Patrol method at Summer Camp

[NC Scouter]

How well do your troops execute the patrol method at summer camp? I am particularly interested in your answers with respect to new scout patrols.

 

Like many troops we cross over our new scouts in early March and they have the opportunity to get 3 troop campouts under their belts before summer camp (March, April, May), and in doing so are more or less starting to work as a group by the May campout.

 

But then we get to summer camp and nothing is really done there by patrol. They do attend the new scout program together of course, are generally in tents near each other, and hang out together, but there is no shared objective that gets them to reinforce the patrol method and continue building their working relationships. All meals are in the dining hall.

 

My only thought would be to come up with some manufactured projects at our campsite that would let them have an opportunity for some problem solving, but I don't want to go overboard either and I don't want the projects to appear obviously contrived.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks.

[John-in-KC]

You don't say where you are in your Troops camp food chain. If you're camp SM you can make some of these happen; if you're just a Scouter accompanying all you have is the power of suggestion:

 

- Mealtimes: Sit by patrols. Our scout camp uses 8 man tables, I suspect many do.

- Service Patrol: Rotate daily. Make the youth responsible for cleaning the kybo/lolly.

- Program Patrol: Rotate daily. Make youth responsible for flag ceremonies. Allow the youth some latitude in the daily ceremonies, then make it a contest for best ceremony. Winner gets... ice cream cones at Dairy Queen on the backhaul home!

- Have the youth sleep by patrol. Set up a best patrol area contest. Leaders do KP for that patrol on last full day of camp.

 

Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head, and are premised that you are locked into going to a particular Scout Camp this year. The best way to get patrol method, though, is to find a Scout Camp which reinforces the method as part of the way it does business.

[John-in-KC]

You don't say where you are in your Troops camp food chain. If you're camp SM you can make some of these happen; if you're just a Scouter accompanying all you have is the power of suggestion:

 

- Mealtimes: Sit by patrols. Our scout camp uses 8 man tables, I suspect many do.

- Service Patrol: Rotate daily. Make the youth responsible for cleaning the kybo/lolly.

- Program Patrol: Rotate daily. Make youth responsible for flag ceremonies. Allow the youth some latitude in the daily ceremonies, then make it a contest for best ceremony. Winner gets... ice cream cones at Dairy Queen on the backhaul home!

- Have the youth sleep by patrol. Set up a best patrol area contest. Leaders do KP for that patrol on last full day of camp.

 

Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head, and are premised that you are locked into going to a particular Scout Camp this year. The best way to get patrol method, though, is to find a Scout Camp which reinforces the method as part of the way it does business.

[Stosh]

I have a troop of 3 NSP patrols. Except for my PL's most of the boys are Webelos crossovers. All APL's are new scouts.

 

The boys voted last week and they will cook all meals in the campsites. This way the boys will be able to work on their advancement requirements for cooking. They have a 40 scout site so they will be able to spread out away from each other. The boys are now making lists of equipment requirements and beginning their menu planning.

 

The boys opted out of the new scout program. They would need to select one of the rank requirements and that didn't set well. Instead they will do their own TF-FC training within the patrol campsites. They also decided that they would as a patrol take swimming and first aid merit badges. They also thought that a third MB would be nice but the boys thought that the patrol members would take one that they individually preferred. They also felt that attending the C.O.P.E course would be a great idea for their patrol.

 

There are a few camp programs that will be attended by the patrols, i.e. Totin' Chit, etc. Daniel Boone campout, etc. that they can consider as a patrol as well.

 

At the present time there has been no talk about doing anything as a troop except camp in the same general area.

 

Stosh

 

 

 

 

[Sprite]

Our patrols had tents together, were assigned duties by patrol and when moving as a troop moved together. Each patrol leader was also tasked with making sure all members of his patrol were present or to know the whereabouts of the member.

 

We were using the "traditional" style of patrol rather than NSP. It worked really well.

[Kudu]

John-in-KC writes:

 

The best way to get patrol method, though, is to find a Scout Camp which reinforces the method as part of the way it does business.

 

Yes, and the only way to find such a camp is to ask if they allow "Patrol Cooking."

 

Such camps make it easy for Patrols to cook all of their meals in separate Patrol Campsites, as in jblake47's post, above.

 

Brainstorming make-work "Patrol Activities" to "practice the Patrol Method" in a dining hall summer camp is always manufactured and contrived: A lame Cub Scout approach to Boy Scouting.

 

Without Patrol Cooking you are not using the Patrol Method, so why pretend that you are?

 

Kudu

 

 

[Stosh]

Just got word from the camp director, they don't have 4 patrol boxes for us to use. The camp maybe has two! That's two patrol boxes for the WHOLE CAMP!

 

Needless to say we're going to have a rough go with Patrol Method at our camp. The boys will still do their patrol thing, but they're going to have to fight with the camp the whole way. I asked for 4 dining flys, they had none. They have 2 pavillions in the camp site for 40 boys. There's a plan!

