For Tim Brundage and Fernando Porras, it was a far cry from a typical recruiting trip to a high school, aviation club or car show.

The two Kansas Army National Guardsmen set up a table in the Kansas Union this week as a way to attract would-be helicopter crews to the Guard’s dwindling ranks.

They met a couple good prospects, they said.

But they also met a group of people calling themselves “de-cruiters” who set up a table less than three feet away with the goal of distracting and discouraging would-be enlistees.

“If they send you guys over based on lies, that’s wrong,” one person at the counter-recruiting table told Brundage as the two discussed the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

“I support the mission,” answered Brundage, a chief warrant officer. “I know a lot of people don’t. I respect that.”

Ranks falling

The Army National Guard, which allows people to serve part-time, faces declining ranks but has become more important to the military with troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Recent figures reported by wire services showed the service fell 31 percent below its recruiting goal nationwide in February and 12 percent short of its goal in March.

That’s why the service is adding recruiters like Brundage, a helicopter pilot who used to teach math at Free State High School, and Porras, who maintains Black Hawk helicopters at Forbes Field in Topeka.

Neither has been deployed to Iraq, but their unit recently returned from a humanitarian trip to Panama.

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Wednesday and Thursday, the pair made their pitch at a table laid out with Black Hawk gear, diagrams, photos and video footage. The two said their assignment was different from other recruiters because they weren’t trying to reach quotas.

“We’re not trying to pull people out of school,” Brundage said. “We’re not trying to change anyone’s opinion.”

At the nearby “de-cruiting” table, students set out fliers with antiwar messages, and displayed a photo of an injured baby next to the words, “The human cost of airstrikes.”

“I think when the Army attempts to recruit people, they do not tell them the entire truth of what they’re signing up for,” said Kim Coughlin, a nontraditional student who helped organize dissenters. “I think the true face of war needs to be shown.”

Tone civil

Students had mixed reactions.

One prospect the recruiters met was Matthew Strahm, 26, a senior from Sabetha who’s considering enlisting in the military. Strahm said he shook their hands and thanked them for their service.

“Obviously, the military is going through some hard times right now,” Strahm said. “It’s always something I wanted to do, but I didn’t know if I could get involved and be a part of it.”

Other KU students interviewed Thursday weren’t so sure.

“I don’t need the money,” said Steve Lynn, 24, a journalism student from Colorado Springs, Colo., who said he hadn’t ever considered joining the Guard. “If I ever really needed the money that badly, I think this would be the worst time to join.”

Despite the protest, the two groups remained civil. At the end of the day, the recruiters took down their table and waved goodbye.

“Hope you guys don’t get sent over there,” said protester Chris White, a former Marine and a KU lecturer in history and Latin American studies.