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'Knock' missions help earn respect

Nov- 5-2004 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

It's great to see a Stars & Stripes reporter visiting Mosul. We should see some good articles.

[Link to Full Article]
By Juliana Gittler, Stars and Stripes

MOSUL, Iraq — Before the first streaks of dawn break through the sky, teams of U.S. and Iraqi forces systematically trickle through a neighborhood on a “cordon-and-knock” mission.

They rap on each door, check inside for weapons or explosives and pass out leaflets asking for help finding terrorists. They’re hoping to flush out lurking enemy forces, but a critical part of the mission is more proactive. It lets residents get to know coalition forces.

Unlike a raid, a “knock” operation is meant to stay tranquil. Soldiers don’t break down doors; they work to earn the locals’ respect.

“Rather than kick the door and make everybody upset, we knock and ask permission to come in,” says Capt. Matthew McGrew, Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander and liaison with the Iraqi guardsmen. “That being said, we are checking every house.”

The missions also are meant bolster support for the burgeoning Iraqi National Guard. An Iraqi guardsman will be the first person the homeowners see when they open their doors.

“The key is you want to get that Iraqi face forward,” Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla, commander of the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 25th Infantry Division (Light), tells the unit leaders before they move out for a recent mission.

Shortly after 4 a.m., soldiers load into their Strykers and roll across the city to the targeted neighborhood. One group secures a perimeter around the affluent neighborhood. Another starts working its way from door to door.

Read the rest.


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