fail to carry their significant burden to show that they are clearly entitled to a preliminary injunction.”
The litigation remains pending as Devine takes up his interim post overseeing a publication whose founding promise of editorial independence is now at the center of a legal and political dispute.
