Soldier of Fortune, Inc. is an American action-adventure television series which ran in syndication from 1997 to 1998, about an elite team (composed of mostly former military personnel) who performed "unofficial" missions for the U.S. Government.
The series was created by Dan Gordon, and was produced by Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films (the company's first venture into television) and Rysher Entertainment.
During the first season, the show dealt with terrorists and drug lords, and often tackled issues such as patriotism and self-sacrifice.
The primary cast included Brad Johnson, Tim Abell, Melinda Clarke, Réal Andrews, Mark Sheppard, and David Selby.
Dennis Rodman and David Eigenberg replaced them, though their "hip" characters and new plots led many to abandon the show, leading to its cancellation.
Major Shepherd grew up in southern California, the son of a United States Navy A-6 pilot who was MIA during the Vietnam War.
It was there that he excelled at various edge weapons ranging from Japanese short sword, to a sharpened deck of cards.
While on a peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia, Major Shepherd disobeyed a direct order and returned for an injured soldier under his command.
After this incident, the Army nearly court-martialled Major Shepherd for disobeying a direct order; however, they instead accepted his resignation.
If captured, Major Shepherd and his team would have been executed as spies, so Trout offered them one million dollars if they were successful.
Major Shepherd then recruited six others for his mission, Benny Ray Riddle, Margo Vincent, Chance Walker, C.J.
Instead of taking the million dollars, Major Shepherd would ask Trout give the money to Hauer's family and help pay for Valesquez's physical rehabilitation.
The Silver Star had a secret room in which Maj. Shepherd and his team would meet to plan missions, and store weapons, supplies and spare money.
Benny Ray Riddle enlisted in the United States Marine Corps right out of high school.
Upon the completion of training Riddle would be accepted into the elite Scout Snipers, where he became a skilled marksman, a member of Marine Force Reconnaissance, and expert in a variety of firearms.
While on a United Nations peacekeeping mission Staff Sergeant Riddle refused a direct order from a UN officer.
Margo Vincent was born in Bucharest, Romania; she emigrated to the United States at age six, and became a naturalized citizen.
One of her spies was compromised by a KGB counter-espionage expert, who seduced the agent's wife and sent photos of their affair to him and Margo.
Although Chance was the second highest-ranking military officer, usually Margo was shown acting as Major Shepherd's second in command.
He showed expertise in flying everything from a variety of helicopters, turboprop planes and small passenger jets.
Chance was working as track and field coach for a high school when Major Shepherd initially recruited him for the team's first mission.
He did several tours in Vietnam, first in the 101st Airborne Division, then as a member of the Army Rangers, and finally as a Green Beret.
It is implied he has several connections to the underworld black market using this knowledge to provide the team with intel and equipment.
After Colonel Swanee's death, Trout asked the team (at this point consisting of only Shepherd, Vincent, and Riddle) to investigate the possibility that it was murder.
This was because in real life Dennis Rodman was still playing basketball with the Chicago Bulls and could not always get time off to shoot for the show.
Delvecchio left his neighborhood and then girlfriend behind to pursue a career in the Justice Department's Drug Enforcement Administration or the DEA.
When Major Shepherd first recruited him, he was no longer in the Navy but was working as an EMT in Los Angeles, California.
Rico would make another appearance to aid the team when Katrina Herrera would kidnap Benny Ray's son.
Although Hauer is supposed to be German, the actor who played him, Brian Cousins, was in fact born in Portland, Maine.
Sponsors of the show would include SIG Sauer, Ka-Bar, SureFire, Emerson Knives, and Soldier of Fortune Magazine.