Thread: Big Spring TX. sees no big deal in Jade Helm military exercise

HOUSTON

Big Spring sees no big deal in Jade Helm military exercise

West Texas town welcomes troops - and their cash

By Mike Tolson
May 23, 2015 Updated: May 24, 2015 1:05am


Photo: Gary Coronado, Staff

Becky Olson, of Stanton, a stylist at the Downtowner Barber Shop, takes a break in Big Spring. "(Jade Helm) has not bothered me at all," said Olson.


Former Rep. Todd Smith

"Let me apologize in advance that your letter pandering to idiots who believe that US Navy Seals and other US military personnel are somehow a threat to be watched has left me livid. As a 16 year Republican member of the Texas House and a patriotic AMERICAN, I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn't have the backbone to stand up to those who do."

Source: Houston Chronicle


BIG SPRING - The name is strange enough - who or what is Jade Helm 15? - but it's the motto of the upcoming military exercise that alarms some in Texas who believe the federal government is not to be trusted.

"Mastering the human domain" has an ominous overtone: If someone is to be master, then does it not follow that someone else must be slave. So Jade Helm could be the beginning of the end, the conspiracy-minded believe - a dress rehearsal for the day when troops show up to take our guns and our freedom.

Such was the fear on display when an advance team from the Army Special Operations Command showed up in Bastrop County in late April for a meeting with county commissioners. The briefing offered a rough outline of the unconventional warfare exercise and asked for local cooperation. But the reception was anything but gracious, as a standing-room-only crowd included many who saw ill motive in the exercises planned for July and August.

"No Gestapo in Bastropo!" read one sign carried by those who lined the meeting room.

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But when the same advance team showed up 10 days earlier here in West Texas, where the military has roamed the skies for generations, few even noticed. The details of the exercise presented to the Big Spring City Council were limited, to be sure, yet no council member voiced objection.

Only one resident, nurse Kimberly York, showed up to speak, expressing reservations about using non-military turf and potential confusion caused by strangers moving about at all hours. But she made no reference to martial law or disarmament of the populace.

"I'm a military brat," York said, "and I support the military."

It didn't hurt the Jade Helm cause when the presentation mentioned an estimated economic impact of $150,000. The vote to send a letter of invitation to Jade Helm officials passed unanimously and without discussion.

"That's when they sat up and really took notice," local tobacco shop owner Scott Emerson said of the mention of money going into the local economy. He was at the meeting to protest a different proposed ordinance and was not surprised by the council's cooperation. "They did not really ask any pertinent questions."

Former air base site
Big Spring's economic health has been an ongoing issue since the government closed Webb Air Force Base in 1977. The base, which had been preceded by a World War II training field, helped stabilize the local economy during the 1950s and '60s, when the population topped 30,000. But the end of the Vietnam War made it superfluous.

By 1990 the population barely reached 23,000 in the town situated 40 miles east of Midland along a gorge near the convergence of the High Plains, Edwards Plateau and Chihuahuan Desert.
A concerted effort to attract business brought some new manufacturing jobs to go along with those at the VA hospital, state psychiatric facility, community college and numerous small prisons. The fracking frenzy has been a godsend to much of the Permian Basin. But booms don't last. Which means the promise of a spending spurt, even a small one, draws a smile. Every little bit helps.

"There was a rumor going around that I was going to be paid $150,000," said Big Spring Mayor Larry McLellan. "That is the figure they told us would be spent on gas, groceries, supplies and the services they need. They have contracts with some landowners whose property they will use, but that is only to repair any damage they cause. They aren't paying anyone anything."

It did not occur to local elected officials to be anything but hospitable to the military, McLellan said. Big Spring is a friendly place, he said, with a strong patriotic streak and high regard for the armed forces. Its leaders were not going to say no, and they certainly weren't going to be rude. They thought their fellow residents would feel likewise.

"To me, it was an honor that you would be approached," he said.

