CARMEL VALLEY — The group is diverse in its makeup — some of them are young and some of them are old. Some have lived in San Diego for many years, while others have walked on the dusty streets of Iraq and witnessed the war firsthand. But the group members all share the common bond of being American citizens who protest against the war in Iraq. They meet every Sunday at 1 p.m. to do so at the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real.

Gil Field, a 10-year resident of Carmel Valley, said he and his wife started the group eight weeks ago because they had simply “had enough.” Word-of-mouth began to spread through e-mail and now about 25 people attend the protest each week.

“In our opinion, we feel the war in Iraq is wrong and traditional methods have not allowed us to vent our frustrations,” Field said. “Our congressman isn’t listening and our senators don’t appear to be listening. This is a good way of addressing the issue and showing Carmel Valley that not everybody here is for the war.”

On Sept. 16, Field was joined by a line of demonstrators who waved flags and signs that carried messages such as “Bring ‘Em Home Now,” “Build Bridges Not Bombs” and “War Is Not The Answer.”

As passing drivers honked their horns and waved, Field said the majority of responses are positive. But the group does get the occasional negative reaction. “We get the ‘finger’ and we get people hollering at us,” he said. “But it’s rare.”

Field said that two of his group’s regulars, Kenyon Ralph and Kelly Counts, are military veterans of the Iraq War, with Ralph having served two tours in the Marine Corps. On Sept. 16, both Ralph and Counts attended an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C.

As of Sept. 16, 3,775 American troops have died in the Iraq War. Field said that unless there are major changes or all the troops come home, he and his group will be out every Sunday.

“The war would have to end, or politics would have to change to convince us that there is concrete proof we have done our job,” he said. “We are a long way from that.”

Carmel Valley resident Libba Jackson-D’Ambrosi, whose father served in the Army, is one of the protestors. She said the group is trying to send a message to Congressman Brian Bilbray that a policy change is needed.

“I don’t feel safer because of this war,” Jackson-D’Ambrosi said. “We need to get out of Iraq.”

Nick Gekakis of Carmel Valley, who is a professor of cell biology at the Scripps Research Institute, said he joined the weekly demonstration because he’s “tired of all the lies.”

“Hopefully, this can expose those lies,” Gekakis said.