Bill Rausch | Values Based Leader

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

If you were one of the 16,000+ people who watched our SiriusXM event on Facebook Live , you know that last week Got Your 6 unveiled the findings of its second annual Veterans Civic Health Index. The report confirms exactly what we already know: that veterans are the civic assets our country has been searching for! Veterans volunteer, engage with local governments and community organizations, vote, and help their neighbors, all at rates higher than their non-veteran counterparts. For more information about the report, visit:  gotyour6.org/impact/veterans-civic-health-index . We released the 2016 VCHI at an event titled  “Veterans: America’s Greatest Assets”  at SiriusXM’s Washington, D.C. studios. The morning kicked off with a panel that included VA Sec. Bob McDonald and Janaia DeShields from Points of Lights. We also used the day to highlight some of our outstanding nonprofit leaders, including Dave Landymore of Baltimore’s The 6th Branch, Heather Boyd of Team Red White