Nation Shows a Growing Concern About the Draft : Mobilization: Young people, from Orange County to Washington, worry about revival of conscription.

As the United States races to assemble its military might in the Saudi Arabian desert, separating thousands of troops from their families, phones have been ringing off the hooks in Washington, Chicago, San Francisco--and at the Anaheim post office.

The calls have been coming from worried grandparents, parents, girlfriends and young men themselves who are asking Selective Service System officials about the chances that the draft will be reinstated.

Although there has been no draft since 1973, officials say people are still calling, confused about their responsibilities as the nation faces the possibility of combat in the Middle East.

Part of the confusion might stem from the fact that an overwhelming number of young men between the ages of 18 and 26 have been quietly complying with the government’s requirement to register with the Selective Service.

A government spokeswoman estimated that compliance nationwide stands at a whopping 97% and includes 1.4 million men in California, 53,495 of whom are from Orange County; 60,424 from Los Angeles County and 66,326 from San Diego County.

The numbers would serve as a pool from which the government could draw if the draft is reinstated for an all-out war.

Also looming in the background is a force of 11,000 volunteers who would staff more than 2,000 draft boards nationwide and make decisions about requests from young men for exemptions, deferments or conscientious-objector status.

One in that volunteer force is Greg Winterbottom, executive director of the Orange County Transportation Services Agency, who said he was notified of his appointment to Draft Board 160 just a month ago. Board members are appointed by the President from nominations made by governors.

Winterbottom, initially approached about his interest in serving eight months ago, said: “I really don’t know what I’m supposed to do yet.”

He also is not sure what geographical area the board will represent or who his colleagues are. Yet the 43-year-old Villa Park resident said he expects to attend a class at some point that he feels will answer all his questions.

“I believe very strongly in community service. Personally, my life was enhanced by military service. I think military service is a reasonable expectation for members of a free society.”

While there has been little public discussion about reinstating the draft, Selective Service spokeswoman Barbi Richardson said it has been business as usual for the agency, except for the thousands of telephone calls her office has received since troop movements began in August.

“They really run the gamut,” Richardson said. “They are parents, young men and girlfriends. Some are worried, some are just seeking information. They just really want to know how a draft would work. People are concerned. They want to know what would happen if there was a return of the draft.”

Other questions have come from high school and college newspapers, who want to know what their readers’ responsibilities are, Richardson said.

In Anaheim, Frank Garcia, a window clerk at the post office, which like other post offices serves as an intake center for Selective Service applicants, said phones there have also been ringing.

“I get a lot of calls from people wanting to know how they can sign up,” Garcia said. “I seem to be getting calls from grandmothers wanting to know what their grandsons should do.”

Other Orange County post offices reported little change in their Selective Service functions and are continuing to receive draft registrations each week.

In the event of a mobilization, though, Congress and the President would have to approve the reinstitution of the draft and area Selective Service offices would be established and local draft and appeal boards would be activated. A lottery would be conducted to determine the order in which men would be drafted.

The first to go would be men 20 years old. Priority groups would then be established for those whose birthdays fall in succeeding years and the cycle would begin again for those 18 years of age. Those 26 years and older are generally considered past their eligibility.

Selective Service officials say that they could meet the immediate needs of the Defense Department within two weeks of a declared mobilization and 100,000 could be drafted by the end of the first 30 days, if needed. But officials are quick to point out that they have not been notified of plans for mobilization.

“It’s part of our readiness,” Richardson said of the registration movement and the maintenance of volunteer board members. “It’s truly business as usual.”

U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) said there has been no discussion in Congress about reviving the draft.

“I have heard of no suggestion. I don’t see the necessity for it,” Dannemeyer said. “The volunteer service is adequate to meet any test we might face in the Middle East.”

But in San Francisco, a Selective Service official said some callers are even hesitant to take the agency’s word that their sons or relatives are safe for now because a draft does not exist.

The issue also is generating interest among local young people, especially young men who remember registering simply to retain their eligibility for student loans and job-training benefits.

Marc Miles, an 18-year-old UC Irvine student from the San Fernando Valley, said he received a letter from the Selective Service last month reminding him of the requirement to register. Miles said he had not registered within the required 30 days of his 18th birthday in April.

“As soon as all this (troop movement) started happening, they sent me a letter saying I had to be registered within 15 days. I knew I was eligible, but I didn’t get the letter until mid-October . . . since all this stuff started happening.

“My girlfriend brought it up last night. She said, ‘I don’t want you to go.’ ”

Sam Abed, 23, of Huntington Beach said the issue of military service has become topical in his political science class at UCI. He said he registered only after getting a series of letters from the Selective Service.

“My grandfather and my uncle fought,” Abed said, “so I figured that was enough for my family.”

WAR WORRIES: U.S. experts fear that Bush may be rushing into conflict. A15.