by Heath HansenIt’s a gray, cold, and windy autumn day as I arrive and step out of my vehicle. The snow is beginning to stick to the North Brabant earth under my feet as I approach the house. A man opens the door, shakes my hand, and welcomes me into …
Read More »They Called Us Mercenaries, Gunslingers, and Worse: A Contractor’s Story
by Mikial The author tells Soldier of Fortune: “All of my work was with Department of Defense contractors. We never considered ourselves mercenaries although we were called mercenaries, gunslingers, and worse at times. It was difficult and dangerous work and also sometimes boring. We often lived rough in camps and …
Read More »WATCH: US Forces Capture Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela
The United States seized a sanctioned Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast, President Donald Trump said Wednesday. “We’ve just taken control of a tanker off Venezuela – huge, the largest one ever – and there are other developments unfolding,” said Trump. Watch the vessel being seized, below. Attorney General …
Read More »Did Moscow Offer to Take Maduro if US Topples Zelensky?
ANALYSIS by Susan Katz Keating Over the past few days, speculation has gone wild that the U.S. is about to flex military muscle in Venezuela. Rumors spread so fast over the weekend that people rearranged their lives just to be on “Venezuela Watch.” Nothing happened – at least, nothing anyone …
Read More »Ambush in the Sky, Massacre on the Ground: The Attack on Air Rhodesia Flight 825
by Gatimu Juma It should have been a routine flight. The Bush War was well underway in Rhodesia, but on that day in 1978, civilian air travel was safe. Or so it seemed. On the afternoon of September 3, 1978, the passengers and crew aboard Air Rhodesia Flight 825 learned …
Read More »Hedgehog Armor: The Spiked Countermeasure to Stop Drones From Blowing Up Tanks in Ukraine
by A.R. Fomenko VIENNA BUREAU – On the battlefields of Ukraine, steel beasts now crawl under strange new hides – bristling, porcupine-like shells known as “hedgehog armor.” It’s the latest mutation born from drone-saturated warfare, where a cheap quadcopter can gut a million-dollar tank before the crew even knows it’s coming. …
Read More »Ukraine: International Live-Fire Test Lab for Drones
by Susan Katz Keating China and other foreign actors are using Ukraine as a testbed, deploying cut-outs and deniable assets to gather real-time data on drones, intelligence sources told Soldier of Fortune. The grainy figures moved across the screen, creeping through murky terrain like shadows come to life. A blip …
Read More »“IED! IED! IED!” Hearts and Minds In the War On Terror
By Heath Hansen I opened my eyes. It was still dark, but I could see the night was ending and another day in some village in Afghanistan was beginning. The smell of dip-spit and cigarette smoke betrayed the fact that the platoon was awake and breaking down the patrol base. “Get …
Read More »Trapped Inside a Burning ‘Punishment Hut’ in WWI Germany: A Prisoner’s Story
Here at Soldier of Fortune, we uncovered a long-ago story of an atrocity during World War I, when eight prisoners met a horrific fate while captive in Germany. Here is the tale, as told by a fellow prisoner, “Pedro.” ~SKK Pedro’s Tale I was sailing on an English ship. She …
Read More »‘Day of Infamy’ Commemorations Include Ceremony of the Blackened Canteen
It is an annual toast to peace. American and Japanese representatives extend the offering each year at the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, gently pouring bourbon from a World War II-era canteen into the hallowed waters below. The ceremonies for decades have been a mainstay on the island of Oahu, …
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