Photo By Sgt. David Hodge | Sgt. Rachel Littenberg, a paralegal specialist, assists a Soldier with his voter...... read more read more
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Sgt. David Hodge
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Two Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers streamlined the voting process for hundreds of service members and civilians Oct. 3-5, 2008 at Forward Operating Base Falcon.
Sgts. Asa Rubman and Rachel Littenberg, both paralegal specialists assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, noticed an overwhelming number of Soldiers uninterested in voting in the November general elections and decided to spearhead a voting drive for Soldiers.
"It started out with me being annoyed with the system," said Rubman, a native of Watertown, Conn. "I registered and tried to get my ballot in May and it never came, so I started putting up flyers in case other people didn't get theirs."
The flyers posted throughout the brigade headquarters building enticed Soldiers to stop by the legal office and spend approximately 10 minutes to exercise their right to vote.
Even after posting flyers, the two decided they were not reaching out to enough Soldiers and decided to take the advice of Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Bobb, the brigade's senior enlisted leader, and set up a table inside the dining facility.
"People normally have a block of time set aside when they go to chow. So it is easier for them to register to vote then and just eat their grilled cheese a little faster," Rubman said.
The duo provided Soldiers the opportunity to vote in the dining facility for three days, spending six hours a day there while work piled up back at the office.
They also provided the necessary paperwork, envelopes and useful information regarding each state's voting regulations.
In all, the effort assisted more than 550 service members and civilians throughout the three-day drive, said Littenberg.
"Everybody was really into it," said Littenberg, who hails from Huntington, N.Y. "I watched a major and a specialist have a 20 minute conversation while they were completing their ballots about who was a better choice for president."
Setting up in the dining facility was great, and it motivated many Soldiers to vote, said Staff Sgt. Devon Pierce, an infantryman assigned to the brigade personnel security detachment, HHD, 1st BCT.
Pierce, who is on his third deployment, said this is the first one in which he has found the time to vote.
"I was glad to see the legal office took the initiative to put up flyers and set up a table in the dining facility," said Pierce, a native of Mobile, Ala.
Both Rubman and Littenberg feel they have changed people's opinions by encouraging service members and civilians to vote.
"I think it is amazing that Soldiers can have the chance to vote while deployed, especially while we are encouraging democracy in Iraq," Rubman stated. "I think it is one of the most amazing things in the world."
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2008 06:12 |
| Story ID: | 24557 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 170 |
| Downloads: | 132 |
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