The Fire Pit

Welcome to The Fire Pit! Our new section is for stories and yarns that you would share while sitting with comrades around the fire. This includes Stories of Fortune; Lore; Book Reviews; and more.  On tap are tales from the longtime SOF gang; from publisher SKK on Cold War adventures; …

Key dates include August-September 2022; February 2023; and mid-July 2023 by Johnnietwobrows Editor’s note: Astrologer Johnnietwobrows previously examined Vladimir Putin’s astrological chart for SOF, so we thought it only made sense that he also see what is written in the stars for Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The following analysis is based on …

by Amos Chapple A photo album sitting on the shelves of Ukraine’s KGB archives reveals how an amateur U.S. spy was captured more than 60 years ago.  In the summer of 1961, a quiet, serious American student named Marvin Makinen pulled up to the Soviet border in a Volkswagen car. The …

Putin’s chart shows a man who knows how to start, but not finish, a war. by Johnnietwobrows Editor’s note: While much of the world is using secular means to decode Vladimir Putin and his actions in Ukraine, we at Soldier of Fortune decided to approach the puzzle via one additional …

By Chris Kyle, Author of American Sniper Sniper Chris Kyle wrote the following for SOF in 2012, the year before he was killed.  Tested I was not the best sniper in my class. In fact, I failed the practice test. That meant potentially washing out of the class. Unlike the …

By Jim Lechner Editor’s note: Army Ranger (Ret) Jim Lechner wrote the following hymn to comradeship and patriotism – an essay that reverberates among those who long for the lost clarity of war. A veteran of multiple Special Operations missions, Lechner was wounded in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in …

By Robert K. Brown After 47 adventure-filled years of publishing Soldier of Fortune Magazine,  I decided it was time to move on to other long awaited projects, including writing books of the SOF adventures. After having given it considerable thought, I am passing the torch to journalist and author Susan …

The Story of the Sheriff’s Saddle Western State Sheriff Association The story of the Saddle It’s a plain saddle, not covered in fancy silver Conchos or a lot of tooling. This is a practical, tough working saddle. The saddle sets empty of a rider, representing that the Office of Sheriff …