COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating Fifty-plus years of Soldier of Fortune brings one question repeatedly to my inbox: Where did this all begin? The answer is not a mystery; it’s history. Soldier of Fortune grew from Vietnam, and its legacy still drives us today. To understand Soldier of Fortune, you have to …
Read More »We Knew They Weren’t Coming Back: Vietnam’s Brutal ‘9 Days in May’
by Susan Katz Keating“We weren’t Special Forces or Airborne. We were mostly just a bunch of draftee grunts who turned out to be damn good soldiers.” The soldiers proceeded cautiously through the jungle highlands west of Pleiku, near the Cambodian border, on the morning of May 18, 1967. The men …
Read More »‘We Shoot Fascists’: A Soldier of Fortune Correspondent Was Threatened Before He Asked One Question
by Susan Katz Keating My correspondent called me from downrange on assignment in Minneapolis. I cut him off when I heard the threats. “Get out. Now,” I said. I am not printing his true name in this article. That decision is mine — one I made as his publisher, and …
Read More »Crossings in Wartime: Sabotage in the Supply Chain
In Part 2 of our investigative series, we examine how booby-trapped equipment slipped into wartime aid networks in Ukraine, targeting Russian soldiers. by Susan Katz Keating The Russian soldier placed the FPV goggles on his head, and flipped the switch on his drone console. He expected to see real-time images …
Read More »Don’t Shoot, We’re Chinese: Transponder Diplomacy in the Strait of Hormuz
As Iran threatens to burn ships that enter the narrow waterway, some crews are gambling that a few words might protect them. ANALYSIS by Susan Katz Keating The Strait of Hormuz lay ahead when the cargo ship Sino Ocean changed its transponder. A new message appeared on maritime tracking screens: …
Read More »Crossings in Wartime: A Soldier of Fortune Investigative Project
War creates borders. Borders shape power. We examine what moves along the seams. by Susan Katz Keating The soldier lifted his rifle until the business end was inches from my face. “What brings you to Northern Ireland?” he asked. I took a step back, and he lowered the weapon. I now …
Read More »So You Want to Be a War Correspondent
COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating The work has been called the most dangerous form of journalism. Amid my daily influx of emails, text messages, and phone calls, I frequently am hit up by people who want to go downrange under my name. They approach me with variants on the following requests. …
Read More »Beirut Barracks Atrocity: Iran Ordered the Bomb That Killed 241 US Marines
by Susan Katz Keating When President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, he cited the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines. He included it as part of Iran’s long record of directing proxy attacks on American forces. Here’s how the day unfolded. …
Read More »Epic Fury, Roaring Lion: American, Israeli Forces Strike Iran in Joint Combat Operation
by Susan Katz Keating The United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran early Saturday, hitting military and regime-linked targets in a major joint combat operation against the Islamic Republic. The Pentagon announced the mission as Operation Epic Fury. Israeli described its own part as Operation Roaring Lion. President …
Read More »WATCH: Night Stalkers in Action
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is known as the Night Stalkers. They move at a moment’s notice, arriving time on target, plus or minus 30 seconds. Check out the team in action.
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