There are two predominate themes or attitudes on the web. That there is evil to the planning, and that there is not.
The drumbeat of worry has reached beyond obscure websites to mainstream attention. Mainstream opinion generally being, just an exercise, for our own good, preparedness, not preparing to impose martial law. Posse comitatis concern, again, is always justified - if ever justified - and among the founders there was a distaste toward potential evil attendant to nations having standing armies.
That distaste is now primarily shown by Rand Paul among well known politicians.
How can you, an individual citizen, get meaningful information on the topic: Jade Helm 15?
By email. The last page gives planner contact info, but read the entire thing and consider what you would ask in an email to one of the gentlemen. Ask, perhaps, "Why that name? Is it an acronym for something good or evil, just a dumb name some military jackass thought up, or something else? And given that the exercise is keyed to desert and mountain country with a mix of town sizes and hostile and friendly regions, for what contingencies or offensive effort might the exercise be preparation?"
Also, ask about the product badging:
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| image from p.9, here |
Wierd, eh? One of those wtf things when you see it. Last, the suggestion that readers
google = daily paul jade helm
A few returned video links from there that might interest you:
http://www.dailypaul.com/335834/video-jade-helm-preparation-for-huge-war-in-the-middle-east
http://www.dailypaul.com/335976/chuck-baldwin-operation-jade-helm-should-we-be-worried
http://www.dailypaul.com/336448/video-special-op-veterans-groups-have-launched-counter-jade-helm-operation
Do note, however, the Daily Paul website is not an official publication of the Paul family. It is a website forum maintained by persons generally supportive of Ron/Rand Paul policy positions, and candidacies.
____________UPDATE_____________
Being in the habit of offering personal opinion, and feeling it proper here, my view is the Pentagon is stepping into one big trademark violation quagmire. Opinions may differ.
___________FURTHER UPDATE____________
Much speculation on the Internet notes the acronym "JADE" exists in Pentagon-speak, as but one of several planning tools for deployment; e.g., this Google.
From one returned item containing the following exegisis of how several software tools integrate, there is an implication that database building allows the tools to become better with more accumulated reliable data, so that an exercise of this sort may primarily be aimed at decision support data collection in the event of some actual vs simulated deployment happens - presumably in terrain matching practice terrain:
ForMAT also provides the user with tools for linking the data of the TPFDD to the mission that the deployment forces are intended to support and for describing what capabilities the forces contain that enable them to support a mission. Mission guidance can simply be stored as a file or it can be derived from a campaign development tool. For example, in Figure 1, mission information is obtained electronically by ForMAT from the ACOA campaign object where the campaign planning elements are stored. It is this linking of the forces to the mission that extends the TPFDD into a Deployment Plan.
Given mission guidance, and a plan library (casebase) of previously developed or executed deployment plans, along with data from other databases such as GSORTS (see Table 2), a user can quickly construct a new deployment plan or modify an existing one. The JADE interface enables users to construct a new plan by simply dragging one or more FMs from the casebase directly to a location on a map where it is to be deployed. Guidance is provided to the user on how FMs need to be tailored to fit the new mission. This guidance is provided through ForMAT's link to the Prodigy system.
1.2 Prodigy
Prodigy [Veloso et al., 1997] is a multi-strategy planning and learning architecture that can solve planning problems in a number of different ways. One way is with the Prodigy4.0 module that employs a state-space nonlinear planner and follows a means-ends analysis backward-chaining search procedure that reasons about both multiple goals and multiple alternative operators from its domain theory as they are appropriate for achieving such goals. A domain theory is composed of a hierarchy of object classes and a suite of operators and inference rules that change the state of the objects. A planning problem is represented by an initial state (objects and propositions about the objects) and a set of goal expressions to achieve. Planning decisions consist of choosing a goal from a set of pending goals, choosing an operator (or inference rule) to achieve a particular goal, choosing a variable binding for a given operator, and deciding whether to commit to a possible plan ordering and to get a new planning state or to continue subgoaling for unachieved goals. Different choices give rise to different ways of exploring the search space. Another strategy available to Prodigy is the case-based replay mode. In this mode, Prodigy uses analogy to create plans, interpret and store planning episodes, and retrieve and reuse multiple past plans that are found similar to new problems. Stored plans are annotated with plan rationale, and reuse involves adaptation driven by the plan rationale.
