Exchange Delivers More Than 217,800 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies Overseas in Taste-of-Home Mission

One of the most anticipated times of year is here for service members and their families overseas: Girl Scout Cookie season.

For more than 20 years, the Exchange has delivered thousands of boxes of cookies overseas to help the Girl Scouts of the USA’s overseas branch, USA Girl Scouts Overseas (USAGSO), make a difference by improving morale with a taste of home.

This year, the Exchange delivered more than 217,800 boxes to cookies to communities in the Europe and the Pacific. Selling season kicked off Feb. 7.

“This is something we do every year,” said Connie Bartee, Merchandising purchasing manager. “Anything we can do to make service members and their families happy and satisfied, is a big win across the board for everyone. It’s at the top of our list as something we take very seriously.”

The success doesn’t come without planning. Following the Girl Scouts’ “Be prepared” motto, planning started shortly after the 2024 selling season.

Order requests were received in late October, which the Exchange processed with the Scouts’ bakery in Louisville, Kentucky. Once cookies were ready, the Exchange sent carriers to have the goodies delivered to the Dan Daniel and West Coast distribution centers.

Kelli Sims, Logistics transportation tech, said the Scouts followed the normal booking process, but extra care and attention was given to the orders.

“We’re constantly in contact with the bakery, then we hold the carriers’ hands a little closer,” Sims said. “We’re making sure things are picked up and moved on time, checking in more than we do regularly.”

Girl Scout Cookie delivery at USAG Humphreys in Korea. For more than 20 years, the Exchange has delivered thousands of boxes of cookies overseas to help the Girl Scouts of the USA’s overseas branch, USA Girl Scouts Overseas.

The Exchange also processed orders and handled domestic shipping on behalf of the Navy Exchange Service Command, so Sailors, Marines and their families located on Navy installations overseas can have a taste of home too.

Orders arrived at the distribution centers in December, then were prepared for transport via steamship. The cookies traveled across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans for nearly two weeks.

They arrived at the Germersheim Distribution Center at Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, Germany, and the Humphreys Distribution Center at USAG Humphreys, Korea, in January — just in time for the selling season.

Kristina Wise, USAGSO Germany membership manager, said the collaboration allows Scouts belonging to military families to participate fully in one of the world’s largest entrepreneurial programs.

“It is through positive relationships like this that girls are able to fully participate in the Girl Scout leadership experience, even when they are far from home,” Wise said. “The cookie program teaches girls key skills, which are not only important for selling cookies, but to use in their daily lives.”

The collaboration also combines the Exchange’s “We Go Where You Go” motto and its core value of family serving family.

“It’s important to remember service is a family affair. Children, in many ways, ‘also serve’ and make sacrifices as members of the community,” said Col. Jason Beck, the Exchange’s Pacific region commander. “Collaborations like this ensure the Nation’s youngest heroes don’t have to miss out on opportunities, no matter where service may take families.”

Col. Everett “Bud” Lacroix, the Exchange’s Europe, Southwest Asia and Africa region commander, knows first-hand what a box of cookies can mean for deployed service members.

“Having been deployed several times in my career, the Exchange and the Girl Scouts always found a way to get cookies to me and my Soldiers,” Lacroix said. “It was a special taste that meant a lot.”