Operation Jade Helm: The conspiracy theories probably aren’t as interesting as the truth

Source – mintpressnews.com

– As elite branches of the US military prepare to hold military training in seven southwest states, with some troops operating incognito among civilians, some Americans fear the training is actually preparation for imposing martial law.

Operation Jade Helm, which is scheduled to kick off in July and run for eight weeks, will involve the participation of 1,200 troops from the US military’s most elite fighting forces, including Green Berets, Navy SEALS and Special Operations from the Air Force and Marines.

The troops will be participating in what has been called Realistic Military Training in towns in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and Utah.

In an effort to simulate the type of battlefield conditions soldiers may face in foreign countries, the US military has designated the remote training areas where they will operate as in a “hostile” territory, a description that has irked some residents.

Meanwhile, Texans living in close proximity to the operation will be asked to report any “suspicious activity” during the exercise, a request that seems to contradict the belief laid out in the US military training document, leaked by The Houston Chronicle, that Texans are “historically supportive” of military efforts to “fight the enemies of the United States.”

The training exercise, according to Shadow Spear, a publication of USASOC, “will be conducted on private and public land with the permission of the private landowners, and from state and local authorities.”

“The most noticeable effect the exercise may have on the local communities is an increase in vehicle and military air traffic and its associated noise,” Shadow Spear said.

© US Army Special Operations Command
Map showing 7 states where US military forces will participate in domestic training.

Army Special Operation Command spokesman Mark Lastoria attempted to allay fears that the training is a actually an effort on the part of the military to practice “covert warfare tactics and martial law.” He said the domestic military operations are designed to develop “emerging concepts in special operations warfare,” and were not part of some kind of dark plans to take over the United States.

“That notion was proposed by a few individuals who are unfamiliar with how and why USASOC conducts training exercises,” he told Stripes, a US Army publication. “This exercise is routine training to maintain a high level of readiness for Army Special Operations Forces because they must be ready to support potential missions anywhere in the world on a moment’s notice.”

Paul Pape, a Bastrop County judge, also downplayed fears that the domestic military training was in reality rehearsal for full-blown martial law on the streets of America following some sort of major catastrophe.

“What I see here is an opportunity for a portion of our military to be better prepared and better trained to do work that has to be done to secure America’s interests around the world and here at home,” Pape told KEYE television in Austin, Texas.

The explanations given for the training, however, has not stopped fierce speculation among a number of citizen groups and alternative media sites as to why the entire states of Texas and Utah, as well as a section of southern California, have been declared “hostile,” while portions of the military detachment will be operating in the shadows of communities.

“They’re having Delta Force, Navy SEALS with the Army trained to basically take over,” Info Wars’ Alex Jones railed Sunday. “Texas is listed as a hostile sector, and of course, we are… here defending the republic.”

This is not the first time that American urban areas have served as the training areas for US forces.

In December 2014, Americans were unsettled by the spectacle of US Special Forces black helicopters buzzing the skylines of major US cities, including Dallas and Los Angeles, part of what it described as training in “realistic urban sites.”

Now, the Special Forces boots will be on the ground in cities and towns across the country, and that has some people asking a lot of questions.

Comment: Well, there was this recent drill: Operation Vigilant Guard. Here’s a somewhatcreepier explanation of Operation Jade Helm:

So what happens after all the players are on the ground?

The most likely scenario is that at the JOAX and CRF “events” the operation will go terribly wrong and while the large force at the JOAX will likely handle the fake disaster in the area they parachute into, the CRF will have to “escape and evade.”

So, America’s special forces will most likely have to evade capture by local law enforcement, suspicious citizens, and whatever military unit is turned loose to try to catch them. One source believes the force from the JOAX will become the “bad guys” and try to catch the CRF troops while they attempt to make their way undetected to a safe (blue states on the map) “country.”

This “survival” and “evasion” portion of the exercise explains Chief Deputy Roy Boyd’s ominous statement:

“They’re going to set up cells of people and test how well they’re able to move around without getting too noticed in the community.”

There is no way of knowing exactly what the scenario presented to the troops will be, but it is a certainty that this is not a federal takeover.

At some point, some or all of the troops will be captured. They will begin attempting to “resist” interrogation and plan their “escape.”

Why the big secret?

These exercises are very common. Let’s suppose you were 1000 miles from where you had to be and you had little or no funds to get there. What would you have to do to arrive safely at your destination while avoiding law enforcement and a military detachment?

These training exercises are not discussed because America’s most elite units will most likely be committing a slew of minor crimes along the way. They will certainly trespass, engage in petty theft, sneak onto a train, hide in the back of an 18-wheeler, they might even steal a car. This training is absolutely necessary for these troops’ survival in extreme situations, however, the public reaction to the above wouldn’t be favorable.

Why do they need this training really?

Can’t the US just send a helicopter to pick them up if something goes wrong in real life? In an incident that has become legendary in the Special Operations community, a group of soldiers was tasked with assassinating a terrorist in a foreign country. Initially, the foreign country agreed to the operation and was a “permissive environment.” Moments before the assassination was conducted, the government of the foreign country changed its mind and informed the US government. The news did not reach the soldiers in time, who carried out the assassination as ordered. Suddenly the troops were wanted by the local authorities in a “nonpermissive environment” and had to steal cars, hide away on planes, and do everything they could to get home. When the story is told (I’ve heard it four times from different people), the unit is always different, the target is always different, and the country is always different. The details of the story, including one hilarious anecdote about one of the soldiers hiding out on the boat of gay man, are always the same.

Conclusion

I never condemn “conspiracy theorists.” Too many conspiracy theories have been proven to be true. A coup d’etat in the United States at some point in the future is not out of the question, but it isn’t happening on July 15th. Never stop questioning, but never take the word of websites or outlets that generate all of the revenue from the ads on articles pushing the most outlandish theories without researching them for yourself.