Operation Insight

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Specialist Phil Wight of the U.S. Army!   While you're here, check out Phil's upcoming event: Boots & Bling! Enjoy a night of cars, casino games, fashion, and country music! This great event will take place on Wednesday, April 29th, from 6-10PM at the Piazza Messina in Cottleville, Missouri. Purchase your ticket at www. STLTopRides.com/Tickets   (00:00)...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Staff Sergeant Tom Bommarito of the U.S. Army!   (00:00) Disclaimer (01:01) Opening Theme (01:30) Introduction (38:21) Vietnam Preparation & Deployment (49:24) SFC Douglas ”Woody” Woodward (54:32) Two Purple Hearts & Mortar Fire (1:06:35) The Futility of War & Honoring the ”Unwritten Contract” (1:15:35) No Rest & No Recuperation (1:20:36) "We...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Sergeant First Class Sheldon Hartsfield of the U.S. Marine Corps & the Missouri National Guard!   Collins Horton and Tai Shan's Live Performance of "Just What We Do" as featured by Songs for Heroes: https://youtu.be/nxru5MHTBRk?si=5Y_w3LBluT8SN26t   (00:00) Disclaimer (01:01) Opening Theme (01:30) Introduction (42:52) Training for Anything & Extracti...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Captain Mike Lavin of the U.S. Army!   (00:00) Disclaimer (01:01) Opening Theme (01:30) Introduction (35:40) Once a Scout, Always a Scout (38:52) Vietnam & the 515th Transportation Company (1:07:47) Part II (1:12:16) "Born on the Fourth of July" & PTSD (1:18:48) The Westminster Seven & Returing to 'Nam (1:24:45) The Veteran Experience (1:34:04) M...

Join us on Operation Insight as we welcome Sergeant Brandon Eichholz of the U.S. Army, founder and owner of Sky Soldier Dog Training!   (00:00) Disclaimer (01:01) Opening Theme (01:31) Introduction (49:41) 173rd Airborne Brigade & the Sky Soldiers (1:18:34) Part II (1:27:15) COVID (1:37:49) Sky Soldier Dog Training (1:44:21) Closing

Operation Insight is proud to support The Freedom 13 organization and its upcoming Salute Our Troops Gala Night! WHAT: This special event includes a full-plated dinner, entertainment, a keynote address by former Green Beret veteran Adam Smith, and an unforgettable night! WHEN: Friday, February 27th (two days after Jared's birthday) from 6-11 PM WHERE: The Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, Missour...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Sergeant William "Sif" Sifford of the U.S. Army!   "You have the spirit that will make this country the greatest the sun has ever shone upon." When Harry S. Truman said those words, he spoke from experience. Raised on a humble Missouri farm and born with poor vision, not much was expected of Harry's future. Yet, the farmboy from Independence would go on to s...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host First Lieutenant Repps Hudson of the U.S. Army!   “In order to write about life, first you must live it.” Ernest Hemingway knew that from experience, one could say, life experience. While others drew inspiration from silence and solitude, Hemingway dwelt in the catastrophic and chaotic pulse of the front lines, literally. His swashbuckling ways began as a vo...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Captains Kim & Dakota, co-founders of the Reveille & Retreat Project and co-hosts of Dog Tag Diaries!   It's June 11th, 2001, and millions of Americans are tuning in for NBC's newest reality television show. Coupled with overly dramatic music and a montage of contestants attempting seemingly death-defying stunts, the narration begins, "Imagine a worl...

