Q&A’s

        What is The Path to Eagle?

The Boy Scouts of America is a program that teaches boys the skills that they will need in the future.  Essential leadership skills and the knowledge gained from working on rank advancements and merit badges will help the boys in years to come.  The first step is to achieve the Scout rank, which entails gaining an understanding of BSA and its values.  The boys continue to earn progressive ranks based upon their demonstration of skill and experience achievement.  The ranks to Eagle are as follows:

SCOUT TENDERFOOT SECOND CLASS FIRST CLASS STAR LIFE EAGLE

What is required for the Eagle Scout rank?

Eagle Scout is a tremendous honor and achievement that is highly recognized and valued by colleges and future employers.  Every scout is capable of achieving this rank/award if he puts the effort into it.  The scout must complete all of the requirements and pass the Eagle Board of Review before his eighteenth birthday.  The requirements include:

·        Achievement of the 12 Eagle-required merit badges: First Aid, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communications, Personal Fitness, Lifesaving or Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, Personal Management, Swimming or Hiking or Cycling, Camping, and Family Life;

·        Achievement of nine additional elective merit badges;

·        Complete six months in a troop leadership position as a Life Scout; and

·        Complete an "Eagle Scout Project," demonstrating leadership, organization, and planning.  These projects are substantial (at least 100 hours) and must be something that benefits the community: a school, public park, religious institution, etc.  Even though it will be a large project, the boy will learn all about what it takes as they participate in the projects of other scouts in the troop.

What is the Merit Badge Program?

The Merit Badge Program gives boys the opportunity to pursue studies and skills in over 100 areas of interest.  The program is intended to encourage boys to increase their skills in things they already enjoy doing and give them a chance to try new activities that may result in new interests.

Merit badges are earned either at summer camp or with registered merit badge counselors in the troop or council.  They are worn on the green merit badge sash available at the Scout Shop.  The merit badge sash should to be worn at all courts of honor or any scout function that requires a full “Class A” uniform.  A court of honor is a special ceremony that is held usually every four months where the troop members are awarded the rank advancements and merit badges that have been earned.

How is the Boy Scouts of America Structured?

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is broken down by geographic region into several different groupings:

BSA: Almost every country in the world has a Boy Scout program.  The Boy Scouts of America was first started in 1910 with a single troop, Troop 1, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  There are different uniforms for every country's scout program.  For more information about the uniform, refer to the Boy Scout Handbook.

Council: The BSA is further divided across the country into councils.  The council patch on the uniform’s right shoulder indicates the council that the troop is from.  There are different patches and different names for every council.  Ours is the Alamo Area Council and the council office and scout store are located at McGimsey Scout Park at the corner of Northwest Military Highway and Lockhill Selma Road.

District: Each council is further divided into districts.  Troop 650 is in the Eagle district. 

Troop: The troop is a group of patrols sponsored by a Chartered Organization and directed by a Troop Committee consisting primarily of the parents of the scouts.

Patrol: The patrol is a team of boys, usually six to eight, who work together to achieve goals whether it is to cook a meal, win a game, or compete in a camporee event

What is the “Patrol Method”?

The Patrol Method is the strategic technique that provides scouts the opportunity to share leadership and responsibilities in a way that contributes to the achievement of goals and the self-esteem of the scouts.  Using this approach, the scouts in the patrol work as a team where the strengths of individual scouts are combined to create a strong operating unit and teach the younger members the Scouting and leadership skills they need to be successful.

As an example, while camping the boys prepare all meals with their patrols.  The patrol leader prepares a "duty roster" which is a posted list of the essential tasks of the members of his patrol during the campout.  The duties that are delegated on a rotating basis are as follows:

Cook: in charge of preparing the meals and correctly handling the ingredients, decides who needs to be in the kitchen area while food is being prepared.

Assistant Cook: gets the ingredients that the cook needs, monitors whatever needs watching while on the fire, and does anything else that the cook might need help with.

Fireman: prepares the fire for the cook and makes sure that the fire is out when the cooking is done and we leave the camp.

Assistant Fireman: retrieves the water for the cooks and fireman and helps gather wood to keep the fire going.

Kitchen Patrol (KP): scrubs the equipment that the cooks use to prepare the patrol’s meal.  THE KP DOES NOT CLEAN OTHER PEOPLE’S PERSONAL EATING UTENSILS such as plates, forks, bowls etc.

Assistant KP: gets the water heated for the KP.  Dumps the water out of the KP buckets when all of the equipment has been cleaned, scrubs the buckets, and picks up the area where the KP was done.

These duties are rotated to different people for different meals to provide opportunities to learn new skills and ensure that the same person isn’t doing the same chore for every meal.

What does the troop do on campouts?

Most months, the troop goes on a two-night campout to different places.  On Friday night, we meet at the Church (with our sack dinners and Class A uniforms) and then depart after the scouts are accounted for.  When we arrive at the campsite, we set up the patrol cooking areas and our personal tents, eat a small snack, and either play games or go to sleep (but most likely the former!!).

Activities on the campout vary according to the campsite.  Campsites on lakes or rivers provide the opportunity to take advantage of water sports.  Swimming, canoeing, and motor boating are among the activities available to the scouts at such sites.  Organized games are another major activity.  Some campouts have themes such as second class/first class advancement, a conservation project, or cooking.

At the end of the campout, the entire troop does a "police line" which means simply to slowly walk in a straight line, side-by-side, picking up trash in the campsite.

There are two campouts that are different from normal troop campouts: the “Freeze-o-Ree” cold weather campout in January and the Fall Camporee.  These are usually held at McGimsey Scout Park, Bear Creek, or such large boy scout camp and all troops and patrols in the district come to compete in different events for awards.  However the same troop rules apply for ANY campout, including the troop Code of Conduct.

What equipment should scouts bring on campouts?

The troop owns much of the equipment needed on a campout: tents, cooking equipment, cleaning utensils, tables, first aid kits, etc.  However, the scouts should bring their own personal equipment for their own comfort:

What items are not permitted?

How are troop meetings organized?

Meeting Frequency

We hold troop meetings every Tuesday night at the Crown of Life Lutheran Church (19291 Stone Oak Parkway).  See the "Calendar" link to the left in the first segment of this page for specific dates and activities.

            Troop Officers

  The chain of command in the troop is:

Scoutmaster: always an adult, the highest operating authority in the troop.

Assistant Scoutmaster: always an adult helps out with certain tasks in the troop

Junior Assistant Scoutmaster: under age 18, assists the scoutmasters in their tasks

Senior Patrol Leader (SPL): under age 18, the highest boy authority under the adults, conducts the troop and PLC meetings and provides leadership on troop activities

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader (ASPL): helps out the SPL with whatever is needed

Troop Guide: serves as Patrol Leader of new boy patrols

Patrol Leader: provides leadership for an individual patrol

Scribe: handles paperwork and troop records for the troop

Quartermaster: is responsible for maintaining the troop-owned equipment primarily stored in the troop trailer

Librarian: is responsible for maintaining the troop library of merit badge pamphlets and other books.

Scoutmaster’s Benediction

We always conclude our meetings with the repeating of the Scoutmaster’s Benediction:

May the great Master of all Scouts be with us ‘til we meet again.