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HISTORY The magazine was founded by Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown , a Green Beret who served in Vietnam . After he retired from active duty, Brown began a circular with information on opportunities for mercenary employment in Oman . There, the Sultan Qaboos had recently overthrown his father and was battling a Communist Insurgency . This report eventually morphed into the present glossy periodical. Also significant in the history of SOF, was the unprecedented recruitment drive the magazine promoted in the 1970's for volunteers in the Rhodesian 'Bush War' . Rhodesia was one of the last of the British African colonies to transition to full majority rule. It had been fighting an insurgent war since its Unilateral Declaration Of Independence in 1965. The insurgents were given military training and financial backing by the Soviet Union , and the Rhodesian government reluctantly accepted needed manpower. READERSHIP ''SOF'' is read by some serving Soldier s and veterans. Critics claim that the magazine's audience also includes many "wanna-bes." Such critics cite the fact that many of the magazine's advertisers sell products oriented toward this market: military equipment, fake badges and IDs, weapons, etc. These advertisements led to a landmark Lawsuit in 1989, ''Eimann v. Soldier of Fortune Magazine'', where the son and mother of a murder victim sued the magazine after it published an advertisement for a self-declared mercenary through which the victim’s husband hired the advertiser to kill her. ''SOF'' lost the case in Federal District Court , but won on First Amendment grounds on appeal to the United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit ; current Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts was one of the magazine's attorneys in the case. ''SOF'' subsequently changed its advertising policies. {Link without Title} CONTENT AND EDITORIAL POLICIES ''SOF'' is notorious for sending its journalists into the most dangerous and obscure parts of the world, or purchasing independent reports from "stringers" covering these areas. Occasionally these on-the-spot reports are useful to Intelligence professionals, but some can easily be spotted as outright fabrications. ''SOF'' maintains coverage of hot spots such as Bosnia , Afghanistan , Iraq and Palestine even when the traditional news ignores the constant low-level violence typical in such areas. ''SOF'' also covers African warfare in greater depth than almost any other publication due to the historical link between Africa and mercenary activity. ''SOF'' ''SOF'' is normally on the banned list in Prison s due to gratuitiously violent content. Contributors EXTERNAL LINKS |
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