I remember very clearly the time I first sat down with my new Patrol to choose a Patrol name. We had some suggestions from the Boy Scout Handbook and an old printed list of a couple-dozen creative names. We didn’t think much about what should go into choosing a good Patrol name; we just decided to go with whatever sounded coolest. As you might imagine, our panel of six scouts finally ended up on a tie between six different names!...
Shortly after I became a Patrol Leader my Patrol was enthusiastic, but we quickly discovered that we all had different ideas of what and how we should do things as a Patrol. There were many arguments and disagreements between us. Later on, when I became a Senior Patrol Leader, I saw the same pattern repeat itself with two new Patrols in the Troop. They started out enthusiastically, but soon the clashes of personality began!...
The way I see it there are two ways to react to the consequences of mistakes we’ve made: Deny, blame others, cover up, and hope nobody finds out. Own up and take responsibility for the consequences. Which is the right way? If you are reading this, there’s a pretty good chance you are a Scout, and I know that you know the right answer. When I first joined my Scout Troop, I was impressed by a Patrol Leader who had a cool, laid-back personality…...
Have you ever had to deal face-to-face with a fellow Scout who was out of line? If your Patrol and Troop are doing adventurous and challenging things, you will have to deal with a situation like this sooner or later. I remember the hardest time I ever had camping was in the middle of July in Texas at record high temperatures. It was hot; you were laying down absolutely still at night with sweat pouring off and gathering in pools around you....
“Be Prepared” is the Scout Motto. If you care enough about something, you’ll prepare. If you don’t care, you won’t bother. In the first part of this series I told a story about Scout Sunday. I had good intentions, but it really didn’t matter because I didn’t prepare. For instance; think how it reflects on yourself and your Patrol if you go to a Board of Review without any preparation at all....
Everywhere you go, people will judge you by what you say, the things you do, and how you conduct yourself. Like it or not that is the plain truth. I remember one instance where this really hit home for me. I was asked to say a few words about Scouting and my Troop at a ‘Scout Sunday’ church service. “Sure, why not!” I thought. “I know quite a bit about Scouting, this shouldn’t be too difficult....
What can go wrong: 1. No one shows up to a Patrol Meeting or planned event. As a Patrol Leader one goal I set for myself was regular, separate Patrol Meetings. It was pretty challenging at first. There were times I couldn’t reach some of my Scouts on the phone or they didn’t have a way to get to the meeting, or I couldn’t find a time and date where everyone wasn’t busy....
One Mother’s Day, when I was a Senior Patrol Leader, I sent an email thanking all the mothers for their contribution and expressing appreciation for all they do. I was surprised by the number of appreciative replies I received! As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized more and more how much mothers and fathers do for their families, a lot of times without getting thanked. I know I wouldn’t have gotten much out of Scouting without the support of my family....
You know the difference between a wannabe (want-to-be, get it?) leader and a real leader? Just watch them in action, it’s easy to tell! A wannabe loves giving orders, being in the spotlight, takes all the praise, has all the privileges, and makes everyone else do the tough work. A real leader expects a lot from his team but expects twice as much from himself. A real leader gives his Scouts all the praise, privileges and rewards....
“If you want something done right, do it yourself”. Things are easier that way, but it’s not really Scouting is it? As a Patrol Leader, I knew what I wanted; it was easier to do everything myself rather than explaining it to everyone else. At first I felt successful. My Patrol was getting stuff done, going places, and starting to look like the best Patrol in the Troop. However, when I started reading about how a Patrol should operate, I realized that my Patrol wasn’t really doing anything – it was just me!...
When I was a Patrol Leader, Bill (the Senior Patrol Leader) and I weren’t seeing eye to eye. Bill was a good Scout who took his responsibilities seriously, but he ordered us around, picked on little details, and lectured my Patrol if we overlooked something. If we didn’t do it Bill’s way, his displeasure fell like a cold rain on our whole Patrol. Another Senior Patrol Leader, Jules, was the exact opposite....
Once at winter camp the temperature was just above freezing, and the wind blew a sharp drizzle into every contrivable shelter and refuge. I was a young Scout rinsing dishes. There wasn’t a rubber glove in sight, so I was lucky enough to dunk my frozen hands into cold water. It was SUCH FUN!! At that moment, I wished I were absolutely anywhere else. I love camping, but camp chores almost ruined the whole experience until I learned how to tackle them....
My best friend in my Scout Troop and I had completely opposite personalities. I was serious; he was the ‘class-clown’. He found plenty of ways to pick on me and I looked for the best way to frustrate him. We considered each other the most annoying Scout in the Troop. This all started to change as we went camping, a bond of friendship slowly started to develop. We argued all the time, but through Scouting together we found common ground....
Our Troop split up into Patrols for part of our weekly Troop meetings; we called this “Patrol Corners”. Most of the time we did this to “work on rank advancement” and Patrol Leaders would do little more than having everyone read their books a half hour. Boring! A few Scouts tried to take this seriously but, going from one distraction to the next, they didn’t get very far. I made up my mind that if I was going to make any progress as a Patrol Leader, it was going to be by using the Patrol Corner time wisely....
Patrols who build community service in their Operations Plan build Patrol spirit. I’d say that nothing builds Scout spirit quite like service to others! When Scouts do real good in the world, something great happens. When we serve others, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. **What Project?**You don’t have to look far; there are dozens of service projects that require very little preparation: Picking up litter around your local park, neighborhood, school, or church Helping elderly people with yardwork or home maintenance Volunteering for a day at a community homeless shelter or food cupboard Clean up trash by a stream Plant seedlings or flowers Recycle glass, paper, aluminum, or plastic Help set up or clean up for a special event Call your local town or city hall, talk with the mayor or council members for suggestions....
Once your Patrol starts taking on a life of it’s own your Scouts will want to do more ambitious activities. A field trek is hiking adventure with a purpose, and it’s a great thing to do with your Patrol. Make sure field treks are part of your Patrol operations plan. The purpose of the trek is only limited by your imagination and initiative, here’s a few ideas: Exploration Trek Pick a place you haven’t visited before and challenge the Patrol to discover every foot of it!...
Every Patrol Operations Plan includes special times to get together outside of the Troop meetings. Whatever you call this time, it’s not going to be a dusty “meeting”. I don’t like the word “meeting”. “Meeting” makes me think of businessmen in suits sitting around a table discussing business for an hour. If you get the same feeling, I want you to do something before you keep reading: Grab a piece of paper and write “Patrol Meeting” across it....
During my first meeting as Senior Patrol Leader I realized something that stopped me dead in my tracks: being a Patrol Leader was a more important job than being Senior Patrol Leader! Leaving the position made me realize the huge chance the Patrol Leader has to make Scouting into a real-life adventure, not just a cool idea. I understood that the Patrol Leader can take his Patrol on an amazing journey: doing radical things and evolving his group into an unstoppable team!...
Texas isn’t known for cold weather like I described in the last post! It’s known for the heat! I remember vividly the hottest camping trip I’ve ever been on! It was a summer camp a few years ago; the humidity was high and the temperature was over 100 degrees all week long! It was so hot, when you laid down in your tent at night to go to sleep, you would still have sweat pouring off of you even though you slept on top of your sleeping bag!...
I clearly remember one early camping trip I went on in the middle of winter. We got into camp after dark and everyone hurried to set up their gear as the cold chilled our fingers to the bone. I was ill-prepared for the cold weather in both clothes and sleeping gear. That night, I was able to get to sleep… only to wake up at [3:00] in the morning shivering. I remember laying there feeling absolutely helpless and miserable....