Issue 592 – March 26, 2019

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We have a winner! Last Tuesday I published Issue 591 at 12:15 in the afternoon. Eight minutes later, the first to respond in the fastest reader response time ever was long-time reader, Scouter, and friend Matt Culbertson of Carlisle, PA. Here’s what he had to say about that Scouts BSA troop for girls that was going camping for the first time, in a one-room cabin with two female leaders and one male leader…

Hi Andy,

I’m surprised you didn’t offer the real solution to the cabin conundrum: Everyone in tents! This is camping isn’t it? 😉 (Matt)

Yup, you’re exactly right. My softer approach—just one tent for the “outlier”—was based this being a new troop that didn’t have troop or patrol gear yet (which is why, I guessed, they’re cabin-camping).
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Hi Andy,

We’ve just started a new Scouts BSA troop and our new Scoutmaster—whom I recruited—and I have agreed we’re going to get trained, and get our committee trained, as soon as we can before the summer hits us. She, our Scoutmaster, and I (I’m Committee Chair and a guy) have what looks to be a great working relationship, but we do have a problem and it’s with our new Scouts’ parents and our increasing workload.

We’re starting from scratch. As a brand-new troop, we have no tents or cooking gear; not even a troop flag. Both our Scoutmaster and I are getting a lot of pressure about stuff like this. “We need a fund-raiser so we can have troop flags” is a frequent in-our-faces request. So is “We need tents for camping; where are you going to get these?” In getting this new troop of brand-new Scouts organized into patrols with elected leaders, with troop meetings that are run by the Scouts, we have pretty much full-time jobs facing us right now. We’d love to have flags and tents and stuff, but we don’t want to get into overload. Can you give us any ideas? (New Scout Volunteers, Denver Area Council, CO)

In both my careers—Scouting and professionally—I’ve run into “We need…” and “You need to…” type requests for a whole bunch of years. What I figured out along the way, when someone makes requests like “we need a fund-raiser” and such, is to smile and say, “I like your idea! Do I hear you volunteering to get it started?”

This not only keeps you from overload but also helps you find like-minded folks who are willing to roll up their sleeves too! Go for it!
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Dear Andy,

Our twin sons’ troop will be taking a sight-seeing trip to Philadelphia and the Independence Hall historic area. Because of the distance to get there and back (we live a full day’s drive from Philadelphia) and the number of Scouts who have signed up to go, our troop has hired a bus and reserved two nights of rooms (two Scouts or two leaders per room) at a local motel with good prices.

Our sons, both Second Class rank, need camping nights for First Class and for Camping merit badge. Their mother and I have read the requirements, including the parts about this must be a “designated Scouting activity,” and that they must “pitch a tent.” Since this is a troop trip, the first stipulation will be met. For the second, we own a two-person tent that our boys can set up in their room (it uses tension poles and doesn’t need tent pegs) and sleep in it for both nights. We think this is going to be okay because both criteria will be met, but our Scoutmaster suggested that we write to you about this. Any advice you have would be appreciated. (Supportive Parents in Vermont)

I appreciate how much you’d like to support your sons in Scouting and I believe you have the best of intentions. I can also assure you that you’re technically correct that both of the criteria you noted will be met. That said, I’d like you consider that Scouting is an educational movement for youth, the primary method being one of learning-while-doing.

Following this method, among the purposes of camping are instilling in youth skill-competence and self-confidence in the outdoors, and establishing a set of ethics about one’s surroundings.

Thus, although the “fine-print” is being met by your ideas, the only thing your sons will actually be learning by pursuing this course is that there are “loopholes” that should be sought after and used.

So I will ask: What are some of the lessons you’d like your sons to take away from this trip? If you’d like them to learn and hone the skills necessary to be competent in the great outdoors, with nothing between them and the elements but a few yards of rip-stop nylon, that’s not going to happen here. If, on the other hand, you’d like them to learn about loopholes and how to find them, that’s an almost guaranteed result. Your call.
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Good morning Andy,

My son will be bridging to Scouts BSA and the once fifty-strong troop he’ll be joining is currently a troop of six Scouts, three of whom will be ageing out within the year.

Can you give me any guidance on how to use The Patrol Method with approximately seven Scouts with ranks ranging from Scout to First Class? Thanks! (Euric, Hudson Valley Council, NY)

So your son will effectively be joining a “troop” of three. That’s not a troop… it’s not even a patrol!

Since this little group is literally on the brink of collapse, my first concern is for your son. My recommendation is to join a troop that’s a real troop, and not a troop that’s effectively “on paper” only.

