Soldier of Fortune magazine
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Soldier of Fortune magazine is a publication ostensibly devoted to coverage of global low-intensity warfare and terrorism on behalf of the professional mercenary.
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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, where the Sultan Qaboos had recently overthrown his father and was battling a communist insurgency. This report eventually morphed into the present glossy periodical.
Readership
In practice, SOF is read by some serving soldiers and also by so-called "wanna-be's", mostly male adventure-seekers in the United States. Many of its advertisers sell products oriented towards this market: military equipment, fake badges and IDs, weapons.
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 Israel 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's editorials often take positions on controversial topics in the United States military such as the POW-MIAs in Vietnam, gender integration in the armed services, budget cuts and new weapons systems, cultural changes in the military, and gun control. Sometimes these positions are unprintable in any official military publication but reflect the views of hundreds of soldiers who write letters to SOF's editorial staff. The magazine is also staunchly anti-communist.
SOF is normally on the banned list in prisons due to gratuitiously violent content.
Contributors
External link
- Soldier of Fortune magazine website (http://www.sofmag.com/home.do)