Someone busted a window and spray-painted graffiti on the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Harrisonburg, officials said on Thursday.

The vandals scrawled messages related to the conflict in Iraq on windows and on the sidewalk in front of the recruiting station. They also threw two bricks through an office window, along with a jar full of red paint.

One slogan read, "It’s not liberation if the Iraqis don’t want us there."

Army Staff Sgt. Mason Ogletree, a recruiter at the center, said the vandalism didn’t shock him. Recruiting offices across the country have received warnings from commanding officers saying that attacks could happen, Ogletree said.

"Did we think it would happen in Harrisonburg?" Ogletree said. "No, but I can’t say we were surprised."

Confused Messages?

Harrisonburg police say they have no suspects, but think the vandalism took place sometime between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 8 p.m. Thursday.

Another slogan read, "You killed my brother" — a statement that baffles the recruiters.

According to them, no one recruited from the Harrisonburg center has died in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Valley has lost two men in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to military records, but the nearest casualty, Marine Lance Cpl. Jason Redifer, 19, of Stuarts Draft, was recruited in Augusta County. The sniper died in combat in Iraq in January.

The third slogan spray-painted was, "Recruiting the poor to die for the rich." Ogletree said he found the statement ironic.

"It’s funny, we had two guys here today, and both of their parents were doctors," he said.

The two men are set to enlist today.

According to Harrisonburg recruiters, the office consistently meets or exceeds enlistment goals. The Shenandoah Valley and eastern West Virginia, they say, are known for the large numbers of people who volunteer for military service.

Lack Of Knowledge

Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Fey, a combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, said he thinks the vandalism was done for political, not personal, reasons.

He and other recruiters speculated that whoever is responsible for the vandalism probably hasn’t lost anyone in either conflict zone.

"It’s frustrating for me, because I don’t think the public knows what’s going on there to the full extent," he said.

By afternoon on Thursday, the paint had been cleaned and the broken window had been replaced.

In the Marine Corps recruiting office late that evening, volunteers for military service smiled while being processed. They seemed unfazed by the vandalism.

Contact Will Morris at 574-6286 or wmorris (at) dnronline.com

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