Wine blogger Jade Helm shares name with notorious military training exercise

Wine blogger Jade Helm shares the name with Operation Jade Helm 15, a U.S. military operation that conspiracy theorists claim will lead to a federal takeover of Texas. Helm told The Washington Post that she's had to turn down Facebook friend requests from conspiracy theorists and enduring ribbing from Facebook friends about the shared name. less Wine blogger Jade Helm shares the name with Operation Jade Helm 15, a U.S. military operation that conspiracy theorists claim will lead to a federal takeover of Texas. Helm told The Washington Post that she's ... more Photo: Screenshot Via Facebook Photo: Screenshot Via Facebook Image 1 of / 51 Caption Close Wine blogger Jade Helm shares name with notorious military training exercise 1 / 51 Back to Gallery

An Oregon woman who shares the name with Operation Jade Helm 15 says she's had to turn down Facebook friend requests from conspiracy theorists who say the U.S. military operation will lead to a federal takeover of Texas.

The operation will involve elite U.S. soldiers, including Green Berets and Navy SEALS, using Texas as "hostile territory" for simulated special operations.

Jade Helm, a wine blogger at Tasting Pour, told The Washington Post that her friends have ribbed her on Facebook for her shared name, but that she's taking it in stride.

"My friends seem to delight in posting links to my page: 'Did you know ... Have you seen ...What have you gotten yourself into now?'" Helm told the Post. "I usually respond that 'Wine was just my cover. Please don't blow it.'"

Facebook photos of Helm show the blogger as a gun-toting, sword-wielding wine lover.

"I'm famous and not for invading Texas," she said on Tasting Pour's Facebook page.

Helm had some interesting insight into why military officials landed on the name.

"Maybe, they chose Jade Helm because it is a kick-ass name," she replied. "They could have asked, though."

Helm told the Post that she doesn't have an opinion regarding the actual operation or the conspiracy theories surrounding it.

That would place her apart from several politicians and talking heads that have weighed in on fears that, in the words of Army Special Operations Spokesman Mark Lastoria, "center around misinterpretations."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott drew criticism last week after he ordered the Texas State Guard to monitor the exercise in order to let Texans know that their "their safety, constitutional rights, private property right and civil liberties will not be infringed."

The governor called that criticism an "overreaction" when speaking to reporters about his decision at a prayer breakfast on Monday. Abbott said he had seen "nothing that would cause anybody to worry about what is going on" regarding the operation.

"What we're doing is serving as a communication facilitator between the special operations forces and the people of the state of Texas, and nothing more than that," Abbott said.

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry has suggested that Abbott went too far by ordering Texas State Guard troops to monitor the military operation.

"It's OK to question your government. I do it on a regular basis," Perry said. "But the military is something else. Our military is quite trustworthy. The civilian leadership, you can always question that, but not the men and women in uniform."

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports