Jade Helm 15: Debunking the Insanity

I apologize that I haven’t posted an article in a while. I got sucked into the seedy world of fringe media, extreme right-wing paranoia, militias, and the insanity of the Facebook conspiratorial crowd. If you would believe everything you saw on some of these Facebook pages, you would think that JH15 deals with martial law, gun confiscation, Obama staying in office past 2016, FEMA camps, chemtrails, Illuminati, the New World Order, the Bilderbergs, reptilians, aliens from the planet Draconia, and red/blue dots on mailboxes (which apparently have nothing to do with when or how often you receive a local paper; instead they designate which “list you are on." Blue is for roundup to be interned in FEMA death camps, and red is to be pulled out of your bed at 4 a.m. to be executed).

I wish I was exaggerating or embellishing even a little bit, but every single conspiracy I mentioned are ones that people talked about and are legitimately concerned about. 

Apparently logical thinking and rational thought are not used anymore, and it has been replaced by emotional fear mongering that plays to the lowest common denominator.

I have been attempting to educate people and give a rational counterpoint to the accepted narrative. In return, I have been called a spy, a shill for the government, a paid troll for the CIA, liar, brainwashed, and have been accused of stolen valor. I’ve met fake SEALs and militia members, encountered shady-ass profile pages, people who thrive on drama and fear, racists, the mentally unstable (my diagnosis), and just about every other category of crazy you can imagine.

I’ve also met the average American who doesn't know what’s going on and is searching for the truth. I've been able to influence and educate a number of people who were willing to research and look at both sides before coming to a conclusion. These people give me hope, and made it worthwhile. I want to give a quick shout out to Melissa, Mike, Steve, Amanda, TL, Charissa, Jan and Derrick just to name a few people who were willing to see the truth and not only change their own beliefs, but have since tried to pass it on. (It’s not a complete list and, to those I didn't name, thank you for standing up and being vocal.)

To the admins of the Facebook pages who tried to be impartial, Roy and Tiffany, I apologize for my Tourette-like outbursts against the truly crazy people who inundate those boards with their paranoia and pet conspiracies, but you have to admit, my meme warfare against them was spectacularly epic.

Here are a few rumors and conspiracies I have heard repeatedly. (Note: I will not hyperlink to any of these fringe websites that are pushing fear and divisiveness in order to make money.)

1. "The Jade Helm 15 logo is an occult symbol."

As one YouTube video says:

"The crossed arrows are the symbol of the Christian cross, warped and distorted. The crosspiece (the Father) and the upright (the Son) have been twisted into an X of arrows (arrowheads denote masculinity)…there is a third axis on the cross that we never see—it comes toward us in the third dimension from the center of the cross. This is the Holy Ghost. And in this logo, to make sure that we know this is the Christian cross being portrayed, we're shown a transparent shoe at that intersection (transparency = spirituality, ghost, etc). The sword going from earth toward heaven would symbolize an attack from Satan and his anti-Christ against almighty God."

As anyone can obviously see, it is part of the Special Forces Regimental Crest:

The Special Forces crest insignia was adopted in 1960 and approved as the Special Forces regimental designator in 1984. Its design reflects both the lineage and mission of Special Forces.

In 1890, the crossed arrows were officially prescribed as uniform insignia for the U.S. Army Indian Scouts who served in the American west from 1860 through 1939. In 1942, during World War II, a joint U.S./Canadian special operations unit was established to conduct operations behind enemy lines. Members of this First Special Service Force wore the historic crossed arrows as their branch insignia.

In the current Special Forces crest, the intersecting dagger represents the V-42 dagger issued to each member of the force. 

2. "The symbol in the middle of the logo is a Dutch clog."

Ok, I have to admit, this one threw me. I mean the pictures look alike, but by this time I had heard so many ridiculous theories I just didn't know. I threw it in Photoshop and tried to manipulate the picture to bring it out somehow, and got nothing. Now I didn't know what it was, although I was damn sure that it wasn't a 'spiritual shoe.' So I put some feelers out, trying to figure it out. I got word back from someone at USASOC, and you could have knocked me over with a feather. It was a clog. Not only did the word sabotage come from them, it was used by the OSS as a universal targeting symbol. The reason it is semi transparent was to symbolize that the underground "was not seen, but there."