Join us on Operation Insight as we welcome Lieutenant Colonel Mike Vincent of the U.S. Marine Corps!   After leading a heartfelt rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung to Jesus Christ, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman announces to his Marine Corps recruits, "Today is Christmas!" During this scene in the oft-cited and critically acclaimed film Full Metal Jacket, the Senior Drill Instructor says things not norm...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Private First Class Walter "Wally" Mayer!   As the sun sets this evening, Jewish people across the globe will begin celebrating Hanukkah. Despite its status as a "minor" holiday on the Jewish calendar, it has become one of the most widely recognized Jewish traditions. This is likely due to the use of the Menorah and the lighting of its eight candles. The act...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Lieutenant Commander William "Trey" Warren of the U.S. Navy!   There's a poignant scene in Top Gun: Maverick in which Tom Cruise's iconic character meets with his rival-turned-friend Iceman, played by Val Kilmer. During the scene, Iceman (now an Admiral and technically Maverick's superior) instructs him, "It's time to let go." The context for that advice rev...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Corporal Dorothy Mae "Rusty" Marlen, veteran of the Women's Army Corps!   In the spirit of Thanksgiving and family togetherness, we introduce you to Dorothy Mae "Rusty" Marlen, Ethan's great aunt. For as long as Ethan can remember, Rusty has been the life of the party and one of his absolute favorite relatives. To think that if it wasn't for a box of donuts...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Major Herb Silva of the U.S. Marine Corps, founder of Smiles for Veterans!   Fifty years. That's how long it has been since the end of America's involvement in the Vietnam War. A conflict that began as a "police action" would eventually receive several monikers, one of which was the "Helicopter War." In fact, in the Spring of 1975, that's exactly how it all...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Captain Jim Pettit, Operations Director of the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight,  and Captain Joel Eisenstein, a recent Honor Flight participant!   Before Veterans Day, there was Armistice Day. Before that, there was "The War to End All Wars." And yet, less than a quarter of a century later, humanity would be embroiled in yet another global conflict. One that...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Councilwoman Linda Ragsdale of O'Fallon, Missouri!   Gold Star Families go through a lot. While they may not attend Basic Training or feel the mixture of terror and thrill when heading into a combat zone, they do know suffering. They know the stomach-churning anxiety of waiting for details about their loved one's well-being. They know the desperation of bein...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Staff Sergeant Chris Munro!   "Where'd you go to high school?" "Cubs or Cardinals?" "Panera or Bread Co.?" These are questions for which every good St. Louisan has an at-the-ready answer. Then there's, "What was it like being a Combat Medic?" Well, that's much more complicated. St. Louis native Chris Munro has his own take on that query, but we recommend buc...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Captain Garvis Pollard, Jr. of the U.S. Army!   "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." For much of his life, Garvis Pollard, Jr., had no choice but to abide by that tenet of Stoicism. In fact, living that motto began very early for Garvis. Born in 1944, he entered a world ravaged by World War II, and his first full year of life...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Chief Petty Officer Chuck Robinson of the U.S. Navy!   If Chuck's first year as a Sailor was any indication of what lay ahead, then he would have known just how unordinary his thirteen years of service would be. Whether it was a hurricane, ironically causing the perfect storm that allowed Chuck to be present for his first child's birth, or the fact that he h...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Petty Officer Second Class Don Luney and Dr. Julie Smith of Re-Emerge!   After a decade of service in the Navy, PO2 Luney's story was not that different from other veterans. He suffered from chronic joint pain and debilitating migraines. Beyond that, Don was eager to rediscover the camaraderie he had enjoyed as a Sailor. Ultimately, Don just wanted to feel b...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Master Sergeant Leonor Branch of the U.S. Air Force, founder of Sisters in Service of Greater St. Louis!   "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can." Those are the words of renowned Latina artist Frida Kahlo, but they very much apply to Leonor Branch. During her time in the Air Force, MSgt Branch was the living embodiment of "Al m...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Specialist Dustin Row of the U.S. Army, founder of Songs4Soldiers!   Much is asked of America's youth in times of war. As written by author Brandt Legg, “War is a place where young people who don’t know each other, and don’t hate each other, [are commanded to] kill each other…” Rather than dwell on the callousness of combat, Dustin has transformed his compas...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Senior Master Sergeant Stevie Riley!   Although SMSgt Riley had a tendency to ask herself, "Can a woman do that?", by all accounts, she already knew the answer. With each new assignment or duty, Stevie succeeded but did so in unconventional ways. When tasked with demonstrating how to command a flight crew's attention during a briefing, she transformed into a...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Specialist Jim Manahan!   우정 ("wu-juhng") is a meaningful word to Jim Manahan, especially when he was serving as a Korean linguist in the Army. Friendship, that's what SPC Manahan enjoyed most during his service. A close second to that was his love of learning! Jim was exposed to the world outside of his middle-class Irish Catholic neighborhood very early...

Join us on Operation Insight as we host Sergeant Helyn Kevrick, otherwise known as "Sarge"!   Towards the end of World War I, Opha May Johnson enlisted to become the first female Marine in 1918. Then, in 1943, with World War II raging on, the Marine Corps Women's Reserve was established, and by war's end, over 23,000 female Marines had served their country. In 1948, women were finally given the ri...