During my recent visit to the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, I got to check out some of the military support to the quadrennial event. On hand was the US Army Special Operations Recruiting Battalion with their Special Operations Semi.
Inside were multiple simulators to give participants a taste of military skills.
Additionally, SORB gave away the various components of this patch set throughout the day.
Last week I had the opportunity to visit the National Scout Jamboree at the Bechtel Summit near Beckley, West Virginia. It’s held every four years and hosts contingents from all over the US, as well as international Scouts.
The military presence was impressive, with representatives from each of the services, including their SOF elements.
There were several hands-on opportunities. One of the events available to the Scouts attending the Jamboree is the United States Special Operations Command Leadership Experience.
As an ad hoc team, Scouts had to complete seven challenges.
1. Balance on a raised platform without any corners touching the ground as another team member gets on.
2. Carry 30 empty water jugs using three steel pipes and unlimited rope.
3. Grab a bucket full of rocks out of the center of a circle without crossing the circle line and touching it. Scouts had 2 metal poles and a ten foot long piece of rope. Anyone who crossed was “dead” and had to exercise while the remaining teammates complete the task.
4. Team Carry 3 of teammates that are “casualties of war” on a stretcher to a turning point and back.
5. Team carry a teammate from one end to the other without letting him touch the ground. During the event the person carried had to be at least 2 inches off the ground. Scouts were allowed to use square boards and anyway to keep him 2 inches off the ground.
6. The goal was to compete with another group and race to empty your bucket of tennis balls without touching the bucket and the tennis balls. Scouts were given 4 pieces of rope and the objective was to give the opposing team four tennis balls in their bucket and keep their own bucket empty.
7. Carry 4 steel pipes, an 80lbs bag, and an empty bag. From one end to another.
At each task you were given 10 minutes to complete it, except for task number 6. Each of these tasks was designed to teach everyone to lead, persevere, think, and challenge your mental and physical strength. Some events were taken from actual selection challenges to become a Green Beret in the Army.
Those who complete the course, earn this patch.
I’m proud to say that my sons earned it. It gave them a great introduction to the types of leadership challenges they’ll encounter in the service.
Rogers, AR (April 12, 2017) – Daisy Outdoor Products, the most-recognized name in airguns worldwide, today announced a partnership with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to promote safety and education in the shooting sports to today’s youth. This agreement makes Daisy the official airgun of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Boy Scouts of America, the largest youth organization in the country, in association with Daisy, will provide local councils and camps throughout the country with safety-oriented experiences and lessons that are both exciting and educational.
“There is no doubt that more people have learned how to shoot with a Daisy BB gun than with any other,” said Daisy President Keith Higginbotham. “Teaching the basics of marksmanship and shooting safety, through one-on-one mentoring as well as structured programs, continues to be at the core of our mission.
“To be recognized as the Official BB Gun of the Boy Scouts of America and to be involved in this far-reaching youth shooting sports initiative is a huge source of pride,” he continued. “Hundreds of millions of adults have been positively affected by Scouting, learning to become responsible citizens, developing character and becoming self-reliant. Involvement in the shooting sports develops similar traits, such as discipline, patience, self-control and responsibility.”
This partnership makes Daisy’s iconic inflatable ranges available to the BSA’s 274 local councils as well as enhancing the shooting sports program at camp sites across the country. The inflatable ranges allow seasoned instructors to work individually with young people who may be shooting for the first time. Instructors emphasize shooting safety rules and teach basic marksmanship, including breath control, trigger pull, sight picture and more.
“As the nation’s leading organization that brings outdoor adventures to life for millions of young people, we greatly appreciate the support and commitment that Daisy Outdoor Products is providing to Scouting through this important partnership,” said Brad Farmer, Assistant Chief Executive of the Boy Scouts of America.
Ask any hunter or shooting sports enthusiast how he or she was introduced to the sport and the answer you’re going to hear most is that it all started with a Daisy. Together, Daisy and the Boy Scouts of America will present a comprehensive shooting sports program that will build character while introducing young people to the wholesome sport of shooting.
