Although the War in Iraq is being fought thousands of miles away, local students, staff and community members continue to feel its impact four years after it began.

Hundreds of Penn State students, alumni and employees have served in Iraq and other elements of the war on terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, 643 students have been deployed, according to figures from the Penn State Registrar's office. Penn State President Graham Spanier said in September that 672 Penn State students and employees have been deployed since Sept. 11, 2001.

A few Penn Staters have made the ultimate sacrifice. Last month, Capt. Todd M. Siebert, a Penn State ROTC graduate, was killed while conducting combat operations in the Anbar province in Iraq, according to an American Forces press release.

"It was sort of a shock to us," said Robb Meinen, senior extension associate in Penn State's Department of Dairy and Animal Science and a Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity member.

Siebert was also in the fraternity.

"Todd was a very friendly guy," he added. "He got to know people on a personal level in the fraternity."

To date, there have been 3,208 American deaths in Iraq confirmed by the Department of Defense and 23,417 troops wounded, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count at icasualties.org.

However, local armed forces recruiters continue to meet their targets, U.S. Army Recruiting Station Commander Jathan Day said.

"Things are going good," he said.

Day said local army recruiting targets have been fairly consistent over time, but he could not release specific figures because of national security concerns.

The war continues to arouse political opinions nationally and within the local community. Thousands protested the war in major cities around the U.S. over the weekend, the Associated Press reported. Locally, a group of people from the State College Peace Center has been holding a twice-weekly antiwar vigil in front of the Allen Street Gates since before the war began.

Peter Morris, treasurer of the Peace Center, said the group had received support from relatives of people serving in Iraq.

"The percentage of the population over there is small, but nevertheless, I meet people all the time," he said. "Things like that really bring it home to you."

Campus groups also have opinions on the subject. Eliot Schmidt, College Democrats spokesman, said he didn't think the war was making much progress.

"It doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast," he said. "It seems like we are having the same successes and the same failures over and over again."

However, Todd Taylor, College Republicans president, said he thought some progress had been made since President Bush decided to deploy more troops earlier this year.

"We cannot afford to fail," he said.

Staff Writers Mackenzie Kolling and Brad Pareso contributed to this report.