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Soldier of Fortune MagazineGroupWatch was compiled by the Interhemispheric Resource Center,
Box 4506, Albuquerque, NM 87196. http://www.irc-online.org/
GroupWatch files are available at http://www.pir.org/gw/
Group: Soldier of Fortune
File Name: sof.txt
Last Updated: 9/89
Principals: Robert Brown, ed/publisher; Brigadier General Harry
"Heine" Aderholt, USAF (ret.), contrib ed; Peter Kokalis, tech ed;
Alexander M.S. McColl, contrib ed; Jim Graves, mng ed; John Coleman,
sr ed; Craig Nunn, art director; Contributing eds: Col. Chuck Allen,
Bill Bagwell, William Brooks, William H. Northacker, James P. Monaghan,
Maj. Robert MacKenzie, Barry Sadler, Duke Paris, Dr. John Peters,
Jim Leatherwood, John Donovan, Dana Drenkowski, Evan Marshall,
Al Venter, Galan Geer.(
Omega Group, Ltd (parent group of SOF): Robert K. Brown, pres;
Alexander M.S. McColl, dir, Special Projects; Zada L. Johnson,
exec dept mgr.(5,
Category: Paramilitary, Service
Background: Soldier of Fortune magazine began production in 1975.
Labeled as "The Journal of the Professional Adventurer" by the
group itself, the magazine has grown from a small quarterly
publication to a monthly magazine with a circulation of 180,000
(as of 1985).(1,7)
SOF's parent organization is the Omega Group, Ltd. Robert K. Brown
is also the president of Omega Group, Ltd.(
In addition to publishing
Soldier of Fortune, the Omega Group publishes two other gun magazines:
Guns & Action and Combat Weapons.(1)
Brown helped finance the start-up of Soldier of Fortune by selling
"overseas employment opportunity packages." These packages contained
enlistment information for the army of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), a
country which at the time was run by a white minority government.
Other possible sources of start-up money for the endeavor included
sale of Brown's share in Paladin Press and/or a loan from his mother.(9)
In the 1950s Brown claims to have been a Cuban activist wit pro-
Castro feelings. He became an activist while working on a master's
degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His activities
included trying to sell guns to Cubans in Chicago. His "gunrunning"
consisted of trying to sell one Sten gun to the Cubans in Chicago.
He had obtained the gun from a member of the university's shooting
team. Brown said that when he heard the idea, he thought, "Machine
guns plus revolutionaries equals money for Brown." The Cubans couldn't
raise the money for the gun and Brown went back to Colorado. In 1958
he went to Cuba and made contact with Castro people. He waited to hear
back from them but did not. Once again he returned to Boulder.(9,20)
Brown returned to Cuba soon after Castro deposed Batista, this time
as a stringer for the Associated Press. It was then that--according
to Brown--"he began to see that Castro had betrayed the revolution
and had been a communist all along."(20) Although Brown had claimed
to be initially pro-Castro, author Ward Churchill notes that in a
1962 letter to Marvin Liebman, a man linked to several CIA operations
and front groups, Brown revealed that he had been a domestic undercover
operative for the Chicago Police Subversive Squad, gaining entrance
into the "Fair Play for Cuba Committee(s)."(9) Brown also trained
pro-Batistagroups in Florida on how to conduct raids on Cuba,
following his visit to Cuba as an AP stringer.(9)
Countries: ES, NI, US.