I’m making that recommendation because, when a maximum of seven Scouts ranging in age from maybe 11 or so, up to 17, and the very oldest ones are no further along in their rank advancement than First Class, this spells disaster right around the corner.

If you see yourself as a sort of “savior” for this troop, I urge you to reconsider. If you do decide to pursue this avenue, talk first with your local commissioner and your District Executive (a professional staffer whose responsibilities include healthy, successful Scouting units) before rolling up your sleeves here.

If you do decide to proceed with your son joining this so-called “troop,” be prepared to immediately expend massive effort recruiting new youth, so that there are at least two patrols.
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Hi Andy,

We have a troop of 14 Scouts with three Webelos set to cross over and another three considering joining. With this size troop, do we need our Senior Patrol Leader to continue in this role, or can our current Patrol Leader step up and take over the SPL slot?

The background on our SPL is that he’s put in his time and done the best he can, and doesn’t really want to do a second “term.” The only other Scout “eligible” for the SPL slot is our 12 year-old Patrol Leader, but he really doesn’t want to step up to be Senior Patrol Leader. Although, as his Scoutmaster, I totally respect his feelings on this, I have two assistants—a sort of father-and-son ASM “team”—who are determined to make this Scout take the SPL position. Despite my telling them that they can’t force this Scout to do something he doesn’t want to, they’re still putting pressure on him. But I may need to ask our Committee Chair and Chartered Organization Representative to step in and tell them to leave this scout alone.

If you have any ideas that may help here, I’d appreciate hearing from you. (Scoutmaster-on-a-fence)

Let’s tackle your questions one by one…

First, as Scoutmaster, all ASMs report to and take their direction from you. So the first thing to do is to flat-out tell that father-son ASM combo to stop putting pressure on that Scout and, if they refuse, you have the authority to remove them from their positions. If their pressure continues, get the support of your Committee Chair and both of you—as a team—tell those two that they are to stop this immediately or they’re history. (Yes, I’d absolutely be that direct with them. You can’t “hurt the feelings” of characters like these two because they obviously have no hesitation hurting a Scout!)

Next, Senior Patrol Leaders are elected (never, ever appointed!) by the Scouts themselves in a troop-wide election, in which adults play no part (meaning: adults don’t vote or so much as “advocate” for one Scout over another) other than to assure a fair election. The only criterion for a Scout being eligible to vote is this: he’s a registered member of the troop.

Once the SPL is elected for a six-month term, the remaining Scouts divide themselves into self-selected groups that will become separate patrols. With a remaining 16 (13 plus 3 cross-overs), possibly 19 (13 plus 6 cross-overs), you’ll want to have no less than three—maybe even four—patrols.

To accomplish establishing individual patrols, advise the newly-elected SPL to instruct the Scouts that (1) all cross-overs will become a new-Scout patrol (even if that’s only 3), and the remaining 13 current Scouts will divide themselves into either two or three groups of no less than four Scouts each, with no one left out (give them about 5 minutes to do this, and let them do it by themselves).

You now have a troop (instead of one way too-large patrol!).

At this point in the troop’s “life,” having an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader is probably unnecessary; but if the SPL decides he’d really like to have an assistant then he—with your guidance—selects the Scout of his choice (so long as that Scout agrees to this!) for the next six months. (Yes, this is the SPL’s decision—the ASPL is definitely not the “runner-up” in the troop-wide election.)

While the SPL isn’t a member of any patrol during his term of office, the ASPL can and should be a patrol member. Same with any other of the troop’s youth leaders, such as Troop Guide (to coach the new-Scout patrol’s elected Patrol Leader), Troop Scribe, Troop Quartermaster, etc.—they’re all members of their respective patrols as well.

Now it’s time for patrol elections. Each patrol elects their Patrol Leader for a six-month term, and the PL selects (yes, selects—APLs aren’t the “runners-up” in patrol elections).

There’s more, of course, and you’ll find a lot in the TROOP LEADER GUIDEBOOK. But the next steps will include each patrol coming up with a name for themselves, making a patrol flag (by themselves), and then starting inter-patrol skill-oriented team-building games as regular parts of all troop meetings.

Now you’ve got yourself a real troop! The SPL is “top dog” in charge of the troop through the Patrol Leaders. You, their Scoutmaster, coach your SPL, train him and the other elected officers in leadership skills, and enjoy watching from the sidelines as they run their troop!

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. 592 – 3/26/2019 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2019]