Soldier of Fortune (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Soldier of Fortune The Journal of Professional Adventurers, is a periodical monthly magazine devoted to world-wide reporting of wars, including conventional warfare
, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency
, and counter-terrorism
. SOF magazine is published by the Omega Group Ltd., in Boulder, Colorado
.
, U.S. Army Reserve, (Ret.) Robert K. Brown
, a Green Beret
who served with Special Forces in Vietnam
. After retiring from active duty, Brown began publishing a “circular” few-page-magazine with information on mercenary
employment in Oman
, where the Sultan Qaboos
had recently deposed
his father, and was battling a communist insurgency
. Brown's small circular soon evolved into a glossy, large-format, four color magazine. Significant to the early development of SOF magazine was its unprecedented, successful 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.
attempt, by two men hired via a "Gun for Hire" advert in the magazine. The US District Court denied the magazine's motion for summary judgment
, 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 event, Mr Norwood and Soldier of Fortune magazine settled his lawsuit out of court.
Wrongful death: The mercenary John Hearn shot and killed Sandra Black, for a $10,000 payment from her husband, Robert Black. He communicated with the Gun-for-Hire 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 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals 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 mercenary killers were hired through a classified services advertisement published in Soldier of Fortune magazine, that read: "GUN FOR HIRE". Braun's sons filed a civil lawsuit against the magazine, and a jury found in their favor, and awarded them $12.37 million in damages, which the judge later reduced to $4.37 million. Nonetheless, in 1992, the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals 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. One consequence of the lost lawsuits, was the magazine's suspension of publication of classified advertisements for mercenary work, either in the U.S. or overseas.
Conventional warfare
Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted byusing conventional military weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined, and fight using weapons that primarily target the opposing army...
, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency
Counter insurgency
A counter-insurgency or counterinsurgency involves actions taken by the recognized government of a nation to contain or quell an insurgency taken up against it...
, and counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
. SOF magazine is published by the Omega Group Ltd., in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
.
History
Soldier of Fortune magazine was founded in 1975, by Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, U.S. Army Reserve, (Ret.) Robert K. Brown
Robert K. Brown
Lieutenant Colonel Robert K. Brown is a combat correspondent, investigative journalist, and founder/editor/publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine , a pro-gun, pro-military magazine which reports on various armed confrontations around the world, as well as on new weapons and other military...
, a Green Beret
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
who served with Special Forces in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. After retiring from active duty, Brown began publishing a “circular” few-page-magazine with information on mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
employment in Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, where the Sultan Qaboos
Qaboos of Oman
Qaboos bin Said Al Said is the Sultan of Oman and its Dependencies. He rose to power after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur, in a palace coup in 1970. He is the 14th-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Sa'idi dynasty.-Early life:...
had recently deposed
Deposition (politics)
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch. It may be done by coup, impeachment, invasion or forced abdication...
his father, and was battling a communist insurgency
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
. Brown's small circular soon evolved into a glossy, large-format, four color magazine. Significant to the early development of SOF magazine was its unprecedented, successful recruitment of foreign nationals to serve in the Rhodesian Security Forces, during the Rhodesian Bush War
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War – also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Zimbabwe War of Liberation – was a civil war which took place between July 1964 and December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia...
(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.
"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 murderHomicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
attempt, by two men hired via a "Gun for Hire" advert in the magazine. The US District Court denied the magazine's motion for summary judgment
Summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment is a determination made by a court without a full trial. Such a judgment may be issued as to the merits of an entire case, or of specific issues in that case....
, based upon the Constitutional right of free speech, under the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. 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 event, Mr Norwood and Soldier of Fortune magazine settled his lawsuit out of court.
Wrongful death: The mercenary John Hearn shot and killed Sandra Black, for a $10,000 payment from her husband, Robert Black. He communicated with the Gun-for-Hire 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 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals 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 mercenary killers were hired through a classified services advertisement published in Soldier of Fortune magazine, that read: "GUN FOR HIRE". Braun's sons filed a civil lawsuit against the magazine, and a jury found in their favor, and awarded them $12.37 million in damages, which the judge later reduced to $4.37 million. Nonetheless, in 1992, the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals 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. One consequence of the lost lawsuits, was the magazine's suspension of publication of classified advertisements for mercenary work, either in the U.S. or overseas.
Notable contributors
- Col. David "Hack" Hackworth, US Army, (ret.)
- Wayne LaugesenWayne LaugesenWayne Laugesen is an American columnist, video producer, gun rights activist and editorial page editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette. His editorials also appear in other newspapers from Gazette owner Freedom Communications, the tenth largest media company in the United States...
- Ltc. Robert C. MacKenzieRobert C. MacKenzieRobert Callen MacKenzie was an American professional soldier whose career included service as an infantryman in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, the C Squadron 22 SAS, the South African Defence Force, and the Transkei Defence Force.As a contributing editor for unconventional...
, US Army, (ret.) - Ltc. Oliver NorthOliver NorthOliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, US Marine Corps, (ret.) - James Patrick Mackley, US Army
- Dale DyeDale DyeDale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
, US Marine Corps, (ret.) - Bill BagwellBill BagwellWilliam Mallory Bagwell , nicknamed "Big Bill", was a pinch hitter and left fielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Boston Braves and Philadelphia Athletics during the 1920s. Bagwell was 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 175 pounds.-Career:Bagwell was born in Choudrant, Louisiana, in 1895...
- Peter Kokalis
- Al J VenterAl J VenterAl J Venter is a war correspondent, documentary filmmaker, and author of more than forty books who also served as an African and Middle East correspondent for Jane's International Defence Review.-Career:...
- Michael EchanisMichael EchanisMichael D. Echanis was a former United States Army Special Forces and 75th Ranger Battalion enlisted soldier, ultimately working for the CIA as a contractor. He was killed while working for the CIA in Nicaragua in 1978 in a plane crash along with his colleague Charles Sanders and members of the...
- John PlasterJohn PlasterMajor John L. Plaster is a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier regarded as one of the leading sniper experts in the world. A decorated Vietnam War veteran who served in the covert Studies and Observations Group , Plaster co-founded a renowned sniper school that trains military and law...
, US Army, (ret.)