Press Banned from Jade Helm Exercises

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: reldra

Then maybe you can explain how they're already deployed monitoring something that hasn't happened yet.

Hmm, a little more on the Texas State Guard:

The Texas State Guard is not part of the U.S. military or the National Guard — and neither the Pentagon nor the White House have any authority over it. It’s not a combat organization and its members don’t carry weapons.

So what does it do? It’s often referred to as a state “militia,” but it’s perhaps more accurate to describe it as an auxiliary disaster-relief force under the authority of the governor. Its largest and most important mission is responding to hurricanes.

During 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, Texas mobilized 950 State Guard troopers to manage shelters near the Louisiana border — and 1,100 troopers during Hurricane Rita later that year. In total, the State Guard has around 2,000 members with its headquarters in Austin.

The State Guard can assess damage, manage roadblocks on flooded roads or deploy search-and-rescue and medical units. But its main job is to take the pressure off other first responders by managing shelters, keeping tabs on evacuees with special needs — such as the elderly or people with disabilities — and handling communications.

medium.com...

According to the Public Affairs Office of the Texas Military Forces, the qualifications for joining the TSG include being a healthy resident of Texas for at least 180 days; being between the ages of 18 and 70; having a valid Texas driver's license; and being able to pass a criminal background check. If those standards appear rather light, it's because they are. Your average mall cop might go through more -- which seems about right for a force normally used solely for emergency support, like during the recent wave of floods in Texas.

When they do get called up, State Guard members are paid a daily stipend of $121, regardless of rank. The pay they would receive for a monthlong activation would almost equal the pay for all but the most senior enlisted in the TXARNG, which would be pretty expensive given Abbott’s order to monitor the two-month-long exercise.

With Jade Helm 15 approaching, Abbott is still finalizing the details of the State Guard’s involvement, and its cost to Texans. The last state budget had set the cost of the State Guard at $495,000, a pretty hefty amount for what is essentially a Veterans of Foreign Wars Post ready to help in times of need. Whether the monitoring of actual soldiers conducting training is considered a state emergency on par with the recent level of flooding has yet to be determined. With some of the more than 2,000 State Guard members having already begun assisting with the wave of deadly floods, it's unclear how many troops Abbott will be able to rally for his showdown with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

So what exactly are they going to do to stop this again?

Military.com- Deployment
Deployment phase
"The deployment phase of the cycle begins with the physical movement of individuals and units from their home installation to the designated theater of operations." I don't imagine they wait until midnight the day of for this.


I know what the state guard is. The thread I created is not about the state guard. It seems that people who know better are trying on purpose to push me into joining them in thread drift and off topic discussions. I have stated several times that I want to stay with the original topic.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well they were conducted by the police. So what would you call them?

You can't or won't know the difference between a cop and a soldier.

Last reply for that blurry line of reasoning.

a reply to: reldra

I didn't say you think it's martial law prep, did I?

Pretty sure others here do though.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well they were conducted by the police. So what would you call them?

You can't or won't know the difference between a cop and a soldier.

Last reply for that blurry line of reasoning.

Seeing as how I WAS a soldier, I'm pretty sure I know the difference since they didn't issue me any handcuffs. Though you certainly are on a roll pretending that a local police force is the same as the special forces from the Army. THAT is one of the funniest comparisons I've seen on this website.

a reply to: Shamrock6 No, you didn't. Thanks.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

People tend to take the whole "militarization of cops" thing WAY too seriously.

They haven't had to deal with an actual soldier screaming orders at them.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

I know right... I wonder if they realize that Obama has clamped down on the military surplus program that armed all these police forces? Probably not, because that would mean they'd have to acknowledge that Obama did something right for once.

a reply to: reldra

They also aren't going to go a week ahead of time either. Let's say that they DO deploy the entire 2,000 members (despite them being needed to help with ongoing floods). The last state budget showed $495,000 for the State Guard. When deployed they are paid $121/day. That's $847 a week, or $7,623 from this week, until the end of Jade Helm in September, and that's if they only go to the exact end date.

For all 2,000 members that would come out to over $15M for the length of the deployment, or almost $1.7M a week. So which makes more sense now? They're deploying a small liaison team to monitor things with SOCOM, or they're sending a large portion of the State Guard to watch things?

As for the original topic, the military almost never embeds in a training exercise, and even more rarely with SOCOM. And when they do, it's usually a PR stunt showing what SOCOM does.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well they were conducted by the police. So what would you call them?

You can't or won't know the difference between a cop and a soldier.

Last reply for that blurry line of reasoning.

