Operation Counter Jade Helm 15 Will Combat Texas’ Concentration Camp Rumors


Operation Jade Helm 15 will be starting this coming week and already rumors are spreading throughout Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. Some say the U.S. military will set up concentration camps in America, or that President Obama will declare martial law. In response, a public movement calling itself Operation Counter Jade Helm 15 will be closely watching all of the American armed forces, including U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marines, in order to ensure these conspiracy theories never have a chance of becoming reality.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas State Guard to “monitor” Jade Helm 15, and an unnamed Pentagon official was concerned how President Obama might use military forces inside the United States after a Department of Defense (DoD) Directive was updated by the administration.

“This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens,” a defense official said, noting how the updated directive allows President Obama to order U.S. commanders “to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances.”

U.S. military officials say that “Jade Helm does not have anything to do with martial law.” Instead, U.S. Special Operations Command unit Lt. Col. Robert Pawlak said Operation Jade Helm 15 is intended to give special forces training in a realistic environment.

“As we all know the conflicts that we’re dealing with in Afghanistan and Iraq are largely what we call Unconventional Warfare. We practice going into a denied area to link up with these guerrilla forces, we train them and assist them in overthrowing an occupying force,” he said, according to the Alamogordo News. “The entire length of the exercise is eight weeks long. It starts around July 15 and continues to Sept. 15. The reason for the length of this exercise is to mimic the very long term and slow moving quality of an Unconventional Warfare campaign… The reason for these eight weeks is not only to mimic that but also to allow for our military to enter into a certain manner and to make sure they understand that this is what the reality is so that they know what to expect in the real world environment overseas.”

Pawlak says the primary reason that Operation Jade Helm 15 is being held inside the United States is due to money. He claims the “cost of trying to do this exercise overseas will easily soar into hundreds of millions of dollars, it’s just fiscally irresponsible to try and do something like this overseas.”

In Texas, Jade Helm 15 has caused quite a commotion. Mayor Ken Kesselus does not believe there is any danger related to Operation Jade Helm 15, but he says rumors and conspiracy theories have run wild since the military exercise was first announced.

“(One person) was very concerned that the Jade Helm exercise was going to be an effort to round a bunch of us up, take us out to Camp Swift, kill us, and then take us to the rendering plant to turn us into dog food,” said Kesselus, according to KXAN.

Unfortunately, some of the announcements by the U.S. military has only increased people’s concerns. The Washington Post notes that “secretive Special Operations troops will maneuver through private and publicly owned land in several southern states,” so the media is not being allowed watch the military exercise. It’s possible the Army Special Operations Command may allow “a small number of journalists to view selected portions of the exercise,” but “nothing is finalized.”

While the media may not be allowed to report what is happening, a grassroots plan called Operation Counter Jade Helm 15 plans to monitor the U.S. military every step of the way. Former U.S. Marine Pete Lanteri founded the Counter Jade Helm Facebook page and website, and he says they plan on following any time any of the 1,200 special forces move in public.

“We’re going to be watching what they do in public,” he said. “Obviously on a military base they can do whatever they want. But if they’re going to trade on public land, we have a right as American citizens to watch what they’re doing.”

Ever since the existence of Operation Counter Jade Helm 15, the movement has grown in popularity. A recent Facebook post claims their website has come under cyber attack.

Lanteri lives in Arizona, but Texas’ Jade Helm 15 movements will be watched by Eric Johnston, leader of one of the group’s surveillance brigades.

“If a team member sees two Humvees full of soldiers driving through town, they’re going to follow them,” Johnston said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “And they’re going to radio back their ultimate location.”

What do you think about the rumors surrounding Operation Jade Helm 15?

[Image via Imgur]

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