This was a perfect example of not allowing your personal beliefs or preconceived ideas overpower the actual evidence. Looking at the evidence, understanding the symbolism and the nature of UW, and taking it from someone who works with the guys who made the PPT paints a pretty compelling picture.

3. "The military is training for dissident extraction (DE)."

This is probably one of my favorites.

You can call me what you want, but when I watch this video I don't get scared of my military, I want to stand up and say "That's awesome." I dare you to watch this video and not be in absolute awe of the men flying those helicopters in between skyscrapers (which very often create their own unique wind patterns) and then fast-roping 20-40 feet from a hovering helicopter onto the roof of a skyscraper. Take three minutes and watch this amazing HD video.

Dissident extraction (DE)

Now that we got past that, what is DE? Well, a quick Google search points out that it's not a real term; it apparently is only used by the people who frequent the fringe sites.

Webster's states:

Dissident: Disagreeing, especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief.

Extraction: The act or process of getting something by pulling it out, forcing it out.

So a logical assumption is that a DE operation is the capture or kidnapping of someone who disagrees with the established religious or political organization. There are comments that defy common sense that state emphatically, "We know Jade Helm 15 is a DE exercise, and why do they need 60 days to practice this?" So obviously the UN is going to invade...or something.

This video is repeatedly pointed out as an example of a DE exercise, showing the military rounding up dissidents and apparently taking them to FEMA camps to be raped, tortured, and killed. Let me attempt to explain what I think is actually going on in this video. Watch the video, read the following, and then use your own logic and 'common-damn-sense' to determine what scenario is the most believable.

Please understand that the following opinion is just that—an opinion. I wasn't there, and don't know anyone who was there. This is purely my assessment of what we are seeing.

In the beginning, there are what looks like four guys running across the street, dragging something. It looks to be a Skedco litter, and they are moving a (simulated) 'casualty' to the casualty collection point (CCP). This exercise appears to be a hostage-rescue scenario. The part that has everyone flipping out starts at the :53 mark: A line of civilians appear to be walking out of the building with their hands in the air surrounded by armed soldiers. The armed men walk them single file across the street, where they leave the camera.

Apparently, this clearly demonstrates that a DE drill was happening. Or, you know, it was a full mission profile hostage-rescue exercise. Sounds crazy, I know.

In a hostage-rescue scenario the goal is to quickly clear the objective and overwhelm the BG (bad guys), through surprise, speed, and violence of action. The assault force must move quickly and efficiently in order to control the building, eliminate the threat posed by the BGs, control the entire objective (to include any living BGs), and the hostages. There is a very distinct danger that during the chaos of the assault, one or more of the BGs will attempt to mingle with the hostages. For safety reasons, until all the personnel can be searched and identified, they need to be controlled. This is to protect the hostages and the assault force.

With explosives and booby traps being a legitimate concern, the hostages need to be moved to a safe location where they can searched and identified. It wouldn't do anyone any good if the building was controlled and, while searching all the hostages, someone started throwing grenades or detonated a bomb.

Here's a video detailing an actual SAS hostage-rescue attempt, Operation Nimrod, where the BGs did exactly that.

According to the DailyMail, "Three of the gunmen were clutching grenades when the SAS' machine guns stopped them. One of these men, known as Faisal and second in command to Salim, was shot by Lance Corporal Rusty Firmin while trying to sneak out of the embassy with the rescued hostages as they were bundled down the stairs in a pass-the-parcel line to the garden and safety.

"Faisal’s distinctive Afro hairstyle and olive-green combat jacket marked him out and a shout went up. As Firmin—co-author of a new book detailing the inside story of the siege—grabbed him, his eye caught the gleam of green metal in the man’s right hand. It was a grenade. Firmin brought up the muzzle of his MP5 and, at arm’s length, fired two short bursts into the terrorist."