FORT BENNING, Ga., (Nov. 26, 2014) -- The trend for the SOA Watch protest is one of decline, according to post officials. Attendance for the weekend protest was 37 percent of the previous year and only 8.5 percent of the attendance generated in 2006.

By reducing Fort Benning's response to the protest, Directorate of Emergency Services officials said it generated a substantial cost saving for the installation.

Although the 2013 demonstration resulted in zero arrests for trespassing, this year two people were arrested for violating Title 18, U.S. Code section 1382. This year, about 1,300 people attended the protest, while in 2006, the estimated crowd was greater than 15,000.

An inconvenience for Fort Benning residents and the tricommunity is the closure of the "Stone Gate" on Benning Road, officials said, because they have to use alternate roads to enter and leave the installation.