The two cars’ tires were slashed; anarchy signs and post office stickers were slapped along the outside and someone had taken the time to write “baby killer” and “murderer.”

Last week’s incident was the second time the cars at the Army recruiting station at the end of Court Street had been vandalized, with damages exceeding $600, according to police reports.

“It’s unfortunate it happened,” said Lt. Col Jack Gallowitz, who’s in charge of Army recruiting for Southeast Ohio, calling the vandalism an “isolated incident.”

No one has claimed responsibility and the police do not have any suspects. Concerns have been raised about the policing of the area, but Gallowitz doubts this attack could have been prevented.

“Petty acts of vandalism are a poor substitute for ongoing organization and strategic campaigns,” said Damon Krane, with People Might, a local anti-war group that is still trying to get off the ground.

“However, at least this minor vandalism shows that there are people out there who think the appropriate response to ongoing mass murder goes a little farther than candlelight vigils, protest marches and waiting for the next election,” he said. “And quite frankly, I’m not at all sad to hear of recruiters’ tires being slashed.”

Waiting in reserve

In the wake of national public opposition to the war, the National Guard recruiters have not adjusted their strategy, said 1st Sgt. Doug Reed, who runs recruiting for Southeast Ohio and was based in Athens from 1998 to 2005.

Officials don’t think the opposition has negatively affected recruiting efforts for the National Guard. Southeast Ohio went above and beyond its projection for 2006, hitting 120 percent of their goal.

“We just do what we do,” Reed said.

Ohio University’s reserve officer training corps (ROTC) program has 60 fully active student cadets, and that number is rising every year. All of them signed on the dotted line knowing the demands of overseas conflicts were increasing.

This spring, 12 cadets will graduate and enter full-time military service, said Maj. William Hauschild, director of the Army ROTC program. Upcoming classes are expected to graduate 15 to 20 cadets.

Despite the vigils, the protests and what some called the perception of a liberal, anti-war community, the students in the ROTC program said they have not been the targets of harassment.

“I’ve never had any problems. People have always been kind to me,” said OU senior Jon Ackley, the cadet battalion commander.

Other cadets said they had never been hassled, and few knew of any instances when their conspicuous uniforms lead to any aggravation.

There are some, including professors, who resist the ROTC presence on campus, deputy battalion commander Elise Cullen said, but they “still don’t really say anything to us.”

More often than harsh words, Cullen said fellow students seem interested in the program and ask about the battle dress uniforms that the cadets wear every Wednesday.

Those conspicuous uniforms could bring more pressure onto the cadets, especially during a day a protest or demonstration is scheduled, said senior cadet Lacey Latkovic.

Cadets wouldn’t say whether they support the war.

“I respect people’s rights to protest the war in Iraq,” Hauschild said, “but they need to respect everyone else’s right to participate in the military.

Lacking activism

While Athens is known to many for its liberalism, it has seen only sporadic anti-war demonstrations during the war in Iraq.

The two seemingly isolated incidents at the recruiting station are the only remaining signs of the anti-war, counter-recruitment movement in Athens, after groups such as the Athens Anti-War Coalition dissolved and newer factions haven’t grown to fill the void.

“The movement was very successful in mobilizing huge numbers of people,” said Krane, who was affiliated with the Athens Anti-War Coalition before it dissolved. “All that success really failed to have much impact.”

Krane asserts that the present generation has rallied more supporters than Vietnam, though the lack of follow through and use of counter-recruitment techniques has prohibited any real progress.

Counter-recruitment involves distributing information about military alternatives to high schools and staging regular pickets outside of recruiting stations.

Most local demonstrations and protests that have occurred received attention, which could be misleading, Maj. Hauschild said.

“If it’s covered in the press, it looks like it’s something that’s happening,” Maj. Hauschild said, emphasizing the distinction between the perception of a dissenting population and the reality.

Periods of protest come and go at OU, according to Gallowitz. He was a personal witness to some incidents on campus in the mid-1980s.

“This is just something that happens in Athens,” Gallowitz said.