Funding: SOF's funding comes from the sale of its magazine. It is
said to be "comfortably profitable."(10) The magazine boasts of a
$6.9 million annual gross revenue.(1)
Activities: Although the group's main activity is the publishing of
Soldier of Fortune magazine, it is the group's mercenary activities
which bring it criticism. Calling themselves "action journalists,"
many of SOF's reporters have come under fire for participating in
the training of counterrevolutionary groups in El Salvador and
Nicaragua. SOF claims to have sent over a dozen training teams to
El Salvador in the early 1980's to train government troops in
sniping, anti-guerrilla urban warfare, explosives and weapons
maintenance.(10,11) The magazine's "Expanded Central America Edition"
(Sept. 1983), which coincided with the group's training trip to
El Salvador, showed a picture of a Salvadoran soldier and two members
of the magazine's group crouching around the bodies of two dead
guerrillas. Robert J. McCartney, author of an article about SOF,
claims that "The picture clearly resembled photographs that hunters
take after they have bagged a deer."(11)
An SOF employee in El Salvador said "We don't hide the fact that we
support one side and follow them into combat. What we don't draw
attention to is that we kill people."(3)
The magazine also solicited funds for the anti-government forces in
Afghanistan.(12)
Two of SOF's staff members have been killed while involved in
"active journalism." George W. Bacon III, an underwater combat
editor, was killed in an ambush in 1976 while fighting for the
CIA-sponsored FNLA in Angola. Michael Echanis, martial arts
director, was killed in a bomb blast aboard a plane while serving
as a military adviser to former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio
Somoza.(9)
Robert Brown was the source of approximately 10,000 flyers
distributed at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana,
August 8, 1987. The flyers offered $25,000 in gold to the first
Cuban or Nicaraguan security operative or intelligence agent who
defected during the Games. In order to collect, the defector would
have to be a member of the Cuban or Nicaraguan Pan American Games
delegation, "including the DGI, DSE, Americas Department, military
personnel and athlete/agents."(4) The leaflets were Spanish on one
side and English on the other. The flyers resulted in no known
defection.(4)
In 1986, Jim Graves, SOF Managing Editor, went along with pilots
Ed Dearborn and Mike Timpani on their mission to deliver a UH-1B
helicopter (named the Lady Ellen after the woman who paid for the
helicopter, Ellen Garwood) to the contras in Honduras.(6) Dearborn
and Timpani were employed by the U.S. Council for World Freedom,
the organization that procured the aircraft for the contras.(3)
SOF journalists have also reported about and traveled with the
Guatemalan Special Forces. According to SOF, the special forces
have been working in Guatemala "to win the confidence of rural
indians..." In Guatemala, the army is working along with Civil
Affairs in a multi-faceted military and psychological operation to
subdue the Highland Indians who had previously been supporters of
the Guatemalan guerrilla movement.(13)
SOF has also offered $1,000,000 to any Sandinista who defected with
an intact and functional Soviet Mi-24 helicopter. Alexander McColl
a contributing editor to Soldier of Fortune said "The whole plan,
you know, is you buy the helicopter for $1 million and then you
turn around and sell it to U.S. or other free-world intelligence
for about $2 million, and then you've got $1 million left over to
buy beans and rice for the troops. That's how it works. You know,
we may be dumb, but we're not stupid. The more profit we make, the
more fun and games we can play in Central America."(14)
SOF also has an annnual convention. It generally draws between
700-1000 people. Major military figures have spoken at these
conventions, including John K. Singlaub and former top contra
leader Edgar Chamorro.(17) Israeli officers in the U.S. for
training have also spoken at these conventions.(7)
SOF organized the El Salvador/Nicaragua Defense Fund. With the help
of the Air Commando Association (of which Heine Aderholt is the
president), SOF sent combat boots, military uniforms and other
non-lethal supplies to the contras. Some $5.2 million dollars of
medical aid has been provided to the contras and the Salvadoran
Army.(15)
Brown paid for reprints of the CIA's manual on guerrilla warfare
and distributed them to the contras inside Nicaragua.(16)
SOF's parent group Omega Group, Ltd. is also involved in other
support activities for "anticommunist" groups.
The Afghan Freedom Fighters Fund is one of these projects. It is
administered by SOF and has been in operation since December 1979.
Since that time SOF readers have donated $150,000. Donations to
this group are not tax deductible according to Alexander McColl
because "we have not convinced the IRS that killing Communists is
an `educational or charitable' activity..."(5)
Another group that Omega Group, Ltd. has backed is the El Salvador/
Nicaragua Defense Fund. Described above, this group provides
"non-lethal" items to the Salvadoran military and the contras.(5)
The group Refugee Relief International Inc.(RRII) was created by
SOF. Tom Reisinger is the president and is also associated with
SOF.(1) The group has sent $4.5 million to the Salvadoran Military
forces.(15) It provides medical training and supplies to the contras
and El Salvador.(1) Its stated purpose is to supply private medical
aid to countries such as El Salvador thereby freeing U.S. foreign
aid to be re-allocated for military aid and other assistance.(15)
RRII medics and doctors travel with the Salvadoran Army treating
wounded soldiers and peasants as part of the army's civic action
program. Singlaub, Aderholt, and McColl all sit on the board of
directors of this group. As a funding pitch the group states "For
the price of a case of beer you can help save a life and get a blow
in at communism at the same time."(1)
Govt Connections: Most of the editors of Soldier of Fortune have
served in the military.