For more information go to www.daisy.com, and hashtag #itallstartswithadaisy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This photo is said to be of Boy Scouts participating in the short-lived Master-at-Arms badge. It was one of the original 14 merit badges which debuted in the 1910 version of the Boy Scout Handbook and unfortunately, this one lasted just a year. The badge was missing from the 1911 version of the manual when it was released.
To earn the badge, a Scout had to master three of the following combat skills (the surviving manual says two):
-Single Stick
-Boxing
-Ju Jitsu
-Wrestling
-Gymnastics
-Quarterstaff Fencing
Update – Kirk Lawson has introduced a reproduction of the original merit badge pamphlet. The drawings come from this manual and you can download it here.
Interestingly, the pamphlet is dated 1925 but it would not be unheard of for a merit badge pamphlet to continue to be published even after it was no longer a merit badge because they were printed by private publishers at the time, and not by BSA.
Can you imagine such a merit badge today?
104 years ago today, Arthur Rose Eldred became the first Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
In the century that followed, over two million young men have earned the award.
Did you know that two-thirds of American Astronauts since 1959 were Scouts?
According the BSA’s “Ask Bryan“, it’s not just Eagle Scouts. Of the 312 pilots and scientists selected as astronauts since 1959, at least 207 have been identified as having been Scouts or active in Scouting. That list includes 39 Eagle Scouts, 25 Life Scouts, 14 Star Scouts, 26 First Class Scouts, 17 Second Class Scouts, 13 Tenderfoot Scouts, three Explorers, 25 Cub Scouts, 10 Webelos Scouts, one King’s Scout, two Wolf Scouts and 32 with unknown ranks, including 27 who were Girl Scouts.
It’s very encouraging to see that level of participation in Scouting. While I had heard over the years of the number of Astronauts who were Eagle Scouts, I had no visibility of the number of Girl Scouts who had also taken to the skies.
In the past, we told you about the discontinued Master-at-Arms Badge. On a similar note is the Stalking merit badge which was one of the original 57 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911. It replaced the 1910 Stalker “Badge of Merit”. The term “Stalking” should be familiar to SSD readers, a technique that I also referred to as tracking. The badge was temporarily reissued as “Tracking” under the 2010 Historic Merit Badge Program. Unfortunately it, along with the handful of other 2010 badges were only temporary.
These are the Stalking merit badge requirements from 1938 until it was discontinued in 1952.
-Demonstrate by means of a stalking game or otherwise, ability to stalk skillfully in shelter and wind, etc., showing how to proceed noiselessly and “freeze” when occasion demands.
-Know and recognize the tracks of ten different kinds of animals or birds in his vicinity, three of which may be domestic.
-Submit satisfactory evidence that he has trailed two different kinds of wild animals or birds on ordinary ground far enough to determine the direction in which they were going, and their gait or speed. Give names of animals or birds trailed, their direction of travel, and describe gait and speed; or submit satisfactory evidence that he has trailed six different kinds of wild animal or birds in snow, sand, dust, or mud, far enough to determine the direction in which they were going, and their gait or speed. Give names of animals or birds, their direction of travel, and describe gait and speed.
-Submit satisfactory evidence that he has tracked a human being and deduced from the trail whether it was a man or woman, young or old, the gait or speed, and also give any other information deduced.
-Submit evidence the he has scored at least 30 points from the following groups: [Group (f) and 4 of the 5 groups (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) must be represented in the score of 30 and at least 7 points must be scored from (a), (b), or (c)].
-Make a clear recognizable photograph of:
(a) Live bird away from nest 4 points each
(b) Live woodchuck or smaller wild animal 3 points each
(c) Live wild animal larger than woodchuck 4 points each
(d) Live bird on nest 3 points each
(e) Tracks of live wild animal or bird 2 points each
(f) Make satisfactory plaster cast of wild animal or bird tracks with identification imprint on back of cast 2 points each
This photo is said to be of Boy Scouts participating in the short-lived Master-at-Arms badge. It was one of the original 14 merit badges which debuted in the 1910 version of the Boy Scout Handbook and unfortunately, this one lasted just a year. The badge was missing from the 1911 version of the manual when it was released.
To earn the basge, a Scout had to master three of the following combat skills:
-single stick
-boxing
-ju jitsu
-wrestling
-quarterstaff
-fencing
Can you imagine such a merit badge today?
