‘THE AMERICANS ARE COMIN’!! THE AMERICANS ARE COMIN’!! REALLY???’

             There’s been a whole lot of hullabaloo in the news and on the Internet, here lately, about Jade Helm 15, this summer’s planned military exercise out in some of the southwestern states. And, even though the U.S. Army Special Operations Command has put out a ton of information concernin’ Jade Helm 15, it’s still become a fascination of conspiracy theorists like you wouldn’t believe.

As a matter of fact, that’s how I first heard tell about it, from a buddy of mine what happens to be of the ever-growing ‘suspicious-of-our-government’ crowd. You know the kind I’m talkin’ ‘bout. The ones that stockpile MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat) and ammo, and all the while goin’ on about government conspiracies and black helicopters! LOL

Now, even though we’re at least three states away from the closest one involved in the Jade Helm exercise, ‘John’ as we’ll call him, was already talkin’ about what ‘we’ needed to do to help the concerned citizens out there “fight ‘em off”. ‘They’… bein’ the government… weren’t getting’ HIS guns! He was all set for the Second American Revolution, I tell you.

Lawd! I couldn’t get outta there fast enough. I left, shakin’ my head. At this point in time, fightin’ AGAINST my flag is just a li’l much for this ol’ man. But.... my interest was piqued on the subject, so I began diggin’ into it a bit more, and here’s what all I come up with.

Jade Helm 15 is an eight-week-long Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) exercise, set to begin in July of this year. Durin’ the exercise, members of the Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and other special operations forces will be tryin’ to go undetected as they move about the countryside.

The briefing document, put out by the Special Operations Command, states that the exercise objective is:

“To hone advanced skills, the military and Interagency require large areas of undeveloped land with low population densities with access to towns. The proposed areas offer the conditions conducive to quality training because of real obstacles to challenge personnel during planning and execution of their tasks. These challenges include: – Operating outside the normal support mechanisms – Adapting to unfamiliar terrain, social and economic conditions – Operating in and around communities where anything out of the ordinary will be spotted and reported (Locals are the first to notice something out of place) – The opportunity to work with civilians to gain their trust and an understanding of the issues”

             Now, all of this is scheduled to take place on both private and public lands throughout Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. And, accordin’ to the Special Operations Command, about the only way the exercise will effect most local communities is an increase in vehicle and military air traffic, along with the noise that goes along with it.

I myself don’t see nuthin’ wrong with any of that. Sounds pretty cool, actually. If’n it gives our guys a ‘leg-up’ on how best to operate clandestinely in the mountains of Afghanistan, the small villages of Iraq, or any other place they get sent to defend our freedoms, then I’m all about it.

But now, there’s folks out there that do have a problem with it. They suspect the U.S. government is up to no good. By all accounts, most of that stems from details of the exercise scenario, in which Texas, Utah, and a small portion of southern California are highlighted in red on a map and labeled as ‘hostile’ areas.

Well, that set the conspiracy kooks to howlin’! That bunch has since come up with a whole slew of harebrained, cockamamie theories, includin’ (but not limited to) secret statewide tunnel systems, reported sightings of United Nations vehicles in Colorado, impending gun confiscations by the military, and… oh, yeah, my favorite… unexplained Wal-Mart closings.

I’m tellin’ ya right here’n now.... that there’s the ‘straw what broke the camel’s back’. You just don’t mess with folks’ Wal-Mart! LOL

Seriously, though, there’s people out there that really and truly believes this stuff. To most of them folks, though, the general suspicion is that Jade Helm is the prelude to a government attempt to create martial law in the United States.

The Special Operations Command was taken aback by the clamor, reiterating that the ‘hostile’ labels aren’t to be taken seriously, that they’re simply part of a ‘fictional’ scenario for the exercise. Did them folks listen? Why, heck, no.

As a matter of fact, folks in Texas made such a big deal of it that, in response to the growing public concern, Texas Governor Greg Abbott felt compelled to issue a directive to the Texas State Guard to monitor the training exercise, so that Texans would know that their “safety, constitutional rights, private property rights, and civil liberties will not be infringed.” Even though, he had earlier admitted that he has seen nothing to cause him worry about what’s going on, in regards to the exercise.

All I’ve got to say is REALLY, People??? It’s a friggin’ scenario.... a fictional story that sets the tone for the training exercise. Call it ‘make-believe’ if you want.... same dang thing. I’m shakin’ my head for sure, now.

             The United States military is made up of American citizens, men and women who serve to defend and protect this great nation of ours. They are dedicated to protect this... ours and theirs... country from ALL enemies, both foreign AND DOMESTIC. They are ‘citizen soldiers’. They are our friends, our family, and our neighbors. Do you seriously think that they could be made to turn against their own?? For goodness sake.... give our guys better credit than that!

As for, ‘ooooh, military exercises amongst the American public’.... get with the program, Folks. This ain’t even remotely close to the first time such exercises have been conducted in amongst the civilian population by our military. For more’n 30-years, this is how our Navy SEALS have been trained to survive behind enemy lines. We could even trace these exercises back decade by decade, but to save time, let’s just go all the way back to the beginning.... World War II, when the U.S. Army held numerous large-scale exercises in civilian areas (called maneuvers or war games back then), in order to train America’s fightin’ men to go overseas during World War II.

Army manuevers in Tennessee during WWII

The only thing new about all of this, folks.... is how ridiculous it is that  ‘good and dedicated Americans’ have allowed themselves to be misled by unfounded, nonsensical misinformation, wild speculation, and crackpot-conspiracy theories, instead of using the good sense the Good Lord gave ‘em.

Judge P.T. 'Pat' Calhoun; Goliad, TX

 Back down in Texas, down Goliad County way, Judge Pat Calhoun has been reassuring jittery residents there, impressin’ upon ‘em that there’s nothin’ to fear about Jade Helm 15. Having taken part in similar operations, he knows the drill – quite literally.

“Do you really think we're going to let something happen to our hometown?" he asks, and with just a second of pause, he replies adamantly “No, of course not!”

“I'm a retired Marine.” Calhoun reminds his neighbors. “And, we don’t have anything to be afraid of in our military.”

I agree wholeheartedly. Have faith in the men and women of our armed forces. Have faith in America. I do.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!