Lieutenant Colonel Robert K. Brown (born November 2, 1932) is an American combat correspondent,

investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

, and founder and former editor/publisher of ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine (SOF), a magazine which reports on various armed confrontations around the world, as well as on new weapons and other military technology. Brown was also president of Omega Group Ltd, which was the parent group of ''SOF''.

Personal

Born in

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

, he graduated from

Colorado University The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

. On September 22, 1999,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Mayor

Oscar Goodman Oscar Baylin Goodman (born July 26, 1939) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat-turned-independent, Goodman was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011. Early lif ...

issued a proclamation declaring that day to be "Soldier of Fortune Day" and "Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown Day" in honor of ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine, its 20th annual convention in Las Vegas, and its founder and publisher."

Career

Brown served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1954-1957 and again from 1964–1985. He was a

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

, served with Special Forces in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and retired from the US Army as a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. At one point, Brown was the Vice Chairman of the NRA. In 1970, he founded a book publishing firm with Peder Lund named

Paladin Press Paladin Press was a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. The company published non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and p ...

. Brown began publishing '' Soldier of Fortune'' in 1975 in Boulder, Colorado. In April 2022, Brown announced he had sold Soldier of Fortune to journalist Susan Katz Keating, a frequent contributor to the magazine. A ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' reporter doing a story on Brown's involvement in the civil war in El Salvador in March 1984 witnessed Brown become the victim of an accidental shooting when one of Brown's friends pulled the trigger of a gun he thought was unloaded. The friend shot himself through the hand and the bullet struck Brown in the calf. "You stupid son a bitch, you shot me," Brown said. "And now I can't go to El Salvador."Royko, Miki (Mar. 29, 1984).
"Mercenaries for Hire."
''

Youngstown Vindicator ''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, 2019 ...

'' hio vol. 95, no. 211
p. 25.
Archived fro
the original.
/ref> On the other hand, editors of ''Soldier of Fortune'' instructed Salvadorans in subjects ranging from weapons marksmanship to basic military skills such as water purification. They told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

,'' in an article of 1983, they accompanied

Salvadorans Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

on at least three combat patrols as observers, armed solely with handguns for self-defense and without firing. Alexander McColl, one of the editors that took part in April and August, claimed that expenses were covered by the magazine. These ''Soldier of Fortune'' members briefed military personnel of the US embassy on how well Salvadoran soldiers fought in the field. In 2011, Brown supported Steve Schreiner's campaign for the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Board of Directors. Schreiner was not endorsed by the NRA's Nominating Committee.

Publications

Books

''I Am Soldier of Fortune: Dancing with Devils''.
Havertown, Penn.:

Casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

(2013). .
''Merc: American Soldiers of Fortune''
with Jay Mallin. Havertown, Penn.:

(2018). .

Articles

* "The Plot Against Papa Doc." ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'' (Jan. 24, 1967). * "The Bayo-Pawley Affair," with Miguel Acosta. '' Soldier of Fortune'' (Feb. 1976). * "George W. Bacon, III: A 20th Century Crusader," with Robert Himber. '' Soldier of Fortune'', vol. 1, no. 4 (Fall 1976), pp. 13–19, 76-77.
"Rhodesia is Ready: It's Elite Forces are on Red Alert."
'' Soldier of Fortune'', vol. 1, no. 3 (Summer 1976), pp. 30–33
Full issue.
* "David Bufkin: American Merc Destroys Cuban Espionage Ring." '' Soldier of Fortune'', vol. 2, no. 3 (Sep. 1977), pp. 25-27.

Book contributions

* Editor's Notes i
''Guerrilla Warfare''
by

Yank Levy Bert "Yank" Levy (October 5, 1897September 2, 1965) was a Canadian soldier, socialist, military instructor and author/pamphleteer of one of the first manuals on guerrilla warfare, which was widely circulated with more than a half million publish ...

. Introduction by Franklin Mark Osanka. Boulder:

(1964). pp. 12-14. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Robert K. 1932 births Living people American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) American magazine editors United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Members of the United States Army Special Forces