WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF : Workers Feel Pride, Concern Over Weapons : Defense: Employees at aerospace plant realize that their contributions are helping U.S. soldiers. Almost all stand behind the American effort.

By DEAN TAKAHASHI

Jan. 19, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

IRVINE — Gina Bingaman, 22, an aerospace parts buyer at Parker Bertea Aerospace in Irvine, prays after sitting down for lunch with co-workers Michael L. Diaz and Catherine Viscounty. Then they start discussing the war.

“It really hits home that the parts I work with are vital to the mission,” Bingaman said Friday. “There’s a lot of deep concern . . . . I don’t know of anyone within the company who is against the war.”

Whether they designed an entire weapons system or simply made parts used in military hardware, employees at Orange County defense contractors say they are relieved and proud to see their work helping the U.S. military.

But they also are unnerved by watching the equipment they have built being used in battle. A lot of defense workers served in the military or have relatives stationed in the Persian Gulf, and they are especially worried about the troops.

Bingaman, an ex-Air Force procurement officer, speaks proudly of her work and strongly supports the war effort. Nevertheless, she cried when she heard over the telephone that the United States and its allies had gone to war. Like her fiance, Jason, she is on active reserve and has friends stationed in Saudi Arabia.

“I stand behind (President) Bush, and I don’t know of anyone in the company who doesn’t,” she said. “But . . . I’ve sat through classes on chemical warfare and learned how to fire an M-16, and I think about friends in the military. I believe they’ve done a great job. . . . But it’s only the first step in a long journey.”

Viscounty sees expressions of grief and concern on the faces of colleagues after they hear news of the war.

“We work with things that are vital to the military,” said Viscounty, 25. “This makes me want to have everything 100% quality and done on time.” Viscounty said she recognizes the right of demonstrators to protest the war. But, still, she is angered and sometimes tries to convince friends who oppose the war that the cause is a just one.

Bob Schmidt, 33, is a former Marine Corps aviator who markets computers to aerospace companies in Orange County. It seems only a short time ago that he was flying an A-6 Intruder aircraft as an escort for Kuwaiti tankers entering the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war.

Schmidt, an El Toro resident and Marine Corps reservist, has friends in the Marines. And he believes that President Bush did the right thing in launching the air assault on Saddam Hussein’s forces.

“I’m surprised with the overwhelming military success and the lack of response from the Iraqis,” he said.

But not everyone is so pro-war.

Steve Luco, 33, is a Santa Ana resident who works with Schmidt in marketing. He was raised with what he describes as anti-war sentiments formed during the waning years of the Vietnam War. While he isn’t an anti-war activist, he is more ambivalent about the war than Schmidt.

“I don’t think anybody with a conscience is happy with the war and how we got into this position,” he said. “Why didn’t sanctions work? That’s what I want to understand. But I also know that, with the Iraqis, we are dealing with something different . . . . They seem to believe what Saddam Hussein is saying.”