Robert Kenneth Brown was born in Monroe, Mich., on Nov. 2, 1932, the older of two sons of Florence B. Brown. The father of Robert and his brother, Alan, was a steelworker. Robert grew up in Highland, Mich., and graduated from George Rogers Clark High School in Whiting, Ind., in 1950. He attended Michigan State University for two years in the early ’50s, and transferred to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1954. He joined the Army that year, attained the rank of lieutenant in the clandestine Army counterintelligence service, and mustered out in 1957.
He re-enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned a master’s degree in political science in 1966. His master’s thesis, on Fidel Castro’s July 26 Movement, took him briefly to Cuba.
In 1960, Mr. Brown married Joan Gardner. They had a daughter, Janice, and were divorced in 1963. In 1995, he married Mary Jenkins, and was divorced in 1999. He later married Ms. Brake.
In 1964, Mr. Brown rejoined the Army. He was assigned to Vietnam, qualified for Special Forces duty as a captain and was a team leader on the Vietnam-Cambodian border, gathering intelligence on enemy forces. In the late 1960s, he was wounded in a mortar attack, returned to the United States and quit active duty with disabilities. He remained in the Army Reserves until 1985, when he resigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In 1970, Mr. Brown, who lived for many years in Boulder, and a Special Forces colleague, Peder Lund, co-founded Paladin Press, which published many books on survivalism, firearms, martial arts, military and police investigation tactics and other subjects.
Ama Sarpomaa contributed reporting.