They really are freaking out – all because of social media “crazies” spouting conspiracy theories that the military is trying to take over Texas.
My husband and I, along with my daughter and her boyfriend, passed the long convoy lines Saturday while travelling through Bastrop. They reminded me of the convoys along I-35 when I was growing up. We would wave to the soldiers while they went to Fort Hood and other destinations.
So, I thought nothing of the convoys Saturday, as we travelled to a wedding in Bellville. I grew up watching convoys, knowing that the military was on a training mission.
But the Bastrop County Commissioners Court got an earful this week from local county residents who feared a military takeover. Jade Helm 15, as the operation is called, puts about 60 Army Special Operations soldiers in Bastrop County, on private property, doing a training mission that is expected to give the soldiers a feel for tough terrain and hot climate.
It’s training, folks. We want our soldiers, especially those in special ops, to be highly trained. And that means we don’t dump them onto foreign soil without having an idea what wartime is like.
All four branches of the military are part of the operations which will run in several states from July 15 to Sept. 15. It will be the largest operation in the United States. The Army reports that up to 1,200 soldiers will be participating throughout the United States.
In Texas, there will be operations in 12 counties, Bastrop being one of them. And in Bastrop, only 60 soldiers will be involved.
But the conspiracy theorists are spreading crazy rumors – that this is the way Nazi Germany started – by putting soldiers on the ground, that these soldiers are gathering intelligence, that guns will be taken away from citizens, that martial law is about the be put into effect, and on and on.
Let’s hope the sane residents of Bastrop County come forth and support our troops.
I, for one, want highly trained soldiers. I may not agree with everything the military does, but when it comes to the “employees,” the soldiers themselves, I want to make sure that they come back alive.
And that means giving them the best training possible – despite the crazies.