Old Hands, Listen Up: The Younger Warriors Need You

COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating

I recently did a demographic survey on the Soldier of Fortune audience – and the results prompted me to write this Dispatch to certain readers. Old hands, listen up. This is for you.

Bear with me for a little context.

In the survey, the big finding overall is that our readers are young. The largest single group is aged 25-34, followed by ages 35-44.

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Not surprisingly, most of the readers are men. The mix is 89-11% – and the women love their SoF brothers. The entire group (aged 18 through 65+) reads our reports and stories here in the magazine. It also flocks to our social media pages in waves. More than 850,000 readers follow us on Facebook alone. That is an Army-sized, or a Command-sized element.

Here’s what got my attention. In the comments sections on our largest social media page, the entire demographic weighs in. The largest portion of commenters, though, is aged 60 and older. They have something to say, and are happy to say it.

What do the younger folks do when the older ones comment? They listen. They pay attention. They respect them, and want their insights.

Older hands, you are the wise ones who have seen much and learned even more. In this community, you are the deeply revered men on the mountain. We care about what you say. We want your thoughts and observations.

Older hands, keep giving them. The younger warriors need you.

That’s all for now. Carry on.

Susan Katz Keating is the publisher and editor in chief at Soldier of Fortune.