Bolling Cub Scouts receive gift for selfless act

  • Published
  • By Linda J. Card
  • 11th Wing Public Affairs
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. (AFPN) --  “Two, four, six, eight. Who do we appreciate? Colonel Koslov!” exclaimed a group of excited Bolling Cub Scouts from Den 2, Pack 343. That was the Scouts’ response when Col. Dan Koslov returned twofold their gift of selflessness at their Feb. 2 meeting.

The Scouts recently bought necessity items like toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant for sick and wounded servicemembers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who often arrived at the hospital with just the uniform on their backs. The decision for the Cub Scouts to sponsor the project as part of their annual service project did not come without a price, though.

The pack voted to contribute their annual dues to support the cost of their service project instead of using the money for crafts, supplies and their annual holiday party, said Karen Fulk, the pack committee chairperson.

“Some of the older boys contributed part of their allowance to the project,” Mrs. Fulk said. “Even (base) exchange patrons standing in line at the register contributed for the boys’ purchases.”

Coming up with an idea for a pack service project to support was easy, since wartime demands have affected all Cub Scout units, said Mrs. Fulk and Cubmaster Colby Loessberg. How to fund their service project was the challenge.

“That’s how the idea of using holiday party money for the project came into play,” Mrs. Fulk said.

With dollars spent and items donated, the Cub Scouts had done their good deed. While not done for recognition, it earned just that -- and more.

Around this time, Colonel Koslov, who is assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency here, had just returned from a staging area for British Operation Iraqi Freedom casualties. Shortly after his return, he was scheduled for a routine medical appointment at Walter Reed. Because he was a senior officer who had recently dealt with war casualties, Colonel Koslov felt he needed to visit the injured servicemembers at the hospital to thank them for their service and to wish them a happy holiday.

Colonel Koslov said a few days after his visit at the hospital, he read a news article about what the Scouts had done. He said he was deeply moved by the boys’ generosity, especially by the fact that the group voted to give up its holiday party for the benefit of the injured servicemembers. After discussing the article and his feelings about the pack’s gift with his wife, Fran, the colonel knew what he wanted to do for the Scouts.

The colonel presented Den 2’s den leader, Bill Burgess, with a check for an amount double the pack’s holiday party savings spent on injured servicemembers.

“We are already proud of these young boys for the service they give to their families, our Bolling community and our nation through their participation in Scouting,” Colonel Koslov said. “But the unselfish and generous patriotism they displayed in using their annual holiday party funds to purchase necessities for our wounded troops makes them truly worthy of special admiration.”

During the presentation of his gift, the colonel told the parents and Scout leaders, “I hope they now enjoy a party that is even better than the one originally planned. They deserve it!”