In JADE, we developed a Front End that links ForMAT to the Prodigy planner. [...]
Scanning that, gliding over much of the jargon, and thinking of the notion of multiple dimensions of any large scale military operation, it is apparent one data element to be practiced and honed might be small team snatch-and-grab practice for capture of individuals of interest, for FEMA internment-reeducation camps, some on the web speculate.
The genesis of specific worry, around that or other interpretations, is web traffic claiming the HELM part of Jade Helm is an acronym for Homeland Elimination of Local Militants, which causes a degree of anxiety among some who worry about bin-Laden type operations against our own citizens, e.g., BLM-Bundy redux sorts of speculation. Military cooperation with local law enforcement per the exercise has been noted, in terms of worry over militarization of police forces. But then again, a major exercise without that coordination, on US soil, would be ill-planned.
Some web traffic notes claims of ISIL militant presence cross border in Mexico, in speculating a dimension of Jade Helm would be to disarm/destroy/intern any in such enclaves, or at least to practice it unless Mexico has authorized border crossing as part of the military exercise. There is no evidence online of cross-border exercise aspects, or of Mexican military participation.
Jade Helm speculations form a topic with much repetitive site-to-site content, so that while specific links for some content in prior paragraphs have not been given, readers are more than capable of their own research.
Black helicopters and FEMA internment-reeducation camps? I cannot say for certain such speculation is groundless, but at a guess, it is both false and extreme. Such a guess could prove wrong.
__________FURTHER UPDATE___________
Do you believe Bibi is happy to see the exercise mounted? Or indifferent because those speculating a domestic dissent containment motive underlying the Jade Helm effort are fully correct? My guess, Bibi is smiling.
The quoted excerpt above emphasizes reuse in new contexts, so why would Bibi not favor the exercise? And if we have the military planning for a contingency middle East operation, that would make good sense, given uncertainties of the 2016 election. Jeb may follow oil war family custom, if elected. Clinton as Secretary of State presided over the policy side of the bin Laden snatch-and-grab, and the Egyptian and Libyan coups and she could win. Planning for multiple contingency future tasking from the command structure seems to be sound military practice. Even absent FEMA camps in government planning.
___________FURTHER UPDATE______________
Let's see how we might have some fun stirring the cauldron. As a thought experiment, two thought experiments, first, if the exercise, in hostile territory (Utah), a red state on the following map --
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| thumbnail source online here |
-- does not include terror infiltration attempt simulation at Dugway, Sandia (elsewhere outside of Utah), the Anaconda copper plant, and the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple, what good is it? That's thought experiment Onc, so let's start the rumor that those several unique sites will be fair game for the gaming exercise, with the notion that terrorists in our Homeland might want to scarf some weapons of mass destruction, and we got humongo amounts stored and/or deployed there. {Not the Temple, it's not a weapon's center, but it would be a challenge to get in without Temple underwear, without being of the faith.)
Don't stop there. Try a second thought experiment: Let out the rumor that the true acronym reading of the HELM part of Jade Helm stands for Helping Emigrants Leaving Mexico, with the intent being to fully open the boarders to millions of Mexican and Central American nationals to cross and who once in the US would be taken to voter registration centers to become Democrats or to be taken to internment centers operated by FEMA.
Flood the nation, undermine the labor market, and for a third thought experiment, set out the rumor that while Operation Jade Helm is operational a part of the plan will be confiscation of all privately owned regional firearms, even ones for hunting such as .44 magnum revolvers and 50 caliber sniper rifles. Regional NRA offices would also be targets for insurgent terror strikes so that part of the deployed joint forces would be deployed to guard NRA properties. And to control their personnel and communications to not let the arms confiscations be publicized. Infiltrate the NRA offices, secure them, and manage them throughout the exercise. Hostage taking of employees may also be worked into the scenario. Not just FEMA internment, but hostage internment, at the Alamo.
What else?
How else to tweak the worriers and bother the military more after already getting more than a load of grief?
Gay soldiers? They will be using gay soldiers. Gay K-9 dogs. That would be the clincher.