Soldier of Fortune

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Soldier of Fortune''}}{{gunnav|2}}
{{cquote|For my [elementary school-aged] [[Dungeons & Dragons]] buddies and I, reading Soldier of Fortune was like perusing a Dungeon Master's Guide or Monster Manual. It was a portal to a fantasy world. We talked about killing [[Communism|commies]] the same way we talked about slaying orcs. Then we grew out of it.|||[https://www.alternet.org/2011/09/the_dark_side_of_soldier_of_fortune_magazine_contract_killers_and_mercenaries_for_hire/ "The Dark Side of 'Soldier of Fortune' Magazine: Contract Killers and Mercenaries for Hire"], David Holthouse}}

'''''Soldier of Fortune''''' is a magazine founded in 1975, allegedly about the exploits of modern [[mercenary|mercenaries]]. In actuality, it is a modern-day version of the {{wpl|Men's adventure|men's adventure magazines}} that proliferated from the 1940s through the 1970s, filled with exaggerated (or fabricated) stories about mercenary exploits, violence and badassery in [[Third World]] combat zones, combined with a ferociously [[right-wing]], [[Jingoism|jingoistic]] editorial stance.<ref>Iver Perterson, [https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/23/us/mercenary-magazine-widens-appeal.html Mercenary Magazine Widena Appeal]. ''[[The New York Times]],'' 23 September 1985.</ref> It ceased printing in 2016, though it continues to publish online.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/26/soldier-fortune-retires-print-magazine/80989284/ Soldier of Fortune ends print run after four decades], Benjamin F. Mitchell, ''USA Today'' 26 February 2016</ref>

No real mercenary would, of course, be caught dead reading such tripe.  Most of the actual US military, particularly the special operations community, derisively regards ''Soldier of Fortune'' as a punchline and the antithesis of the "quiet professional" ethos espoused by actual qualified operators.  A subscription or interest in the magazine is treated as something worthy of derision. The trouble with ''Soldier of Fortune'' is that some of it is actually solid stuff about military history and theory written by people like former staff officers and retired soldiers and academics. And then some of it is utter [[Paramilitary woo|woo]] designed to give [[Mall ninja|wannabe]] [[Internet tough guy|edgy 14-year-olds]] hardons.

==Description==

{{cquote|''Soldier of Fortune'' — at six, the oldest [[mercenary|merc]] magazine, maintains a tight-lipped distance from the bloody sensationalism embraced by a horde of sleazy coattailers that've sprung up this year like Afro-Commie revolts. Tumescent with authority, ''SoF'' features ''Consumer Reports''-like product tests for everything from lethal weapons to [[survivalism|survivalist]] manuals and [[Nazi]] regalia, and classifieds where professional adventurers hawk their wares like hookers in ''Screw.'' Though tough on [[pacifist]] sensibilities, it's not as offensive as rags like ''Eagle'' ("Adventure, Survival, [[Truth]]"), ''Gung-Ho'' ("The Magazine for the International Military Man"), and by far the worst, ''Battles''. This trio accent the decomposing-corpse close-ups and wide-angle napalm strikes, while the text veers dangerously into [[masturbation|masturbatory]], macho-[[libertarianism]] John Wayneisms.|||Lou Stathis, ''Heavy Metal'', October 1981<ref>Lou Stathis, "Merc Alert," ''Heavy Metal'', October 1981, p. 41.</ref>}}

Originally quite obscure, it became popular in the early 1980s and spawned a cottage industry of copycat magazines, including ''New Breed'' and ''Gung Ho''.  The magazine's influence was such that it went beyond copycat magazines and led to some magazines on unrelated topics copying ''Soldier of Fortune'''s style in an effort to increase circulation. For example, for most of the 1980s {{wpl|Popular Communications|''Popular Communications'',}} a ham, [[Fun:CB radio|CB]] and [[shortwave radio]] hobbyist magazine, peppered just about every issue with sensationalistic articles and cover photos on spy, mercenary, guerrilla warfare, and other paramilitary use of radio. The magazine's rise coincided with the [[survivalism|survivalist]] movement moving away from a [[left-wing]]/[[libertarian]], ''Mother Earth News''-type emphasis on rural living skills and "back to the land" [[hippie]] communalism, and towards the overt right-wing paramilitarism that later characterized the [[militia movement]]. This, in turn, conceivably reflected broader social trends in the 1980s, such as the popularity of right-wing action movies like ''[[Red Dawn]]'' and the ''Rambo'' series, and the return of the nuclear fear of the 1950s that came with the rekindling of the [[Cold War]].

