it s called jade helm 15 and it has sparked absurd conspiracy theories. some think it s really a military takeover of texas or the military trying to implement martial law. it s of course an absurd conspiracy theory but republicans are actually fueling the fire. texas governor greg abbott asked the state guard to monitor the exercise. he wrote a letter saying it is important that texans know their safety constitutional rights private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed by monitoring the operation on a tunnel basis, the state guard will facilitate communications between my office and the commanders of the operation to ensure that the adequate measures are in place to protect texans. texas senator ted cruz his office actually reached out to the pentagon on this. my office we ve reached out to the pentagon to inquire about this exercise.