Selective Service seeks Chase County draft board member

    Uncle Sam wants you—for the draft board.
    Selective Service officials are looking for a Chase County representative to the panel that hears appeals on draft status.
    The good news is, actually discussing such appeals will only happen if and when a draft is instituted, said Matthew Grajeda, a Air Force Reserves major who currently is detailed to Nebraska’s Selective Service System.
    “There is no impending draft on the horizon,” Grajeda said. “This is an ongoing mission.”
    Chase County, along with Hayes, Dundy, Hitchcock and Red Willow counties, make up the board that covers this area of the state, Grajeda said. It has been without a Chase County member for nearly a year because the previous one, Tom Gaschler, moved.
    Selective Service also is seeking a member from Hayes County, but has a prospect, he noted.
    The board hears requests for draft exemptions and deferrals and conscientious objector status, “especially the ones that are gray and not black and white,” he said.
    Some requests for status changes are handled administratively, like a request for an education deferment that simply depends on whether the person is in school.
    As a gray area, he cited the example of someone who seeks an exemption due to being the sole caretaker for an ill parent; in that kind of case, the board would rule on whether the parent is ill enough to justify giving the applicant the exemption.
    There has not been a draft in the U.S. since 1973, and draft registration stopped in 1975. Registration was reinstated in 1980 after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
    Every male between 18 and 25 must register as of their 18th birthday.
    Grajeda said Selective Service is casting a wide net in an effort to find a Chase County board member, contacting veterans service officers, the media and veterans’ groups to find volunteers. At least one is needed, although the board can have more than five members if enough qualified volunteers are found.
    Anyone wishing to serve on the board must be 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen; must himself have registered in compliance with federal law; and cannot be retired military, a member of the Guard or Reserve or a member of law enforcement.
    Volunteers should contact Grajeda, who will help them begin the process. After a thorough vetting, including a background check, the names of qualified volunteers are forwarded to the governor’s office, which approves and appoints them.
    Membership on the board requires one to two hours of training, which can be done either online or by printed materials. Other than that, Selective Service officials will contact the volunteer once a year by email to touch base and confirm that any contact information is unchanged. There is no travel requirement unless the draft restarts, when a central meeting point for the board will be determined.
    “That’s a pretty low time commitment,  but it fills a huge need,” Grejada said.
    If a draft happens, there will be changes from the last time, when the process was widely criticized for inequality in the way exemptions were granted.
    For example, an educational deferment is now valid only until the end of the semester or school year, whereas in the Vietnam era draftees could escape being drafted by staying in school for years.
    Despite the current lack of a draft, failing to register carries serious consequences, Grejada said. Anyone who does not register is ineligible for federal student aid, federal and state job-training benefits and federal employment.
    “They’re kind of removing themselves from getting federal assistance in one way or another,” he said.
    Registration is available at all post offices and online at sss.gov and takes just a couple of minutes, Grejada said.
    Anyone wishing to volunteer for the draft board can contact Grejada at 405-642-1323 or by email at matthew.grajeda@sss.gov.