"War is hell" – a sentiment General Sherman expressed and one that is probably echoed by any who have survived the fire-storms of combat.
For the past 10 years, Strategic Operations Inc (STOPS) has prepared over 450,000 Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers, and Coast Guard personnel for the rigors of combat through their unique Hyper-Realistic™ training simulations, which combine the special effects of the movie industry with the tactics and techniques of military training. The business focuses on two major sectors: combat training support services; and the manufacturing, enhancement, and construction of military props, facilities, and environments.
STOPS began during the early years of the 2000s, when president Stu Segall, who owns a studio and had been in the television and movie-making industry for 40 years, started collaborating with local law enforcement officers to provide sets and movie props to make training environments more realistic.
As Segall was able to incorporate more and more "movie magic" special effects into the training environments, he came to realize that this fun side project that he’d started could have a legitimate business application.
At this time, Segall met Kit Lavell, who is now the Executive Vice President – lending his considerable experience both in the military as a Naval Aviator during the Vietnam War as well as business knowledge after having owned his own construction and engineering business. Segall and Lavell teamed up to create a business plan for Strategic Operations Inc and the company began running training simulations in 2002.
"I get to work with these folks that sign up to go into combat, that freely sign on that line knowing that they are going to go overseas to get shot at. They all know it and they all relish it and they all care about this country. From a civilian standpoint, you can’t ask for much more than that from our young folks when they want to go do this," explains Stu Segall, President of STOPS.
Read the article on the Business Review USA website.
About Strategic Operations Inc
Strategic Operations Inc. (STOPS), on the lot of Stu Segall Productions, a full-service TV / movie studio, provides Hyper-Realistic™ training services and products for military, law enforcement, and other organizations responsible for homeland security.
The company employs state-of-the-art Hollywood battlefield special effects, combat wound effects, medical simulation systems, role players, subject matter experts, Combat Training Coordinators, and training scenarios to create training environments that are the most unique in the industry.
STOPS has supported squad to brigade training with these services at the National Training Center and at the Marine Corps’ "Mojave Viper" at Twentynine Palms, California, as well as at other military installations in the U.S. and Canada.
The company manufactures patent-pending modular, mobile MOUT systems, props, faux weapons, and live fire targets (including radio controlled ballistic unmanned ground vehicles), and constructs, enhances, and transforms MOUT facilities.
STOPS has transformed and / or built MOUT facilities at Fort Irwin, Fort Polk, Fort Bliss, San Clemente Island, Camp Pendleton, and other Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and National Guard facilities.
Since 2002 STOPS has provided Hyper-Realistic™ training support to more than 450,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guard personnel prior to deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
STOPS introduced "The Magic of Hollywood" to live military training by employing all the techniques of film and TV production integrated with military tactics, techniques, and procedures.