Men on a Mission: Team 47 had to quit race, but will never quit life
Team 47’s Jeremiah Brewington and Frankie Navarro leaving the chute at the start of the 2025 Iron Dog Race. Carly Padrta photo
Editor’s note: We caught up with Operation Iron Warrior President Jeremiah Brewington a few days before the start of the Iron Dog Race. He and Team 47 partner Frankie Navarro were embarking on their first Pro Class race together. Unfortunately, their trip ended early on Day 1 of the race. Brewington had been nursing a wrist injury that he was hoping would be healed in time to race, but instead he had to pull out of the race at the Whiskey Bravo checkpoint.
“Our mission isn’t over, just slightly changed,” said Brewington on Sunday morning. “I’ll heal up and get back at it. Frankie is now attached to our Operation Iron Warrior Team 74 and will help them complete their mission. Making the call to scratch was very hard for us, but it was the smart decision.
“I want to thank all of our sponsors and supporters; if it wasn’t for all the love and support of everyone, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Here is the story about Operation Iron Warrior’s bigger objectives in life.
Team 47 finds inspiration in the Iron Dog Race
When Jeremiah Brewington left the U.S. Army, he felt a little lost.
“I lost a team, and I lost a purpose,” said Brewington, who in 2018 recovered that purpose through a program called Battle Dawgs.
“Battle Dawgs is a nonprofit for veterans who suffer from combat-related injuries such as TBI, PTS and stuff like that,” he explained. “I went to a Battle Dawgs camp in 2018, and I kind of just fell into the program. Later, it kind of clicked on me, ‘Why don’t we develop something that can gives warriors who are missing that sense of team and sense of purpose’.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Brewington and fellow veteran partner Frankie Navarro are entering their first Pro Class race while celebrating the unveiling of their own nonprofit called Operation Iron Warrior. This program, which Brewington first helped develop under the Battle Dawgs umbrella, focuses on “team” and “purpose.” And completing his first-ever Pro Class race will be a way to celebrate both.
“Our ultimate goal is to show other veterans, other warriors, two things: There is something you can do together as a team and you can accomplish it,” he said. “The second prong is we are so often told by the VA and other doctors that, ‘Hey you are disabled, you can’t do this, and you can’t do that,’ and it grinds on us after a while. After a while you start to believe it. But doing this race? I’m going to prove to you that I can still do it. I may be a disabled veteran, but I’m not dead.”
Team 47’s Frankie Navarro goofing off at the Racer Draw, with Jeremiah Brewington in the background. Tracy Try photo
Brewington stresses that for he and Navarro, the completion of the Pro Class is their own personal goal to truly embody the Operation Iron Warrior mantra. They have spent their own money and solicited their own support to get Team 47 across the line. Where their nonprofit really comes into play, he said, is with Expedition Class Team 74, comprised of Battle Dawg and Operation Iron Warrior team members who will have a more leisurely trek down the Iron Dog race trail, where they can share the message of camaraderie, teamwork and purpose with those they meet along the way. Team 74 members are Matthew Riehm and Hunter Mathis, who both served in the military.
“It was not a coincidence that they are team 7-4 and we are team 4-7,” Brewington said. “That was very intentional. Team 74 is our Operation Warrior Team. They will shake hands and meet people and let people know what we are about. Frankie and I will be trying to complete the race”
Brewington said following his Pro Class dreams is a way to live the message Operation Iron Warrior is all about:
“Frankie and don’t have podium expectations,” he said. “We are going to ride smart, and we are going to push ourselves, and if we get the Red Lantern, we will be ecstatic. If, for some reason we do have to scratch, that’s OK, we are not going to give up. In the military, if you hit a roadblock, you figure out a way around it. All that is kind of the message you see, and the message we want to send: You just don’t give up.”
Operation Iron Warrior’s goal, in its own words, is this: “We are unwaveringly dedicated to addressing the critical issue of combat service member suicide by reuniting warriors with a supportive team and a meaningful mission. We harness the immense power of racing—whether it involves auto racing, snowmachine competitions, or ATV/UTV adventures—to create a cohesive team united by a common goal.”
Team 47 Jeremiah Brewington and Frankie Navarro are all taped up and ready to go: Race Day Sat., Feb. 15, 2025. Their race ended early, but not their perseverance. Tracy Try photo
Brewington said suicide is all too common and touches the lives of almost every military veteran he knows, including himself.
“I take the losses very personally,” he said. “I had one last May, when a really good friend of mine – we deployed twice together, our families hung out together, I was the best man at his wedding – took his own life. It didn’t make any sense to me; but it never does. It’s hard to swallow.”
Operation Iron Warrior and Battle Dawgs offer a lifeline to veterans who are feeling lost. Brewington hopes Expedition Class Team 74’s presence at this year’s Iron Dog will raise awareness that there is a brighter future ahead.
If you are feeling lost, isolated, or just want to talk, contact Operation Iron Warrior at
(907) 707-9137 or operationironwarrior@gmail.com or visit www.operationironwarrior.org