Jade Helm 15: Controversial military exercise starts
Wednesday
By Kyle Jahner, Staff writer 1:47 p.m. EDT July 15, 2015
ArmyTimes
Starting Wednesday, U.S. Army Special Operations Command will take point on a large-scale training
exercise in Texas — or if you believe some fringe outlets, they'll take point
on the Pentagon's preparation for civil war.
Jade Helm 15, as the exercise is called, will run through
Sept. 15 and will involve unconventional warfare involving Army special
operators, as well as representatives from the other services.
It will focus on enhancing team-level elements' abilities to
operate in unconventional warfare well-removed from company- and
battalion-level organization, said USASOC spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria.
The months leading up to Jade Helm were peppered with
various conspiracy theories on fringe websites. The outrage even led to town
hall meetings in Texas communities with Army representatives.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded by publicly assigning
the Texas
State
Guard to keep an eye on Jade Helm. Abbott's office later downplayed the move,
saying it fit in with the guard's advisory role in the state. Abbott also
reaffirmed the state's history of support for the military — a reason the Army
cited for choosing the state to conduct the exercise. The training will occur
in six other states: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana
and Mississippi.
USASOC will supply the vast majority of the roughly 1,200
personnel in the joint exercise, according to Lastoria. Limited special
operations forces units from the Navy, Marines and Air Force will also participate.
On the eve of Jade Helm, Lastori dismissed the conspiracies
and suggested opposition to the exercises
has waned.
"This overall training exercise is designed to ensure
that Army special operations forces are trained, equipped and organized to meet
future threats," Lastoria told Army Times. "Even a lot of the
journalists in Texas have said a lot of the controversy has died down."
Jade Helm 15 kicks off on July 15. (Photo: Staff Sgt.
Osvaldo Equite/SOCOM)
About four to five members of the Texas State Guard will act
as a liaison for citizens and coordinate with the Army from Camp Mabry,
headquarters of Texas Military Forces, according to the governor's office. A
spokesman said the state should have no reason to worry or distrust the
military, and said most communications between the Texas State Guard and
constituents have dealt with simple logistics.
Lastoria said the biggest inconvenience to residents will be
noise from military vehicles passing through. Most activities will occur in
remote settings, and any use of private land has been coordinated and agreed to
in advance, he said.
Outside events have been tied to the conspiracy.
Temporarily-closed Walmarts were
seen as concentration camps being prepared in the minds of some, while Blue
Bell ice cream trucks allegedly traveling near military vehicles were theorized
as mobile morgues.
Journalists are not permitted to embed in the operation.
Lastoria cited "the scope and scale and complex nature of the training
exercise," which he said was not uncommon among training exercises.
Jade Helm ends in September. (Photo: DoD)
"We look at all request for media visibility, and grant
when and where possible. In this case it just wasn't possible," Lastoria
said. "We have to take a balance of communication with the public and
preserving operation security as well."
The training will take place, according to USASOC, in the
following locations:
• Arizona: National Guard Training Centers and at an Army
Reserve Center
• Florida: Eglin Air Force Base
• Louisiana: Camp Beauregard
• Mississippi: Camp Shelby, Naval Research Laboratory –
Stennis Space Center, and U.S. Navy Seabee Base at Gulfport/Biloxi
• New Mexico: Cannon Air Force Base, and tentatively in
Otero County
• Texas: Camps Bullis and Swift, and in Bastrop, Burleson,
Brazos, Edwards, Howard, Hudspeth, Kimble, Martin, Marion, Real, Schleicher and
Tom Green Counties
• Utah: Carbon and Emery Counties
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
U.S. Special Operations
Command is
a division of the U.S. Department of
Defense.
Note: U.S.
Department of Defense oversees the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force.
Chuck
Hagel is the secretary at the U.S.
Department of Defense for the Barack
Obama administration, was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, and a chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Daniel W.
Christman was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army.
Wesley
K. Clark is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Army.
George A. Joulwan
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Army.
Barry R.
McCaffrey was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a general in the U.S. Army.
Robert W.
RisCassi was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a general in the U.S. Army.
Carl
E. Vuono is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Army.
Eric
K. Shinseki was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), a general in the U.S. Army, and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for
the Barack Obama administration.
Togo
D. West Jr. is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), the secretary for the U.S. Army, the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
and the general counsel for the U.S.
Department of Defense.
U.S.
Department of Defense oversees the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force.
Herbert M.
Allison Jr. was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and an officer in the U.S. Navy.
Edmund P.
Giambastiani Jr. is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and was an admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Charles R. Larson
was a director at the Atlantic Council
of the United States (think tank), and an admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Norman
W. Ray was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy.
James G.
Stavridis is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and was an admiral in the U.S. Navy.
R. James Woolsey
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was the undersecretary for the U.S. Navy.
U.S.
Department of Defense oversees the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force.
Charles F. Wald
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Air Force.
Joseph W. Ralston
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Air Force.
Richard L. Lawson
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Air Force.
Michael V. Hayden
is a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Air Force.
John
A. Gordon is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and was a general in the U.S. Air Force.
Michael P.C.
Carns was a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), and a general in the U.S. Air Force.
Miranda
A.A. Ballentine is the assistant secretary for the U.S. Air Force, and was a director of sustainability for the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Hillary Rodham
Clinton was a director at the Wal-Mart
Stores Inc, and a director at the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), and the Center for
American Progress.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was a supporter for the Center for American Progress, and the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Center for American Progress, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Wal-Mart
Stores Inc. was a funder for the Center
for American Progress.
Esther M. Olavarria
was a director of immigration policy for the Center for American Progress, and is a deputy assistant secretary
for the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is a division of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
Clark Kent Ervin
was the inspector general for the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, a deputy attorney general for the Texas state government, and is the commissioner
for the Commission on Wartime
Contracting.
Jose H.
Villarreal is a director at the Center
for American Progress, and was a director at the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Stephen Friedman
was a director at the Wal-Mart Stores
Inc, an advisory board member for the Center
for a New American Security, and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Center
for a New American Security was a contributor for the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy,
and the U.S. Air Force.
Madeleine K.
Albright was a director at the Center
for a New American Security, is a professor at Georgetown University, an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank), and a trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
Chuck
Hagel was a professor at Georgetown
University, the chairman for the Atlantic
Council of the United States (think tank), a sergeant in the U.S. Army, and is the secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense for the Barack Obama administration.
U.S.
Department of Defense oversees the U.S.
Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Air Force.
U.S.
Special Operations Command is a division of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Miranda
A.A. Ballentine is the assistant secretary for the U.S. Air Force, and was a director of sustainability for the Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Dov
S. Zakheim was a undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, is a commissioner for the Commission on Wartime Contracting, and
a director at the Atlantic Council of
the United States (think tank).
Clark Kent Ervin
is the commissioner for the Commission
on Wartime Contracting, a deputy attorney general for the Texas state government, and the
inspector general for the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security.
Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
is a division of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
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