Lt. Col. Robert K. Brown (USAR, ret.) served as an officer in the
counterintelligence corps of the U.S. Army in the mid-1950s. He
left the Army in 1957 but returned in 1964 to receive training in
the Army Reserve. In 1967 Brown was recalled as a captain and
trained for the Special Forces at Fort Bragg. While in Vietnam,
Brown worked with the CIA's Phoenix Program--a program of
counterterror that executed as many as 40,000 South Vietnamese
accused of being members or supporters of the Viet Cong. The CIA
commended Brown for his "outstanding contribution to the Phoenix
Program." Brown was also a commander of a Special Forces team that
advised the CIA-formed army of Montagnard tribes people.(1)
Gen. Aderholt (USAF, ret.) served for 34 years, of which 26 were
spent in unconventional warfare operations. In Southeast Asia he
oversaw special operations in Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos. During
part of his time in Southeast Asia, Aderholt served as a chief of
covert air operations under Major General John K. Singlaub (ret.),
the former director of the World Anti-Communist League.(1,16)
Aderholt has been closely identified with U.S. clandestine
operations.(19)
George Bacon III was a Special Forces medic in Vietnam as well as a
CIA case officer in Laos.(16)
Bill Brooks was in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne division. He was
also a sergeant in the French Foreign Legion and has served as an
urban warfare trainer in Central America on SOF's training
missions.(16)
John Donovan was a major in the Special Forces. He is the owner of
Donovan Dynamiting of Danvers, Illinois and was a demolitions
trainer in Central America and Afghanistan.(16)
Dana Drenkowski is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Acedemy. He
flew in more than 200 combat missions in Southeast Asia. He was
awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses.(16)
Capt. Dale A. Dye (USMC, ret.), former executive editor of SOF,
served in the Marine Corps for 21 years. He served in Vietnam where
he received a Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts, the Vietnamese
Cross of Gallantry, and the Vietnam Honor Medal. He also trained
with the Royal Marines.(16)
Michael Echanis was a Purple Heart winner in Vietnam. He was a
trainer for the U.S. Army Special Forces and the U.S. Navy SEALs.(16)
Galen Geer served in the USMC for eight years. He was in Vietnam
from 1967-1969. He served for the U.S. Army from 1977-1979.(16)
Peter G. Kokalis served in the U.S. Army with the technical
intelligence branch. He is listed as being a weapons trainer and
armorer in Central America.(1)
Col. Alexander M.S. McColl (USAR) served 11 years of active duty
including two tours of duty in Vietnam with the Special Forces.
During his tours in Vietnam McColl served under John K. Singlaub
and reportedly worked for the CIA and Air Force Intelligence.
McColl has led one SOF team to El Salvador. He is also a graduate
of the Army War College and Harvard Law School.(1,16)
Craig Nunn was in the U.S. Army's 12th Special Forces group,
airborne.(16) Harry Claflin, who has worked with SOF on training
missions in Central America, was a USMC Force Recon NCO in Vietnam.
After his military service, he was a weapons consultant for the
U.S. Agency for International Development. He has also worked as
a security consultant for the U.S. State Department.(16,18)
Tom Reisinger was a Special Forces medic.(16)
Alexander McColl maintains that SOF staff had close relationships
with the members of the former Reagan administration. At the time,
McColl said that the SOF editors "have access to various very
senior people in Washington."(14)
Various critics have claimed that Brown and SOF have ties to the
CIA. Brown has labeled this "pure bullshit" and says that "We have
never recieved money from the CIA, period..."(9,16) The critics
point out that Brown was a member of the U.S. Army's Counter-
intelligence Corps which reportedly has had extremely close
ties to the CIA. Brown was also involved with the Phoenix Program
and commended by the CIA.(9)
Ward Churchill, an author who successfully infiltrated the SOF inner
circle, said in 1984 that Kokalis was "believed to be employed by
the CIA."(9) George W. Bacon III (see activities) was a member of
the CIA field station in Laos and received the country's highest
clandestine award, the Intelligence Star. Michael Echanis (see
activities) was a CIA contract employee during his time at SOF.(9)
Private Connections: In Guatemala SOF works with the Air Commando
Association (ACA).(1) The ACA is headed by Harry Aderholt (pres).
