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Posted on 08/28/2007 5:17:55 PM PDT by SandRat
BAGHDAD, Aug. 28, 2007 — Other than the fact that he is heavily armed, dressed in body armor, and flanked by several soldiers, 1st Lt. John Gassmann shows up at Ahmad Ali's doorstep just like any friendly new neighbor. He even brought a gift.
"The bottom line is, we can drive through this neighborhood three times a day for a year, but if we don't stop to talk to anyone, we'll never know anything about it."
1st Lt. John Gassmann
"We're just going through the neighborhood introducing ourselves, seeing if there are any problems, and seeing if there's anything we can do to help," Gassmann tells Ali conversationally, as his soldiers carry bags of rice, flour and beans into the house.
Gassman's unit, Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, is responsible for security in a poor section of Baghdad's Adhamiyah District. For the soldiers in Gassman's platoon, that means earning the trust and confidence of the local people through daily engagement patrols.
"The bottom line is, we can drive through this neighborhood three times a day for a year, but if we don't stop to talk to anyone, we'll never know anything about it," Gassmann said.
So, instead of cruising the streets in an armored Humvee, the native of Riley, Kan., spends most of his time inside residents' living rooms, sipping tea and talking. Lately, Gassmann's platoon has also been handing out humanitarian aid bags containing rice, salt, cooking oil and other common foodstuffs at each house they visit.
The bags are a lifeline for some of the poorer families in the area, but they're also a gesture of good will on the part of the soldiers. Having armed men show up on your doorstep unannounced - regardless of the reason - can be a little stressful, Gassmann said, so the aid bags are one way the soldiers can show they mean no harm.
"It puts them a little more at ease and lets them know we're here to help," he said.
The platoon handed out around 50 of the bags during a joint patrol, Aug. 21.
At house after house, the routine was the same. The soldiers conducted a quick search, then brought the food in as Gassmann sat down with the owners to discuss any concerns they might have. The conversations always ended with Gassmann offering them a card with his contact information.
"If you ever need anything just give me a call," Gassmann told one family. "We'll help you in any way that we can."
The point, he said, wasn't necessarily to leave each house with specific information about insurgents. It was to lay the groundwork for a relationship that might pay off in the future. "What we're really trying to do is build a trust between us and the people in the area," Gassmann said.
FR WAR NEWS! Dont let liberals find out we’re doing good things over there, they might get mad.
This is my favorite video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFjmceLmMhY
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