20 vets group urge Trump to keep McDonald at VA: Twenty veterans organizations urged President-elect Trump on Wednesday to keep on Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald in the next administration. The groups sent a letter that voiced support for those who have proven their commitment and qualifications to getting it right and asked that McDonald be able to stay in his role after leading the largest transformation in the department's history. As you make your selection for VA secretary, then, we advocate for an approach that recognizes and builds upon current progress, the letter says. Given the challenges we face, we cannot afford to start over. The letter was organized and led by Got Your 6 executive director Bill Rausch. The groups supporting it include AMVETS, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, the National Military Family Association, the Service Women's Action Network, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and Wounded Warrior Project.
As an Army Captain, I deployed to Baghdad in May 2006, just a few months after the historic December 2005 Iraqi election. During my time in Iraq, I met countless Iraqis who proudly showed me photos of themselves and their family members holding up purple-stained fingers signifying they had voted in that election. These men and women faced down roadside bombs, suicide bombers, and rooftop snipers, all for the chance to participate in a free and open election. Eighty percent of the Iraqi electorate turned out that Election Day. Over the past 100 years, Americans have not even come close to that level of turnout. Lately, it has been even worse. In the 2012 presidential election, of the 235 million eligible voters in America, only 129 million – around 55 percent -- bothered to show up to the polls. That’s without having to dodge sniper bullets. So Election Day 2016, which lands just three days before Veterans Day, those who wore the uniform are issuing Americans a challenge: Don’t
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