When the operation was first revealed two months ago, many conservatives, bloggers and media pundits began speculating that the US federal government is practicing to quell potential unrest, confiscate guns and make Americans get used to military presence.
“There is nothing negative about this operation,” Kesselus said. “I don’t know any citizens of Bastrop that are alarmed, I do not know anybody who knows anybody that is alarmed.”
The commotion over Jade Helm even prompted Texas’ Governor Greg Abbott to call on the State Guard to monitor the operations.
The drills will take place on US military installations, public land and private property in an effort to simulate “realistic military training” and unconventional warfare, according to a PowerPoint slide of the operation.
Kesselus pointed out that Bastrop has a long history of military bases and a National Guard installation in the town. He added the Bastrop community has a deep trust in the military.
“We are used to seeing soldiers around and instead of being suspicious of them we thank them for their service,” Kesselus said. “The story is that there really is no story.”
Jade Helm 15 is not going to result in martial law, Info Wars argued, but rather be used as an intelligence operation using geospatial mapping to build a simulation that will help the US government with predictive programing and mind control, bringing the United States “one step closer to domination by the surveillance state and the military industrial complex.”
But in Bastrop, Kesselus said locals are poking fun at the media hype over the military operation.
“We are having fun talking about why in the world anybody would be upset about this,” Kesselus said. “We are just having fun inventing our own conspiracy theories like it must be the Tourism Bureau that is doing it because they are trying to get reporters to come to town and spend money on our hotels and restaurants.”
The Jade Helm 15 exercises run from July 15 to September 15, 2015.