Since then, McLellan has received plenty of phone calls, often at home, telling him the council had abetted a military takeover that would include soldiers breaking down doors and carting people away. None of the callers have been local.

"This is all crazy," McLellan said. "I thought it was nothing but the right thing to do, to give them the training they need. This was not controversial."

Abbott's 'political play'
Gov. Gregg Abbott apparently felt otherwise, ordering the Texas State Guard to "monitor" the exercises so that Texans' rights and property will not be "infringed on" by those participating in them.

"Just a political play," McLellan said of Abbott's response, shaking his head over the notion that military training is something to worry about.

To McLellan, controversy is reserved for the really important stuff, like financing of the water treatment plant and going up on dumping rates to enable landfill expansion.

A Big Spring debate is much more likely to focus on local fees and tax rates than national politics. Howard County GOP Chairman Ron Farquhar said there was some excitement about the tea party movement a few years ago, he said, but that has died down. He lamented voter apathy and acknowledged that the monthly party meetings don't get the turnout he'd like.

"Oh, maybe 15 or so," Farquhar said. "More if we have a good speaker."

The county is solidly Republican, so in truth there's not so much to get jazzed about. Emotions sometimes boil over, like anywhere, but people try to be civil.

"There is a quality of life here," Farquhar said. "It has to do with neighborly people."

"It's a good town, a church town," added his wife, Loretta. "People are nice and respectful. We still have dinner parties here."

It's what keeps Kathryn Wiseman here, resisting repeated attempts by her children to entice her to Dallas. Decades ago Wiseman was dragged to Big Spring by her husband against her wishes. She thought she had moved to the end of the earth. Now she has zero interest in leaving.

"This is a unique place," said Wiseman, who was elected county judge in 2014. "I've never met people with so much generosity and caring. They have a huge heart."

When the military requested permission to use Big Spring and surrounding areas for its Jade Helm exercises, the answer was obvious, Wiseman said. And when one local resident started spreading conspiracy theories around town and then showed up in her office to express disapproval, she did what any sensible grandmother would. She gave him a good talking-to.

"I sat him down and said I didn't appreciate him trying to spread panic," Wiseman said. "I said look at who does these operations around the world, like capturing Saddam Hussein or killing Osama bin Laden. It's the special forces. If we can help them be successful, I am happy to do so."

The conspiracy talk, endlessly promoted on websites that predict the fall of American democracy through a military takeover and citizen disarmament, reached the local Republican club and had some members fearful about the Jade Helm exercises, Wiseman said. So she and the county commissioners went to the next meeting to explain exactly what would be going on. The fears were dispelled, she said, and the subject has not come up again.

Public awareness
Business owner Emerson said there were a handful of opponents to the Jade Helm exercises who showed up at the council meeting the week after the military presentation. But because the matter had been decided unanimously, rules did not permit any further discussion.

That was that, so the group turned its attention to an anti-vaping ordinance.

Emerson said he spoke at length with one of the military's advance men while they were waiting for the council meeting to start but did not get a clear picture of what the military would be doing. Some of the scenarious would involve moving without notice among the local population, he said. Though Emerson is not opposed to Jade Helm, he declined an offer to have his store used as a gathering place for participants.

"This fellow told me, 'This is a litmus test ordered by the government. We are going to actively move people through your city in the middle of the night and see who notices, who pulls their faces out of Facebook to look up, who bunkers up,'" Emerson said.

County Judge Wiseman said her only concern about Jade Helm 15 was making sure local residents are aware of the exercises simulating combat missions and don't react adversely if they see something out of the ordinary. She does not want to see anyone get hurt because of a misunderstanding. She felt it was her duty, and one happily accepted, to go around and tell folks not to worry when the soldiers come to town.

"I see this job as a way to make a difference, to participate in my community, to be able to talk to people and let them know what is going on," Wiseman said. "People appreciate it. And they are pretty trusting."

No way is she heading to Dallas anytime soon.

"I love small-town America."

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...ry-6283470.php