While the brave men and women of our armed forces are deployed around the globe to protect America and freedom, they also took time to partake in our midterm elections. Sailors on the USS George Washington, currently in the Arabian Sea, took part in a voting rodeo last month in the ship's library.

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Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Steven Matkins, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's voting assistance officer, organized the event for the sailors currently deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

"We have sailors from all backgrounds working as a team, and oftentimes, we're so far away from home, we think things don't affect us," Matkins said. "When you give people the opportunity to vote, you see how much we really care about things back home."

...

Navy Seaman Gavin Naab, an information systems technician assigned to the George Washington, voted for the first time during the election rodeo. He said he was genuinely excited to participate in the democratic process. 

"Your ballot can directly affect the policies enacted both at home and abroad, which has the power to alter the trajectory of your career, international affairs and history as a whole," Naab said. 

The George Washington is deployed to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East.

Thousands of sailors cast ballots during the rodeo.

Navy Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, the ship's Commanding Officer, said, "The opportunity to vote while deployed ... is profound. It allows our sailors to directly exercise the very rights and freedoms they have sworn to defend."

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"No matter how far from home, every sailor can still participate in our nation's elections," he continued, "a powerful reminder that those who safeguard our republic are never excluded from it."