Precision Room Clearing in Urban
Operations
By CPT Jose A. Devarona, Mr. Thomas P. Odom, and SFC Robert
Ehrlich, JRTC CALL Cell
In recognizing the reality of the Contemporary Operating Environment (COE), emphasis placed
on urban operations has only increased at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC). The
center portrays a small urban environment blended with a rural agrarian community set in
complex terrain. The MOUT complex at Shughart-Gordon is the centerpiece for urban
operations at the JRTC. It should be noted that recent shifts under COE have prompted
commanders to look at mounting operations from within the confines of the urban complex.
Central to the portrayal of urban operations at the JRTC is the issue of Rules of Engagement
(ROE) and how they influence the scenario in exercising the unit’s METL. Typically, such
operations focus on precision-clearing operations rather than full-blown high intensity urban
operations. Often this generates great debate among commanders and even observer/controllers
over the risks precision-clearing operations.1 Are such operations stacked against the attacker?
Are they realistic? Are we really going to conduct precision-clearing operations? The answer to
all three questions is, YES. Mitigating the risks involved in such operations calls for a better
understanding of how they fit in the context of urban operations and a mastery of the tactics,
techniques, and procedures (TOC) involved.
Precision-clearing techniques do not replace other techniques currently being used to clear
buildings and rooms during high-intensity combat. Specifically, they do not replace the
clearing technique in which a fragmentation or concussion grenade is thrown into a room
before the U.S. forces enter. Precision room-clearing techniques are used when the tactical
situation calls for room-by-room clearing of a relatively intact building in which enemy
combatants and noncombatants may be intermixed. They involve increased risk to clear a
building methodically, rather than using overwhelming firepower to eliminate or neutralize all
its inhabitants. --FM 3-06.11
High-Intensity Urban Operations
In a surprising and threatening move, the federal forces relied heavily on fuel-air explosives
and tactical missiles (SCUD and SCARAB). These systems suppressed the Chechens both
physically and psychologically and these assets were used to attack fighters hiding in
basements. Such fire strikes were designed for maximum psychological pressure—to
demonstrate the hopelessness of further resistance against a foe that could strike with
impunity and that was invulnerable to countermeasures. The TOS-1, heavy flame system, (a
multiple rocket launcher mounted on a T-72 tank chassis) played a particularly prominent
role as a terror weapon.2
