 September 1995 cover |
|
| Editor/Publisher | Robert K. Brown |
|---|---|
| Categories | paramilitary |
| Frequency | monthly |
| First issue | 1975 |
| Company | Omega Group Ltd.[1] |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English, many others |
| Website | sofmag.com |
Soldier of Fortune magazine, abbreviated SOF, is a periodical published by Colorado-based Omega Group Ltd. and devoted to coverage of military conflicts around the globe, including conventional war, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency and terrorism. The motto of the magazine is "The Journal of Professional Adventurers."
Contents |
History
The magazine was founded in 1975 by Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve, (Ret.) Robert K. Brown, a Green Beret who served in Vietnam.[2] After Brown retired from active duty, he began a circular with information on opportunities for mercenary employment in Oman where the Sultan Qaboos had recently overthrown his father and was battling a communist insurgency. Brown's small circular soon evolved into a large glossy magazine. Significant in the early development of SOF was the magazine's unprecedented recruitment of foreign nationals to serve in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War.[3][4] The popularity of SOF led to the proliferation of similar magazines during the 1970s and 1980s with titles such as Survive, Gung Ho!, New Breed, Eagle, Combat Illustrated, Special Weapons and Tactics and Combat Ready.
"Gun for Hire" lawsuits
During the late 1980s, Soldier of Fortune was the subject of civil suits concerning the publication of classified advertisements for private mercenaries. In 1987, Norman Norwood of Arkansas sued SOF because of injuries he suffered during a murder attempt by two gunmen who were hired through their "Gun For Hire" ads in SOF. The United States District Court denied the magazine's motion for summary judgment on First Amendment rights of free speech. The court stated that "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.[5] The case was settled out of court.[6]
The next case was filed after John Hearn shot and killed Sandra Black in exchange for $10,000 from her husband, Robert. Robert Black had contacted Hearn through a classified advertisement in Soldier of Fortune soliciting "high risk assignments. US or overseas." In 1989, Sandra Black's son Gary and her mother, Marjorie Eimann, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against SOF and its parent company, Omega Group Ltd., seeking $21 million in damages.[7] The jury found Soldier of Fortune grossly negligent in publishing Hearn's classified ad for implicit illegal activity and awarded the plaintiffs a $9.5 million judgment. The verdict was reversed in 1990 by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the standard of conduct imposed upon the magazine was too high because the advertisement was ambiguously worded.[8][9]
In 1989, four men were convicted of murder conspiracy in the 1985 contract killing of Richard Braun of Atlanta. It was determined that the killers had been contacted through a classified ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine which stated "GUN FOR HIRE". Braun's sons filed a civil suit against the magazine and a jury found in their favor, awarding them $12.37 million in damages, later reduced by the judge to $4.37 million. The verdict was upheld in 1992 by the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals which said "the publisher could recognize the offer of criminal activity as readily as its readers obviously did."[6]
The 1992 case eventually was settled for $200,000.[10] As a consequence of the lawsuits, the magazine stopped running classified ads for mercenary work.[10]
Content and editorial policies
Soldier of Fortune has a tradition of practicing participatory journalism in which mercenary teams are sent into war zones to train, fight, deliver supplies as well as file reports.[10] The magazine also purchases independent reports from "stringers" covering these areas. Occasionally these on-the-spot reports are useful to intelligence professionals[citation needed]. SOF maintains coverage of hot spots such as Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian Territories and other areas with consistent, low-level violence. SOF has covered African warfare in greater depth than most publications due to the historical link between Africa and mercenary activity.[11] Editorials in the magazine have taken positions on controversial topics in the United States military, such as the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, female combat roles in the armed services, budget cuts and new weapons systems, cultural changes in the military, and gun control. The magazine maintains that these positions reflect the views of thousands of soldiers who write letters to SOF's editorial staff. SOF has also been critical of retired Colonel James "Bo" Gritz's attempts to rescue American POWs still purportedly held in Southeast Asia, publishing a special issue highlighting the failed nature of the missions. Another issue debunked several "New World Order" conspiracies and their proponents, who claim that the U.S. is about to be invaded by armies of foreign governments and that the country should prepare itself for a United Nations takeover. The magazine is staunchly anti-communist. Some see SOF as a continuation of the men's adventure pulp magazines that gradually fell out of favor in the late 1960s.
Notable Contributors
- Col. David "Hack" Hackworth, US army, Ret.
- Wayne Laugesen
- Ltc. Robert C. MacKenzie, US Army, Ret. †
- Ltc. Oliver North, US Marines, Ret.
References
- ^ Omega First Amendment Legal Fund, All Business, allbusiness.com
- ^ Robert K. Brown, Biography, National Rifle Association
- ^ Ward Churchill, "U.S. Mercenaries in Southern Africa: The Recruiting Network and U.S. Policy", Africa Today, Vol. 27, No. 2, External Intervention in Africa (2nd Qtr., 1980), pp. 21-46
- ^ James L. Taulbee, "Soldiers of fortune: A legal leash for the dogs of war?", Defense & Security Analysis, 1475-1801, Volume 1, Issue 3, 1985, Pages 187 – 203
- ^ Norwood v. Soldier of Fortune, Inc., United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fayetteville Division, January 29, 1987
- ^ a b Smothers, Ronald, Soldier of Fortune Magazine Held Liable for Killer's Ad, New York Times, August 19, 1992
- ^ Belkin, Lisa, Soldier of Fortune Magazine Is Sued Over Slaying, New York Times, February 14, 1988
- ^ Award in Case of Killer Hired by Ad Is Overturned, Associated Press, August 18, 1989
- ^ Transcript of the Fifth Circuit's decision in Eimann v. SOF
- ^ a b c Moscou, Jim, Soldier of Fortune Toughs Out Changing Times, New York Times, October 16, 2000
- ^ Shearer, David, Outsourcing War, Foreign Policy, Fall 1998, Washingtonpost.Newsweek LLC
External links
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