Patrol Method

Sometimes the goals of youth leaders and adult leaders diverge to the point that we may be duplicating efforts or working at odds with one another. In the interest of aligning forces these goals should be examined periodically. Maintaining the integrity of youth leadership means they have the opportunity to plan and act independent of adult micromanagement and coercion. This exercise will help define the roles of adult and youth leaders while balancing the oversight and involvement of adults....

In response to the post Patrol Method a reader asked the following about Scout patrols: I have been an assistant scoutmaster for some time and was recently asked by the committee to be the new Scoutmaster. I have had only one One of the things that concerns me is the patrol setup in our troop. We are setup as the Scoutmaster Handbook says – Webelos that cross over together and new boys form a “new boy patrol” – we have “regular” patrols, then we have a “venture” patrol....

The Test of the Patrol Method An old experienced Scoutmaster said once: “The test of the Patrol Method is in the easy chair!” His audience looked nonplussed, so he elaborated his statement: “Get an easy chair and place it in a corner of the Troop meeting room. If you can sink into it just after the opening ceremony and just sit throughout the meeting, without a worry for its success, without lifting a finger or moving a foot until time comes for the closing-well, then your Troop is run on the Patrol Method-your boy leaders are actually leading....

A succinct definition of the patrol method: The formation of the boys into Patrols of from six to eight and training them as separate units each under its own responsible leader is the key to a good Troop. The Patrol is the unit of Scouting always, whether for work or for play, for discipline or for duty. An invaluable step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual. This is immediately gained in appointing a Patrol Leader to responsible command of his Patrol....