Girl Scout Troops support military troops through annual treat

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SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  On Thursday, May 9, Girl Scouts delivered Girl Scout cookies to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base as part of the Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines' annual Operation Cookie Drop program.

There is nothing sweeter than the taste of home for American military personnel deployed overseas. As far as the members of the Girl Scout Council are concerned, the concepts of both sweetness and home can best be summarized in three magic words: Girl Scout Cookies.

"Each year the 916th Air Refueling Wing looks forward to partnering with the Girl Scouts for this special event," said Maj. Shannon Mann, 916th ARW Public Affairs chief. "Operation Cookie Drop is just one more amazing way that these young ladies, and our communities, show their continued support for our military men and women. We can't thank them enough for including us."

More than 10,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies were delivered to the active duty and Reserve Airmen at the 916th Air Refueling Wing who are on a constant deployment rotation overseas.

During the 2013 Cookie Sale program, Girl Scouts across central and eastern North Carolina collected enough donations for the program to purchase 95,952 boxes of cookies. These cookies will be shipped overseas to military personnel serving from U.S. Marine installations - Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville and Cherry Point in Havelock, U.S. Army base Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. In addition, the USO at RDU International Airport in Raleigh and NCPacks4Patriots based in Ayden distribute a portion of the donated Girl Scout cookies to the military personnel that they serve.

In its ninth year, Operation Cookie Drop has shipped more than half of million boxes of cookies to military troops. New for the program this year is "Letters to the Troops." This Council-wide campaign sponsored during the 2013 National Girl Scout Week, collected roughly 400 thank you letters from girl and adult members that will accompany the cookie deliveries.

"The pure generosity of our supportive community makes it possible for us to donate so many cookies to our military men and women," said Lisa Jones, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts - North Carolina Coastal Pines. "We are very proud of this program and especially proud of all the Girl Scouts who have worked so hard to collect these donations."

Jones, who became chief executive officer of the Council in January 2013, attended the delivery event on May 9th.

She, and the nearly 50 Scouts and parents that were on-hand got a treat themselves when they were able to take a static tour of a KC-135R Stratotanker with three female pilots that were once Girl Scouts themselves.

Col. Caroline Evernham and Capts. Samantha Unruh and Christine McLean showed the girls the inside and outside of the tanker. What made the day extra special was seeing a tanker taxi in during their tour. The girls waved to the air crew and they waved back. It was a great day for everyone.