Now citizens put Jade Helm under surveillance

Three citizen surveillance teams will be dispatched to monitor the Navy SEALs, Green Berets and Special Operations forces engaged in a training mission called Operation Jade Helm 15.

Officials said the military drills will begin in about a week and will run for a couple of months in Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.

WND has reported on the public suspicions about the drills because of its secrecy and its labeling of several regions as "hostile" for training purposes.

The training is being touted as a way for Special Operations forces to hone their urban warfare skills in realistic community settings. But it prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to put his National Guard on notice to monitor the federal activities in his state.

Now, according to the Houston Chronicle, hundreds of Texans have organized under the Facebook slogan "Counter Jade Helm" and are planning to keep an eye on the military when the exercise begins this week.

One of the citizen surveillance team leaders is Eric Johnston, a 51-year-old retired firefighter and sheriff's deputy who lives in Kerrville.

He will coordinate 20 volunteers in three groups.

"If a team member sees two Humvees full of soldiers driving through town, they're going to follow them," Johnston told the newspaper. "And they're going to radio back their ultimate location."

The Chronicle reported the Texas volunteers are just one regiment of a national effort that came about because of the work of former Marine Pete Lanteri.

The Arizona man founded the Counter Jade Helm Facebook page.

"We're going to be watching what they do in the public. Obviously on a military base they can do whatever they want. But if they're going to train on public land we have a right as American citizens to watch what they're doing," he told the Chronicle.

He said so far volunteers number about 200.

He told the newspaper the volunteers will not use camouflage and will not be armed.

WND reported earlier when suspicions were heightened by the military's decision not to allow news media.

Army Special Operations Command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria put it this way: "All requests from the media for interviews and coverage of U.S. Army Special Operations Command personnel, organizations and events are assessed for feasibility and granted when and where possible. We are dedicated to communicating with the public, while balancing that against the application of operations security and other factors," the Washington Post reported.

But the Post reported all of its requests to have a reporter among Jade Helm participants have been rejected.

At the time, Lastoria told the newspaper embedded journalists would compromise the mission by revealing the identities of those taking part.

Abbott said the concerns were enough that he put his National Guard on notice to monitor the federal activities in the state, WND reported.

The logo for the exercise, "Master the Human Domain," has caused some consternation. The phrase stems from a military move to adapt U.S. battle strategies to win against al-Qaida. The new tactic requires a more psychological approach to warfare in which trained U.S. troops try to blend in with civilian populations to learn how to influence their behaviors and ultimately, achieve long-term military success.

Martial arts champion and action movie star Chuck Norris, a WND columnist, said he doesn't think Jade Helm 15 is a security risk to Texas.

Jade Helm map showing Texas, Utah and part of California as "hostile"

"Even the Pentagon isn't that stupid to mess with the Lone Star State. However, I have also said that I believe Jade Helm 15 is more than 'just a training exercise,' and I think ISIS just gave us the clue," he said.

He suggested it's a display of power "intended for deterrence of enemies like ISIS and other terrorists, whom the FBI has already said have tentacles in all 50 states."

The U.S. military earlier told WND that to allay fears and minimize concerns over the massive military training operation scheduled across much of America's Southwest this summer, officials have met with local governments and briefed them.

They said it's a combination of "inaccurate" information and "personal agendas" that is whipping up fears.

But it appears the message isn't getting across, since a poll showed nearly half of voters are concerned Washington "will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states."

And one voter in five is "very concerned."

The results come from Rasmussen Reports, which surveyed 1,000 likely voters May 7-10.

The polling company asked whether the government's military training plan is an infringement of the rights of citizens, whether the respondent favors or opposes those exercises in their state, and how concerned are they over whether Washington "will use U.S. military training operations to impose greater control over some states."

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, has raised concerns about the plan and the poll showed 60 percent see the government as a threat to individual liberty.

Abbott earlier ordered the Texas State Guard to oversee any activities in his state to ensure that Texans' "safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed."