Prior to the formation of Operation Ivy, Armstrong and Freeman had played together in the Berkeley ska punk band Basic Radio.

After witnessing a live show in Southern California, Joy Aoki of Flipside Magazine described the energetic new band as a "swell bunch of guys" who "mix hard-edged ska with the intensity of young thrash.

By this time, Operation Ivy, along with Crimpshrine and The Mr. T Experience, was one of the most successful bands from the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street.

With a budding reputation as an excellent live band, EMI offered Operation Ivy a major-label deal.

Unsure of how to react to the prospect of success, both because of their independent politics and local-mindedness, the band chose to break up rather than compromise their intentions.

Operation Ivy played one more unofficial performance the following day, mostly for friends and family, in Robert Eggplant's backyard in Pinole, California.

In two years, the band performed 185 shows and recorded a total of 32 songs (28 released officially, 4 on the bootlegged EP Plea for Peace), as well as songs which were recorded only as demos, such as "Hedgecore" (about a favorite pastime of the band which involved artfully jumping into manicured bushes), "Hangin' Out", "Sarcastic" and "Left Behind".

The lyrics and tone of Operation Ivy's music portray a vociferous desire for social justice and a strong distrust of mainstream conformist culture.

In 1991, two years after the group's demise, Lookout Records released a compilation album of 27 tracks including Energy and Hectic in their entirety and the songs "Officer" and "I Got No" all the way to Turn It Around!.

In October 2015, Leftöver Crack, a band heavily influenced by Operation Ivy, were joined by Jesse Michaels for performances of "Sound System" and "Unity".

[6] Armstrong also joined Boston ska band Big D and the Kids Table for a performance of "Sound System" in Montreal.

Michaels eventually resurfaced with a project band, Big Rig, which released a four-song EP titled Expansive Heart.

In 2008, Michaels collaborated with the indie/punk group Hard Girls to form a punk band called Classics of Love (who were named after a Common Rider song).

While the Epitaph reissue's track list is identical to the 1991 Lookout release, the 2007 re-release features remastered audio and new Digipak packaging.

[12] In March 2023, Armstrong and Michaels along with Circle Jerks drummer Joey Castillo formed the band Bad Optix and released their first single "Raid".