From the helmets of the 101st Airborne in Normandy to a psychological weapon and morale booster in Vietnam, one playing card became a military legend. by Jose Campos The body lay in the jungle on the losing side of a firefight between American and Viet Cong fighters. On the dead …

by “Sol Prendido” One of the most influential capos in Mexico’s history met a tragic end – and so did his doctors. One of the most powerful drug lords in Mexico was Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who was born in Navolato, Sinaloa, in 1956. El Señor de los Cielos (Lord of …

The first CIA officer killed in the line of duty rode for six months across deserts and mountains while escaping Communist China. by Stephen Caldwell Douglas Mackiernan rode at the front of the caravan, pushing his horse across the frozen Tibetan plateau. The animals were thin, the men exhausted, and …

Smuggling networks led by fixers like Oleg move men through checkpoints, vehicles, and terrain, turning border enforcement into a market for escape. by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – Oleg did not ask many questions when the calls came in. He listened, noted what mattered, and moved on to the next name …

Drones began as a battlefield curiosity, and have become a staple of modern warfare. Here at Soldier of Fortune, we have spent years pushing past the headlines to bring readers deeper into what’s happening on the ground. What follows is a look at some of our findings, from the history …

When C-17’s leave the runway in the dust. Two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, flew into the Nevada Test and Training Range to support a training exercise for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The massive cargo planes, part of the 62nd Airlift Wing, …

Four true accounts of men who ran out of options, water, and luck on the continent, and found a way through anyway. Africa doesn’t negotiate. When things go wrong, the nearest help may be hours away, and the backup plan may come down to whoever is standing beside you. Soldier …

by Cliff Wade Iraq, 2007 Every now and again we’d get an outsider attached to our unit on missions. Sometimes they were enablers who proved to be assets, other times they were regarded as interlopers who got in the way. One such instance sticks out in my mind over others: …

by Jonathan Stumpf Life with a frontline mortar crew, where an old Soviet weapon fires from the countryside as the war in Ukraine moves toward Chasiv Yar. “Tri, dva, simdesyat,” crackles over the radio. “Tri, dva, sim, nol,” I repeat as I lay the old Soviet 120mm mortar onto the …

by Carl Hancocks For the past four years, the city of Agadez has been what could barely pass as home for a woman without a name. Nigerian, she fends for herself as a sex-worker, but that was not how she arrived in this place. Her story is that of a …