Issue 580 – December 18, 2018

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Hello Andy,

My 11 year-old grandson wants to be an Eagle Scout, but he’s never been a Cub Scout. Can you guide me so I can help him figure out how to accomplish this goal? Thanks. (Sharon Saunders, Orange County Council, CA)

Good news! Your grandson doesn’t need to have been a Cub Scout in order to be a Scout in a troop! At age 11, all he needs to do is find a local troop that, ideally, has some of his neighborhood and school friends already as members… and then join up!

To become an Eagle Scout means getting started right now, and sticking with it. But your grandson also needs to know that “working toward Eagle” is only one of the many things he’ll enjoy in Scouts. There’s being a patrol member, which is like being in a boys’ gang (before the word “gang” got a negative connotation), that will hike and camp together, go to summer camp together, and have lots of adventures and fun!
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Hi Andy,

In my 50 years of Scouting I’ve seen many different Scouting units, large and small. Last night, I was reviewing the recharter kit with one of my units, including the overall JTE scoring as well as the detailed assessment. Happily, this unit scored 1,000 points in eight objectives, putting them at the JTE Gold Level. But when we went through the detailed assessment, the score was 3.3, which is “average,” which led me to wondering just what an “ideal” unit actually look like? Is an “average” rating something to be concerned about? What’s the measuring stick here? If every unit were “ideal,” wouldn’t that then be the “average”? (James Byers, UC, Heart of Virginia Council)

This is one to sit down with your District Commissioner and possibly your District Executive as well, to review and discuss how your district overall is going to handle a clear and comprehensive response. (I’m not going to offer a “magic solution” here because I’ve seen a variety of interpretations over the years that JTE has been used and—to be perfectly frank—as a Unit Commissioner myself, I encouraged unit leaders to simply use the main “score sheet” and left it for others to fuss with further details and measuring sticks.)
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Hi Andy,

In the song, “Taps,” which I learned at Scout camp some many years ago, the last stanza—”God is neigh”—I was told that meant that God is near. Is that correct? (Don Rickel)

“Neigh” is the sound a horse makes; “nigh” does mean near, just as you thought.
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Hi Andy,

I’m an Assistant District Commissioner with several units assigned to me, for which I function as their Unit Commissioner. I’m hoping you have some suggestions on ways to get these units’ “Key 3” (Chartered Organization Representative, Committee Chair, and Scoutmaster) engaged for their annual JTE assessment. So far, it’s been like herding cats…or worse. They just don’t seem to understand or care about the importance of the JTE assessment and their roles in it. While most of these volunteers have taken training, it doesn’t emphasize this aspect of unit development. Any thoughts? (Robby Wright, ADC/UC, San Diego Imperial Council, CA)

A unit’s Key 3 operate best once they realize the importance of their unique and interconnected roles. I personally think this has a better chance of happening if their UC invites them to a Saturday morning cup of coffee at a home or local diner or coffee shop (the UC, ideally, picks up the tab), AND making it very clear that ALL THREE need be there or it can’t happen!

Then, don’t start by describing their task. Instead, simply get to know each one of them personally, and let them learn a little more about you and your personal background… But never forget that their own “favorite subject” is themselves, so give ’em time to talk (and bond)!

Keep your true goal to yourself until the second meeting, but don’t do it as “Okay, here’s what you need to be doing now…” Instead, prompt them with some questions that will lead to their realizing that Hey, maybe we three need to take stock of how our troop’s doing…

Commissioners guide with a feather; leave the baseball bat home
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Dear Andy,

I’m a former Boy Scout who got back into Scouting with my oldest son seven years ago. When my son moved to Boy Scouts three years ago, I allowed him to pick the troop he wanted to join, even though I knew it wasn’t an optimally-run troop because all of the adults holding key positions had sons who’d be aging out within the next three years, and these dads were pretty much “counting the days” already. I figured I could try to “save” the troop when that happened; well, that day is here!

