Seven Southwestern states will soon be infiltrated by 1,200 military special ops personnel as part of a controversial domestic military training in which some of the elite soldiers will operate undetected among civilians . Operation Jade Helm begins in July and will last for eight weeks . Soldiers will operate in and around towns in Texas , New Mexico , Arizona , California , Nevada , Utah and Colorado where some of them wil drop from planes while carrying weapons loaded with blanks in what military officials have dubbed Realistic Military Training . But with residents of the entire states of Texas and Utah dubbed 'hostile ' for the purposes of the exercises , Jade Helm has some concerned the drills are too realistic . Scroll down for video . Hostile : An unclassified military document reveals the states involved in a controversial multi-agency training exercises that will place 1,200 military personnel into 7 Southwest states -- with residents of Utah , Texas and part of Southern California designated as 'hostile ' Special ops : Operation Jade Helm will involve Green Berets and SEALs and special forces from the Air Force and Marines starting in July and lasting 8 weeks . Headlines like Freedom Outpost 's 'Operation Jade Helm—military trains for martial law in American South-west ' abound across the Right-leaning blogosphere and Info Wars warns that Jade Helm is simply 'an effort to test the effectiveness of infiltration techniques ' on the American public . 'They 're having Delta Force , Navy SEALS with the Army trained to basically take over , ' Info Wars ' Alex Jones said Sunday . 'Texas is listed as a hostile sector , and of course , we are ... We 're here defending the republic . ' The Houston Chronicle reports that , among the planned exercises , soldiers will attempt to operate undetected among civilian populations . Residents , in turn , will be asked to report suspicious activity in order to gauge the effectiveness of the soldiers . Military officials say they 've gotten the go ahead for the operations from local authorities such as mayors and county commissions . And sheriff 's deputies told the Houston Chronicle they would ensure residents living near where aircraft were slated to create disturbances and drop soldiers , civilian and military vehicles will barrel through and where blank rounds would be fired . Jim Stewart with the Brazos County , Texas Sheriff 's Office told the Chronicle that such exercises are far from anything new . 'Special ops for years have trained off-post for years , where they go out and have folks that are role players out on the economy , ' said the Army intelligence veteran . 'They 'll have a scenario they 'll be following and they 'll interact with these role players as if they 're in another country . ' However , the U.S. Army Special Operations Command themselves say Jade Helm is different . See more at KEYE-TV . Reassuring ? Sheriff 's deputies say they will ensure residents living near where aircraft were slated to create disturbances and drop soldiers , civilian and military vehicles will barrel through and where blank rounds would be fired [ FILE PHOTO ] . Texas , which the military has designated as 'hostile ' for the purposes of the training , was chosen to be a hub of the unprecedentedly large program because 'Texans are historically supportive of efforts to prepare our soldiers ' writes the USASOC . 'The size and scope of Jade Helm sets this one apart . To stay ahead of the environmental challenges faced overseas , Jade Helm will take place across seven states , ' the USASOC wrote in a March 24 release . 'The diverse terrain in these states replicates areas Special Operations Soldiers regularly find themselves operating in overseas . ' The military has also reacted to widespread fear of the operation by calling some ultra-conservative coverage of the 'martial law ' drills alarmist and inaccurate . 'That notion was proposed by a few individuals who are unfamiliar with how and why USASOC conducts training exercises , ' USASOC spokesman Army Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria told Stripes . 'This exercise is routine training to maintain a high level of readiness for Army Special Operations Forces because they must be ready to support potential missions anywhere in the world on a moment 's notice . ' Jade Helm Martial Law WW3 Prep Document 2 by All News Pipeline .
Operation Jade Helm will see Army service members deploy Green Berets and tanks and special forces from the Air Army and Marines in July . Soldiers equipped with blank rounds will drill in and around towns in Texas , New Mexico , Arizona , California , Nevada , Texas and Colorado for 8 weeks . The so - called Realistic Military Training has some residents fearful the drill is a preparation for martial law .