The group is comprised of former or current members of the Special
Operations Forces of the U.S. Air Force. Aderholt has boasted that
ACA worked "hand in hand" with the U.S. Embassy and MilGroup (the
embassy's military mission) in El Salvador. An ACA member has
described ACA's activities as "counterinsurgency civic action."
Aderholt has explained "We're helping the refugees to help them
stay on our side. Anyone reading anything sinister into this has
got to be a radical son-of-a-bitch." ACA has assisted SOF's El
Salvador/Nicaragua Defense Fund in sending goods to the
contras.(15)
SOF is connected to World Medical Relief (WMR) through RRII. Through
an agreement with the Air Commando Association, RRII distributed
WMR supplies in El Salvador.(1) In the past quarter century WMR has
distributed $100 million worth of donated supplies to CIA-directed
programs in Asia and Latin America. Harry Aderholt (ACA) worked
with the founder of WMR, Irene Auberlin (now retired), for over 20
years. While working in Panama in the 1960's for the Rand Corporation,
a CIA-associated think tank, Aderholt contacted WMR. Because the
U.S. Southern Command is based in Panama U.S. counterinsurgency
efforts for Latin America are directed from that country. In 1972
the official newspaper of the Panamanian Southern Command, Southern
Command News, stated that WMR's "distribution in Latin America is
handled primarily by U.S. Southern Command, as part of its extensive
medical civic action program throughout the area."(19)
Misc: Robert Brown commented about the flyers at the Pan Am Games:
"We're gonna let people know those commie bastards come here to spy
on the United States."(4)
A quote from Harry Aderholt: "They say I'm CIA--so what?"(19)
Comments: Some feel that SOF's involvement in Central America is
based more on a profit motive than patriotism, anticommunism, or
any other "ism." Says Edgar Chamorro, "But their (SOF's) main
interest was in making a business of the popularity of militarism.
They used anticommunism to promote their own money making
enterprises.... For the Soldier of Fortune organizations,
perpetuating anticommunism became an end in itself. For them,
it was best that the war in Nicaragua continue, to give them an
excuse to go on fighting and promoting."(17) An American gunrunner
in Central America says that Brown is "a viper playing on the lives
of people here for his own gain."(14) An early example of Brown's
penchant for making a profit can be witnessed in his "gunrunning"
scheme.
U.S. Address: Soldier of Fortune, P.O. Box 693, Boulder, CO 80306.
Sources:
1. The Resource Center, The New Right Humanitarians, 1986.
2. "Mercenaries in El Salvador," People's World, June 9, 1984.
3. Scott Anderson and Jon Lee Anderson, Inside the League
(New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1986).
4. "SOF at Pan AM Games," Soldier of Fortune, November, 1987.
5. Letter from Alexander M.S. McColl, Omega Group, Ltd.,
June 22, 1989.
6. SOF, June, 1987.
7. Iver Peterson, "Soldiers Journal Eyes Respectability,"
New York Times, September 23, 1985.
8. SOF, March, 1989.
9. Ward Churchill, "Soldier of Fortune's Robert K. Brown," Covert
Action Information Bulletin, Fall 1984.
10. Robert K. Brown, "A Word from the Publisher," SOF, August 1985.
11. Robert J. McCartney, "Soldiers of Fortune Lend a Hand in
El Salvador," Washington Post, August 29, 1983.
12. Jim Clardy, "Soldier of Fortune Finds Way to Help," Washington
Times, April 26, 1985.
13. Morgan Tanner, "Winning Hearts & Mayans," SOF, November 1988.
14. Jacqueline Sharkey, "Disturbing the Peace," Common Cause
Magazine, September/October 1985.
15. Witness for Peace & Coalition for Nicaragua, "Private Funding
of the Contra," April, 1985.
16. SOF, "SOF's Rogues' Gallery," SOF, August, 1985.
17. Edgar Chamorro, Packaging the Contras: A Case of CIA
Disinformation (New York, NY: Institute for Media Analysis, 1987).
18. Harry Claflin, "Deep Recon: SOF Boosts Salvo Bush Beasts," SOF,
April, 1985.
19. Russ Bellant, "The Politics of Giving," The Metro Times,
October 9-15, 1985.
20. James L. Pate, "SOF Profiles RKB," SOF, August, 1985.
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