Green Berets assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) clear rooms inside a compound during a training mission held Feb. 20 at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. (Photo by Capt. Thomas Cieslak/ U.S. Army)
For a made-up military mission, Jade Helm 15 is impressively elaborate: The two-month simulation planned for this summer spans much of the Southwest, requiring special forces from four branches of the military to carry out covert operations amid “hostile” territory in Texas, Utah and part of California.
In at least one of those states, hostility toward the operation has begun a few months early. Online and at in-person meetings, many Texans have expressed suspicion and outright opposition to the project. Some are understandably worried about how it’ll affect their daily lives, while conspiracy theorists claim it’s an attempt to institute martial law, possibly in collusion with Wal-Mart.
In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has ordered the State Guard to monitor federal troops there during the exercise.
“During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property right and civil liberties will not be infringed,” Abbott wrote in a letter to Maj. Gen. Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard Tuesday.
Events for the exercise are outlined in a map among unclassified documents posted online last month. Army sources have verified to The Washington Post that the map is legitimate.
U.S. Army Special Operations Command said simulated exercises like this are routine, though they are rarely so broad in size and scope, and that the public won’t experience any disruption in their day-to-day lives, since the entire operation takes place in pre-coordinated remote areas.
But that hasn’t convinced some Texans.
