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Command Post What is this?
Posted on Oct 4, 2017
MAJ Bill Rausch
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Responses: 23
CPT David Gowel
MAJ Bill Rausch, thanks for spending time with us today. Can you talk a bit about the times you've testified in front of Congress and your overall takeaways from those sessions? Veterans issues are numerous and complex so I'm curious to get your sense of the progress stimulated by such governmental interactions.
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
The first time I testified in front of Congress I was extremely nervous. Not only because I hadn't done it before but more importantly because I wanted to "get it right." I researched the issue (care in the community) as much as I could while asking VA leaders, other VSOs and countless veterans about their thoughts and experiences. I also read reports and studies on the issue while speaking to several family members who were vietnam vets having trouble getting to hospitals because of where they lived. Ultimately, I ensured that I accurately communicated what I saw the problems to be and gave specific recommendations on how to fix the problems at both the local and national level. I'm proud to say that the three times I testified on this issue were not only rewarding for me but have also led to improvements to "Choice" programs for vets to include the most recent draft version Congress is considering. My experience reminds me that any and all of us can make a difference and that our military experience will always come in handy in the civilian world!
Ultimately, most Gov't Leaders want to get it right. I view part of our job as telling them how it really is, the good and the bad, to ensure that the sea of goodwill drives real and positive change!
CPT David Gowel
CPT David Gowel
7 y
MAJ Bill Rausch - very insightful. Thanks for all that you do for our military community.
SGT Dave Tracy
So I decided to review your public website and I found it interesting that one of your stated missions is to work with Hollywood in an attempt to de-Hollywoodize (my word) portrayals of veterans and service members in entertainment--good luck with all that by the way--but just how do you gage success in that regard? And as a follow on, just how receptive are those partners to such efforts? All too often "support" is more slogan than action.

Lastly, you had me at the Penguins!

Thanks for your time.
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
Great question and thanks for checking out our website! We do work with the entertainment industry to ensure that veterans are accurately portrayed in film in television. We've made strides although there's more work to be done. One way we engage the entertainment industry is through our 6 Certified program (gotyour6.org/programs/6-certified/). It's a great way to celebrate projects that "get it right!" While some projects have main story lines about vets, you'll notice some shows or films only have one or two mentions of veterans, which is fine. The purpose is to normalize the characterization of veterans away from “broken heroes,” which is how we’ve been traditionally portrayed. The broader way we measure success is to see how the overall US population views veterans and we do that through our perception shift study (found here: https://gotyour6.org/impact/cultural-perceptions-of-veterans/) You'll see that while we've made progress there is much more work to be done!
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
Sorry the link didn't go through -- try this one! https://gotyour6.org/programs/6-certified/
SGT Dave Tracy
SGT Dave Tracy
7 y
MAJ Bill Rausch - Thanks for the reply!
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
You're welcome and thank you for the great question!
LTC Stephen F.
Edited 7 y ago
First, welcome to RallyPoint MAJ Bill Rausch and thank you for taking the time to review and respond to questions posed.
Background: I am a service-connected VA disabled veteran as well as a USMA graduate and retired Army officer.
How would you advise those who are transitioning from military service to post-military service who are interested in getting more involved in volunteer and/or advocacy "work including lobby local/state or federal government legislators or executives?"
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
Great question, stand by for my thoughts.
MAJ Bill Rausch
MAJ Bill Rausch
7 y
Thank you for the kind words. The RP community is unlike any digital community I've ever been part of and it's a place I def feel welcome! There are a ton of great nonprofits out there and we are very proud of our veteran empowerment coalition that represents the military, veterans and our families. Check out all 34 here with more being announced later next week: https://gotyour6.org/partners/nonprofit/ My recommendation on how to get involved is to try them out and take organizations on "test drives." Many groups have Hill lobbing days or what we often refer to as "storm the hill" here in DC. This is a great way to learn more about an organization and the issues. Some local groups may not even have a policy shop so there might be an opportunity to organize something yourself. Even my local Team RWB chapter in Alexandria, which doesn't do advocacy, does engagement with City Hall as the result of our group meeting weekly on the same day/time as when council meets. It's been a great way for our local leaders to know we're in the community and has led to opportunities to engage more broadly on our issues. Also, you can always shoot us a note -- our Gov't Relations Director could always use a retired West Pointer to help her out with things! :) I should end with, Go Army -- Beat Navy!

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