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The 86th Airlift Wing commander, Brig. Gen. Mark C. Dillon, presented wing coins to two Eagle Scouts during a ceremony held here June 15.
“What you’ve accomplished is a great legacy to the Boy Scouts of America,” said General Dillon as he congratulated the two young gentlemen for their great achievements.
David Ladnier and Quinton Leith, both from Boy Scout Troop 232, received the coins in honor of their hard work and dedication in the community — completing separate projects to help give Ramstein’s Donnelly Park a better look.
Both David and Quinton chose to clean up Donnelly Park as separate projects for their Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project — David organized the cleaning and repainting of the pavilion, and Quinton organized the cleaning and repainting of the park buildings.
“Donnelly Park is used by a lot of people on a daily basis,” said Brooke Sands, Ramstein Youth Sports director. “It was looking very worn down and needed a face lift.”
The two Eagle Scouts organized and managed a combined total of 206 man hours.
“These Scouts worked hard to plan and lead these projects. I’m very proud of them,” said Jennifer Marks, Troop 232 treasurer and advancement chair.
Even though extensive time and effort went into their final projects, this was only a small portion of the hard work and dedication that went into receiving the title of Eagle Scout.
“Roughly, 2 percent of all boys who have entered Boy Scouts have completed the requirements for Eagle Scout,” said Maj. Gen. Ronald R. Ladnier, 17th Air Force commander and David’s father. “Troop 232 has had three in a little more than a month.”
One of the challenges in completing the Eagle process is that the Scouts must plan and execute their own projects to help improve the community. Each Scout must see the project through from concept to completion by planning, budgeting, raising the funds and staffing the entire task.
“It was very fulfilling to see the finished project and to think of all the people who would benefit from our work,” said Quinton, who is the son of Master Sgt. Ryan Leith, 435th Contingency Response Group NCOIC of bioenvironmental engineering.
After all of their hard work, the young men earned the rank of Eagle Scout, but more importantly, they gained the satisfaction of making their community a better place to live. This selfless attitude is part of what makes these teenagers great leaders for their peers.
“I would really like to stay involved after I move back to Illinois where I’ll be able to reconnect with the previous troop I just came from, and I hope to get the younger boys prepared to become Eagle Scouts,” said David, who is also planning on using his experiences with Boy Scouts on his college applications and future resumes.
Quinton agreed the experience is great on applications and resumes; however, with his dream job as a mountain guide, he said the skills he has learned with Boy Scouts are priceless.
For an average young man, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout can be a very difficult and challenging task; however, David and Quinton face an additional challenge as military children.
“It is always difficult for kids to move every few years,” General Ladnier said. “Finding a new Scout troop just adds to the challenge, but with good family support, most kids adapt.”
These young men will face many challenges throughout their lives; however, the journey they’ve taken to become Eagle Scouts has given them fond memories and skills to use as they face the future.