Seeing as how I WAS a soldier, I'm pretty sure I know the difference since they didn't issue me any handcuffs. Though you certainly are on a roll pretending that a local police force is the same as the special forces from the Army. THAT is one of the funniest comparisons I've seen on this website.

You have made it very clear that you were a soldier and several others in this thread have insinuated they were. You likley would be able to tell the difference between a police officer and a soldier. Due to the militarization of the gear of police officers, many would not. The idea of the original topic, that it is an important issue and a concern, that the press has been banned from this military exercise has nothing to do with your military record. You, personally, may not be concerned.
However, the attitude I have seen from former military towards posts in this thread has been childish and insulting.
The words like 'silly', 'silliness' , 'stupid' and phrases like 'one of the funniest things I have seen on this website' (when it is a common concern on this website) and accusing someone of 'being in fear from something daiy' that probably does not exist- has been immature and unprofessional- if indeed speaking from the viewpoint of a former member of the military.

a reply to: reldra

Sorry you feel that way. Should I just be "politically correct" with my opinion then? I don't like pulling any punches when describing my thoughts on an idea. I'm not allowed to attack the presenter with words, but the topic is more than fair game.

I do like how you acknowledge soldier input and how we are all saying there is no threat here, but somehow OUR opinions as SME's isn't good enough to sway your opinion on the matter at hand. Instead you opt to take offense that we don't believe as you do and find this conspiracy theory intellectually devoid. That's some next level cognitive dissonance right there.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: reldra

Sorry you feel that way. Should I just be "politically correct" with my opinion then? I don't like pulling any punches when describing my thoughts on an idea. I'm not allowed to attack the presenter with words, but the topic is more than fair game.

No. Just mutually respectful. I haven't called you silly or stupid. I haven't accused you of a mental disorder.

It hasn't swayed my opinion. I don't expect you to agree with me either.

a reply to: reldra

Is the man wearing Camo and a Kevlar (or similar) helmet? Are there no handcuffs on this person?
He's probably a soldier.

Is the man wearing a black, blue, or khaki dress uniform with a badge visible?
He's probably an LEO.

I made that distinction incredibly easy!

It's fun to talk about "Militarization of the Police", yes, police have been getting some pretty neat gear in the last decade. Yes, they like to show off their shiny new toys. But they are not even CLOSE to an actual soldier, in function or action.

a reply to: reldra

I didn't call you silly or stupid either. I called the idea of Jade Helm being a front for martial law silly and stupid. I also called comparing local police to the Army Special Forces pretty silly as well. Because, well. It is. You should really learn how to differentiate from an attack against the person versus an attack against the topic, or at least learn to deattach your personal emotions from the topic at hand.

originally posted by: ScientificRailgun
a reply to: reldra

Is the man wearing Camo and a Kevlar (or similar) helmet? Are there no handcuffs on this person?
He's probably a soldier.

Is the man wearing a black, blue, or khaki dress uniform with a badge visible?
He's probably an LEO.

I made that distinction incredibly easy!

It's fun to talk about "Militarization of the Police", yes, police have been getting some pretty neat gear in the last decade. Yes, they like to show off their shiny new toys. But they are not even CLOSE to an actual soldier, in function or action.

Their clothing is getting close. Police not in black/blue common uniform The ones in soldier-like clothing that you describe are actually police.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: reldra

I didn't call you silly or stupid either. I called the idea of Jade Helm being a front for martial law silly and stupid. I also called comparing local police to the Army Special Forces pretty silly as well. Because, well. It is. You should really learn how to differentiate from an attack against the person versus an attack against the topic, or at least learn to deattach your personal emotions from the topic at hand.

I did mean the idea. I did not call your responses by those names. You did say to someone that he/she must be in fear daily due to their belief on one topic.

a reply to: reldra

Well how else should I describe an idea that I think is intellectually devoid and not logically sound in the least? I usually use the word "stupid" or "silly". Would you prefer I just be all high brow and use "intellectually devoid" instead? Because frankly, I MEAN it when I say this conspiracy theory is utterly dumb.

a reply to: Krazysh0t Intellectually devoid is a lot better, actually. It is not a case of being 'high brow', the other seems childish. You start to wonder if you are debating a child.

a reply to: reldra

Ah, so you want me to take the pretentious route? The idea that the Armed Forces is preparing for takeover is so utterly banal...

a reply to: Krazysh0t I am not even sure I know what that word means. I do not mean that, you are taking that to the far extreme.
I also was talking about the press being banned. Never did I say I thought the military was about to take over.

a reply to: reldra

It means that it is so unoriginal that it is boring. See, I can be derisive towards a topic with SAT words too.

ETA: Ooooh derisive. That's another good word.