Issue 570 – June 26, 2018

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Last week, Scouter Joe Martinez, who had just completed YPT, asked about the “no more than two-year tent-mate age difference for Boy Scouts” and as part of his question wondered since, as he described it, “…youth sharing tents should not be more than two years apart in age…but it doesn’t say ‘must,’ so is it simply a guideline…?”

Without checking for myself—BIG MISTAKE!—I took the “should instead of must” at face value and, on that basis allowed that it’s a guideline. WRONG!

Quite a few Scouters picked up on my glitch. One Scouter—Connie Knie—was pretty direct: “Hi Andy! While I agree with you about using the age of the youth (not worrying about the actual birthday date) to determine if Scouts can be tent partners/buddies, you didn’t correct the question about the use of the word ‘should.’ The GTSS doesn’t say should; it says ‘must.’”

I just checked the latest online edition of the GTSS. Connie and her fellow sharp-eyed Scouters are completely correct. “Must”—which is what the GTSS now says—makes this a rule; not a simple guideline. Thanks for spotting this.
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Dear Andy,

In your Issue 568 (June 5th), you responded to a question about what to do when a Scout isn’t fulfilling the responsibilities of a leadership position he has undertaken. I agree that a young person in this situation in any organization should be counseled promptly, so that he or she has a better chance to alter course and fulfill the responsibilities. But it sounded to me as if all the intervention in that troop, and in your response, was being done by the adult volunteers. Aren’t the Scouts selected for those positions by the Senior Patrol Leader? Shouldn’t the Senior Patrol Leader, with the advice and support of the Scoutmaster, be part of the counseling and intervention process? (“Unofficial” Scouting Volunteer)

Yup, you’re spot-on. The Senior Patrol Leader (“SPL” for short) does indeed appoint all non-elected positions of responsibility in the troop, in collaboration with his Scoutmaster. That said, keep in mind that the SPL has a major ongoing role in being the top leader in the troop, including chairing all meetings and activities of the Patrol Leaders Council. This means that, in a typical troop, the SPL’s position is already responsibility-heavy. In a perfect world, yes, it might be the SPL who counsels Scouts in both appointed and elected positions, but it’s okay for a registered adult (ideally the Scoutmaster or one or more assistants) to step in and provide this sort of support, while the SPL runs the troop through the elected Patrol Leaders.
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Hi Andy,

Often, Scout leadership positions seem to be just rubber stamped. This can sometimes result in the answer to “why are we giving them “credit” when they don’t do their job?” is “because we—the adult volunteers—let it “just happen” without providing any counseling. I agree that if a Scout isn’t performing his leadership responsibilities, the time to address this is immediately, but as far as actual responsibility descriptions for the various positions in a troop, I’m not sure there’s an “official” BSA document for these. I did come across something I thought was pretty useful; it was from another troop: http://troop216bsa.com/smartbooks/ This troop seems pretty up-front on what their expectations are, and many of them seem to have “measurable” expectations. I know that I’ll be using most of this for our own troop’s leadership positions (especially since I frequently get asked questions like “what’s the difference between Troop Guide and Instructor?”). (New Scoutmaster—but learning fast)

Uh… The “official” description of all youth leadership positions is in the TROOP LEADER GUIDEBOOK-Volume 1. If you don’t have a personal copy of this two-volume set, and you’re not reading it thoroughly, you’re playing pro football with no playbook! You really need to buy and read this one. It’s like your American Express card…don’t go to a troop meeting without it!

As for how to answer “what’s the difference between Troop Guide and Instructor” your very best option is to say, “Good question. How about you find the answer and then let me know what you’ve found.” Same with any other question any Scout has about anything: They learn the answer when they discover it for themselves. Your “job” as Scoutmaster is to guide, teach, coach, and mentor; it’s absolutely not to be “the answer man.”
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Hi Andy,

Regarding the Venturing Specialty Requirement—Ranger—Conservation requirements, can the Section 8a (“As a Venturer, plan, lead, and carry out a significant conservation project under the guidance of a natural resources professional”) be a component of the Summit Award Leadership Project? (David Morton)

Your question’s a good one, and it does seem pretty intricate, so I’ve reached out to Paul Wolf, our USSSP advancement guru. Here’s what he had to say…

“I looked through the requirements for both the Ranger Conservation project and for the Summit Leadership Project. I didn’t see anything that would prohibit what you’re asking. The one thing the Summit Project specifically says is: “This project must be different from one you used to fulfill requirements for the Eagle Scout rank, the Sea Scout Quartermaster rank, or the Girl Scout Gold Award.” Consequently, it seems to me that the Summit Award Leadership Project should indeed be a project of its own. If this Venturer wants to use a portion of his or her Summit project to be considered as a Ranger Conservation project as well, that would probably be alright, but the Summit project should stand on its own.”

That said, if you need an absolutely 100% “official” response (remembering that Paul and I are mainly boots-on-the-ground volunteers), contact Michael Del Vecchio, advancement specialist at BSA national headquarters.
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Dear Andy,

So a Scout invites his 12 year-old classmate and friend to come along with his patrol on a troop-wide weekend campout, and ultimately invites his friend to join up and be a Scout. His friend is for it, and his parents fill out the application and so forth. Now, my dilemma: Does this newly-minted Scout join his friend’s patrol, even though he’d start out at the rank of nothing and the others are already Second Class and First Class ranks? Or should we “salt” him into the most recent “cross-over” Scouts who just joined the troop? (At-A-Crossroads Scoutmaster)

Honestly, this one’s a no-brainer: WHEN IN DOUBT, ASK THE SCOUT! If you follow that simple guide, you’ll never be wrong!

Happy Scouting!

Andy

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you’d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that’s what we’ll do.)

[No. 570 – 6/26/2018 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2018]