Courtesy Photo | Members of a Minnesota family hand out Girl Scout cookies to troops at Fort McCoy,...... read more read more
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A family tradition of supporting America’s service members continued May 16 at Fort McCoy as the Dankers family of Hokah, Minn., distributed hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout cookies to Soldiers training on the installation.
With support from the Fort McCoy Food Program Management Office, including Food Program Manager Jim Gouker and Contracting Officer’s Representative Eric Devine, family members Scott, Jessica, Nataleigh, and Izabella Dankers handed out 448 boxes of Girl Scout cookies during the breakfast meal at Dining Facility 1672.
The event marked the most successful cookie distribution the family has conducted since beginning the tradition in 2009.
For approximately 17 years, the Dankers family has collected and donated Girl Scout cookies to service members training at Fort McCoy. During the first two years of the program, cookies were delivered to unit headquarters for distribution. Since 2011, the family has personally handed out cookies to Soldiers as they leave the dining facility, creating opportunities for face-to-face interaction and expressions of appreciation.
Jessica Dankers, a representative of the Cookie Cupboard of Hokah, coordinates cookie donations collected during the annual Girl Scout cookie sales campaign. After each cookie season concludes, she works with Fort McCoy officials to schedule a distribution event for Soldiers training on the installation.
Over the years, thousands of service members have received cookies through the family's efforts. What began as a simple gesture of support has grown into an annual tradition eagerly anticipated by both the family and Soldiers.
During the May 16 event, Nataleigh and Izabella staffed the cookie table throughout the two-hour breakfast meal service, greeting Soldiers and helping distribute the cookies. Their enthusiasm and friendly conversations helped create a welcoming atmosphere that was appreciated by the Soldiers passing through the dining facility.
One interaction during the event provided a memorable moment for everyone nearby. As Soldiers departed the dining facility, many carrying their weapons while heading to training ranges, one Soldier jokingly remarked, “I heard through the grapevine the more Girl Scout cookies you eat, the clearer the scope.”
The comment immediately drew laughter from Soldiers, family members, and dining facility personnel alike, becoming one of the highlights of the morning.
For the Dankers family, the annual event is about more than cookies. It is an opportunity to personally thank the men and women serving their country while providing a small reminder that their service is appreciated by communities across the nation.
Following the success of the May 16 distribution, the Dankers family and the Fort McCoy Food Service Office are exploring future opportunities to continue the tradition.
Whenever the next event takes place, Soldiers at Fort McCoy can expect to be greeted by familiar faces, friendly conversation, and plenty of Girl Scout cookies from a family that has spent nearly two decades supporting America's military members.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.”
The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
(The Fort McCoy Logistics Readiness Center’s Fort McCoy Food Program Management Office contributed to this story.)
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2026 17:00 |
| Story ID: | 566619 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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