I’ve been reading your column for years. I’ve taken training at every opportunity, and read all the BSA literature I could get my hands on. Nevertheless, I found a pair of related questions that none of this answered.

First, how many Scouts does it take to have more than one effective patrol?
The Troop Leader Guidebook indicates that small troops may not be large enough to divide into patrols (‘The Scouts’, Chapter 2). Our troop has eight younger Scouts. I’ve read your columns enough to know that your usual guideline would be to have one patrol of three Scouts and another of four, with one of the Scouts elected Senior Patrol Leader, on the basis that they’ll recruit members. But since two of these younger Scouts were already recruited by their Scout-friends, and the common ground for half the Scouts in the troop is that they all attend the same grade school and there are few boys their age who also attend that school who aren’t already in the troop, while the remaining four Scouts each attend different schools that are up to 25 miles from here, all of which suggests to me that there’s little opportunity for additional recruitment.

Second, if we do decide to organize as a single patrol, what’s the organizational structure? Is it Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, and six patrol members? Or is it something else? (New SM, Sam Houston Area Council, TX)

One patrol can operate by itself, but there’s no such thing as a “troop” until there are at least two patrols. Multiple patrols make up a troop; without patrols, there’s simply no troop! This is why Scouting is based on The Patrol Method; not “the troop method.”

The cold fact is that, if you have a single patrol, you have no Senior Patrol Leader—it’s simply an unnecessary position unless the troop is made up of at least two patrols. So if you have a single patrol, there is one elected Patrol Leader who chooses is assistant and appoints the patrol scribe, patrol quartermaster, and so forth. So ultimately there is no Scout who “out-ranks” the Patrol Leader, and Scouting’s “mini-democracy” is entirely within this one patrol.

Among other aspects, including the absence of a Patrol Leaders Council, what this also ultimately leads to is that, after these Scouts reach First Class rank, there’s only one Scout—the Patrol Leader—who will be holding a troop-level position or responsibility needed for advancement to Star, Life, and Eagle ranks.

So my answer must be to have two patrols (three in one and four in the other) so that you indeed have a troop! One of the eight is elected Senior Patrol Leader and then the remaining Scouts—in two patrols formed by the seven remaining Scouts when they elect their SPL and then divide themselves up into two patrols based on their own preference (they’re never “assigned” by anyone except themselves!).

The troop now grows by being a magnet for the Scouts’ neighborhood and other friends who’d like to be part of the adventure and fun!

To emphasize: There’s no SPL when there’s just one patrol. Trying to do this will effectively turn the erstwhile into a PL, and the PL will now be nothing more than the APL. (Besides, actual APLs aren’t elected; they’re selected by their PL.)

If you want to deliver Scouting as it’s designed to be, then you absolutely must use The Patrol Method, and this demands at least two patrols.
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Hi Andy,

I love the diverse questions you address and of course the answers. Thanks for helping us stay between the lines!

One of the elements of troop meetings all the Scouts appreciate is the competition or games that are a suggested part of troop meetings. The BSA website for Troop Resource Guide (https://www.programresources.org) has a number of games for the SPL and Patrol Leaders to consider. These can be planned in advance so that patrol breakouts can focus on the skills needed to perform well. When a game is selected, some discussion of the purpose of the game is appropriate—team-building, Scoutcraft skills, etc. This goes along with developing the Patrol Leaders’ skills to include all patrol members’ thoughts and ideas and making group decisions. Making sure games are included in every meeting will get the Scouts excited and wanting more. (Mickey Smith, Trainer, Atlanta Area Council, GA)

A good game can also get troop meetings started on time, all the time. One troop I served as commissioner used the school’s gym to play basketball BEFORE every troop meeting, and then put the ball away at 7:29, for a 7:30 meeting start-time. If you wanted to play ball, you needed to show up early! So most Scouts did just that, and by 7:29 everybody was there and ready to start their troop meeting! (They even took this to the point of playing half-court ball and played patrol-against-patrol! Yippee!

Happy Scouting and Happy Holidays!

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. 580 – 12/18/2018 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2018]