==White makes right==
Editorially, they supported the white minority governments in [[Rhodesia]] and [[South Africa]], the Contras in [[Nicaragua]], the right-wing governments of [[El Salvador]] and Guatemala, the right wing of the [[Cuba]]n exile community in Miami (noticing a trend here?), and the [[Israel Defence Force]], and never passed up an opportunity to shit on "Hanoi Jane" Fonda.

==Run-in with the law==
''Soldier of Fortune'' ran into trouble for carrying classified advertisements from "mercenaries for hire", three of which were used to recruit real-life contract killers and led to lawsuits against the magazine. In the magazine's early years they also openly carried advertisements from extreme right-wing groups, including the publisher of ''[[The Turner Diaries]]'' peddling that book. Their classified advertising section has also always been a notorious hangout for [[crank]]s and weirdos in general, including such things as [[con artist]]s trying to raise mercenaries for their own putative "[[micronation]]s" or expeditions to look for "[[POW-MIA]]s" in Southeast Asia, various anti-Jane Fonda T-shirts and bumper stickers, and private "boot camps" for people wanting to experience Parris Island all over again (and presumably [[BDSM|enjoy it]]).

==The occasional good word==
On [[Stopped clock|rare occasions]], ''Soldier of Fortune'' actually did some valid muckraking journalism. On two separate occasions, they exposed right-wing activist [[Bo Gritz|James Gordon "Bo" Gritz]] as a [[con artist]], first in 1983 when he was collecting money to find [[POW-MIA]]s,<ref>[http://www.miafacts.org/Gritz_mission.htm "Bo" Gritz: The Mission He Was Never On (but that he lied about). ''MIA Facts'']</ref> and again in 1992 when he ran for President on a [[theocratic]], anti-[[New World Order]] platform. Another issue in 1994 was devoted to debunking the [[militia movement]] and its wacko personalities like [[America Under Siege|Linda Thompson]] and Mark Koernke.

Still, that doesn't excuse them from essentially being con artists in their own right, selling John Rambo mercenary fantasies under a factual pretense to impressionable people.

Also, following [[Nelson Mandela]]'s death, they called out mainstream conservatives for their [[Hypocrisy|about-face]] on their views towards the man after the end of [[apartheid]]. Of course, they did so from the opposite direction that most decent human beings did, claiming that Mandela was ''always'' a damn dirty commie and using his death as an opportunity to dance on his grave and claim that he destroyed [[South Africa]]. You could make the argument that at least they're consistent... except for the fact that, after spending the '00s [[Iraq War#Justifications|cheerleading]] for the [[Iraq War]], they now seem to think that it was a bad idea and that we should've been supporting [[Saddam Hussein]], [[Bashar al-Assad]], and other "secular strongmen" against the jihadists.

==Other use of the term==
{{wpl|Soldier of Fortune (video game)|''Soldier of Fortune''}} is also a series of FPS games licensed by the magazine, in which you play as a mercenary in various locations battling African rebels, Yakuza, Russians, Iraqi soldiers, and [[neo-Nazis]]. The general consensus is that the first two games are actually pretty decent, though the third one (which was made by a different developer) is agreed to suck a load of donkey balls. They're all known for being extremely gory, especially by the standards of the time, allowing you to splatter enemies' limbs and heads like watermelons. They also included hit-boxes for the groin, so you could kill terrorists with shots to the testicles.

==See also==
*[[Mall ninja]]
*''[[Black Belt Magazine]]'', another mall ninja essential.
*[[Neoconservatism]]
*[[Paramilitary woo]]
*[[Whacker]]

==External links==
*[http://www.sofmag.com/ They're still publishing.]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Gun nuts]]
[[Category:Imperialism]]
[[Category:Machismo]]
[[Category:Magazines]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Militia movement]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Webshites]]

Categories: Gun nuts, Imperialism, Machismo, Magazines, Media, Militia movement, Propaganda, Racism, Right-wing activists, Webshites