''Soldier of Fortune'' (''SOF''), subtitled ''The Journal of Professional Adventurers'', is a daily web magazine published by Susan Katz Keating. It began as a monthly U.S.

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

published from 1975 to 2016 as a magazine devoted to worldwide reporting of wars, including

conventional warfare Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined and fight by using weapons that target primari ...

, low-intensity warfare, counter-insurgency, and

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

. It was published by Omega Group Ltd., based in Boulder, Colorado. In May 2022, founder Robert K. Brown announced that the publication had been sold to a longtime contributor, author and security journalist Susan Katz Keating, who grew up around conflict during The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

History

''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine was founded in 1975, by Lieutenant Colonel,

U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...

, (Ret.) Robert K. Brown, 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 ...

who 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 ...

. After retiring from active duty, Brown began publishing a “circular”, magazine-type publication with few pages which contained information on mercenary employment in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, where the Sultan

Qaboos Qaboos bin Said Al Said ( ar, قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said ...

had recently

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...

his father and was battling a communist insurgency. Brown's small circular soon evolved into a glossy, large-format, full-color magazine. In 1970, Brown co-founded ''

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 ...

'' in conjunction with Peder Lund. The company published non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom,

survivalism Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disor ...

and preparedness, firearms and shooting, various martial arts and

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and police tactics, investigation techniques, spying, lockpicking, sabotage, revenge,

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

and knife fighting, explosives, and other "action topics". After five years, he left in 1975 to start ''SOF'' magazine. Significant to the early development of ''SOF'' was its recruitment of foreign nationals to serve in the Rhodesian Security Forces, during the Rhodesian Bush War (1964–79). During the late 1970s and the 1980s, the success and popularity of a military magazine such as ''SOF'' led to the proliferation of like magazines such as ''Survive'', ''Gung Ho!'', ''New Breed'', ''Eagle'', ''Combat Illustrated'', ''Special Weapons and Tactics'', and ''Combat Ready''. ''SOF'' was published by the Omega Group Ltd., in Boulder, Colorado. It currently is published by Soldier of Fortune LLC, and is based in Tampa, Florida. At the height of its circulation in the early 1980s the magazine had 190,000 subscribers. The April 2016 issue of ''Soldier of Fortune'' was the final print edition; further editions have been published online.

"Gun for Hire" lawsuits

Grievous injury

During the late 1980s, ''Soldier of Fortune'' was sued in civil court several times for having published classified advertisements of services by private mercenaries. In 1987, Norman Norwood, of Arkansas, sued ''SOF'' magazine, because of injuries he suffered during a murder attempt by two men hired via a "Gun for Hire" advertisement in the magazine. The US District Court denied the magazine's motion for

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of ...

based upon the Constitutional right of free speech under the First Amendment. The Court said, "reasonable jurors could find that the advertisement posed a substantial risk of harm" and that "gun for hire" ads were not the type of speech intended for protection under the First Amendment. In the end, Norwood and ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine settled his lawsuit out of court.Smothers, Ronald
''Soldier of Fortune Magazine Held Liable for Killer's Ad''
New York Times, August 19, 1992

Wrongful death

In February 1985, John Wayne Hearn, a Vietnam veteran, shot and killed Sandra Black for a $10,000 payment from her husband, Robert Black. Black communicated with Hearn through a classified advertisement published in ''Soldier of Fortune'', wherein Hearn solicited "high-risk assignments. U.S. or overseas". In 1989, Sandra Black's son Gary and her mother Marjorie Eimann filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against ''SOF'' magazine and its parent publishing company Omega Group Ltd., seeking $21 million in redress of their grievance. The jury found ''Soldier of Fortune'' grossly negligent in publishing Hearn's classified ad for implicit illegal activity (murder) and awarded the plaintiffs $9.5 million in damages. However, in 1990 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the verdict, saying that the standard of conduct imposed upon the magazine was too high, because the advertisement was ambiguously worded.

Contract killing

In 1989, four men were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1985 contract killing of Richard Braun, of Atlanta, Georgia. The killers were hired through a classified services advertisement published in ''SOF'' magazine that read: "GUN FOR HIRE". Braun's sons filed a civil lawsuit against the magazine and a jury found in their favor, awarding them $12.37 million in damages, which the judge later reduced to $4.37 million. Nonetheless, in 1992 the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

upheld the judgement of the jury, saying "the publisher could recognize the offer of criminal activity as readily as its readers, obviously, did". The Brauns and ''SOF'' magazine settled the wrongful-death lawsuit for $200,000.Moscou, Jim
''Soldier of Fortune Toughs Out Changing Times''
New York Times, October 16, 2000 One consequence of the lost lawsuits was that the magazine suspended publication of classified advertisements for mercenary or related work, either in the U.S. or overseas.

Editors

* Jim Graves, former managing editor and columnist.Clausing, Jeri (Mar. 2, 1988)
"Jurors trying to decide whether Soldier of Fortune should..."
''

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

''. * Susan Katz Keating, editor and publisher (as of March 30, 2022).

Notable contributors

* Col. David "Hack" Hackworth, US Army (ret./deceased) * Ltc. Robert C. MacKenzie, US Army (ret./deceased) * Ltc.

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Secu ...

, US Marine Corps (ret.) * Dale Dye, US Marine Corps (ret.) * Al J Venter * Michael Echanis (1950–1978), Vietnam veteran,

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

recipient – martial-arts editor * John Plaster, US Army (ret.) * David Isby, expert on Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, and Russia * Greg Walker, Special Forces (ret.)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soldier of Fortune (Magazine) 1975 establishments in Colorado Online magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1975 Magazines published in Colorado Mercenaries Military magazines published in the United States Magazines disestablished in 2016 Defunct magazines published in the United States Online magazines with defunct print editions Mass media in Boulder, Colorado