Gov. Abbott has asked the Texas State Guard to “monitor” the training known as Jade Helm 15. I previously wrote about that silly request here. I was wrong in describing the entity as the Texas National Guard. The Governor actually asked the “Texas State Guard” to watch the Special Forces soldiers traipse around conducting their training exercise. The Texas State Guard is a different entity than the National Guard. The State Guard is a voluntary position. They undergo very limited training. But, many former service members serve in the State Guard. I knew or saw a few State Guard members when I served in the Texas National Guard. My impression then was that they were basically adult boy scouts. But, now I know better. Some of them do good work. Others are slightly more effective than boy scouts.

The Governor made a strange request. Fortunately, not much is required. The State Guard members merely need to attend briefings that would already occur and then report back to the Governor. See San Antonio Express News report.

The exercise started yesterday. Another organization, Counter Jade Helm, has taken it upon itself to also monitor Jade Helm. One of the CJH volunteers followed a truck in the town of Bastrop which he thought was military. The truck turned out to be a civilian water truck. See Stars and Stripes report. That is such a relief…..