 

They did allow us to have anything we could find in the old mess hall that went defunct this past winter and that should be ok because they went out first class on the new mess hall and bought everything new for them. We have access to the old walk in cooler for our food.

 

I guess their idea of patrol method is a far cry from what I was thinking. But my boys will win out in the long run, they're looking forward to a great week in spite of what the camp can do to screw it up.

 

Stosh

[John-in-KC]

Stosh,

 

Why aren't you taking your own patrol boxes, dining flys, ad infinitum?

 

When I was a youth, my first year was at a traditional (patrol cooking camp). We brought the gear we needed in the Troop trailer.

[Stosh]

Sorry for the prolonged wait for an answer to the question. It would seem that when one goes from 5 boys, adult-led, troop-method to 25 boys boy-led, patrol-method, one doesn't have the luxury to having everything right there at the snap of one's finger. In the past 6 months, getting 20 new scouts ready for camp was about all we could handle, however, one of the patrols did put together their own chuck box and the unit had one in their trailer. That meant we did make it through the process rather well.

 

We would love to bring our own equipment, but it takes money. The original 5 boys last fall didn't raise enough money to outfit 5 times as many boys that suddenly appeared from Webelos cross-over this past winter. The troop hadn't taken on any boys from Webelos for 3 years running.

 

I'm also assuming when most new scouts come into a troop there is equipment that has been collected from prior scout fundraisers, however, that can't be assumed across the board.

 

It didn't rain and we were in a grove of trees so we didn't need any tarps. The boys came prepared with double coolers, one for regular food and one for chilled/iced food.

 

I guess the original point I was trying to make was that when I was last at this camp every campsite had one or two chuck boxes in the sites that no one every really used anyway. I guess over time they were destroyed and never replaced because the troops ate as a whole in the mess hall.

 

By the way, the lack of equipment didn't seem to hamper the boy's enjoyment of this year's activities.

 

>>> different vein >>>

 

For all those out there who are interested in patrol-method summer camp, check it out before one goes. The booby-traps we ran into were quite a surprise at times.

 

1) If the unit eats in the mess hall as a troop they will get all the necessary program information, activity schedules, special programs, etc. at meal time. If the unit chooses to cook as patrols in the campsite, they will hear nothing.

 

2) If one wishes to have any patrol autonomy recognition from the camp staff, work hard on winning them over they are not prepared to deal with them. To them a troop of 3 patrols is viewed as 3 times the work.

 

3) Even if one gets the biggest campsite in the camp, it won't make any difference. We got the biggest campsite for our 16 boys (site was rated for 40 boys) and yet the site was basically packed with numerous tents that were just sitting empty, yet we were no more than 20' apart between the 3 patrols.

 

3) Campsite inspection will be judged as a troop unless one makes a fuss and has the inspectors break it down by patrol. (See #2 above)

 

4) Campfire skits were assigned to a troop unless one insists skits by patrols or one won't participate. (See #2 above)

 

5) The staff will continually "suggest" merging patrols so "they will have enough boys" to do the activity. (See #2 above)

 

6) If one does things as patrols it may be construed as "not following" directions and one would/could be penalized for it. Friday night at camp, at flags, we lined up as patrols and the staff member setting the order in which troops were to move into the mess hall asked our boys if it was their first time in the mess hall. They said yes. All the other troops went in and got their tables and seating and our patrols (picked last) got whatever was left over and had to sit in the visiting parents section of the hall.

 

7) By the end of the week one will be worn down to the point where it is easier to "do your own thing" rather than participate in many of the camp activities. The boys are considering an out-of-council camp next year that claims to be more patrol-friendly.

 

Stosh

[BrentAllen]

We took our new troop to Camp Woodruff last week, and had a great time. There were 28 troops with around 800 Scouts in camp. Our troop of 11 boys was the only one that cooked in site (by patrol). We ended up in the site furthest from the parade ground, but we had it to ourselves, whereas a good number of the other troops had to share a site. The patrol leaders selected their own sites (each had 4 tents in a quad with dining fly and table) and left us adults the one closest to the pavillion. The camp couldn't offer us any refrigeration or freezer support, so we experimented with dry ice, and it worked very well. Each patrol had their own chuck box and coolers (our own equipment); the camp provided 3-burner propane cook stoves. The patrols did all their own cooking and invited adults to have dinner with them. Adults took care of their own breakfast and lunches.

 

Our troop is made up entirely of first and second year Scouts, and they learned a lot about long-term camping and cooking. They kept their sites very clean, and got much more efficient with meal preparation and clean-up. I am a firm believer that patrol cooking is the best team building excercise a patrol can experience.

 

The patrols rotated the duties of conducting flag ceremonies, cleaning the latrine and being in charge of the troop campfire.

 

Friday afternoon I asked the PL's and APL's what they thought about cooking in site. Every one of them wanted to do it again next year. I also asked them about the site we had, which was over 1/2 mile from the parade ground - they liked it as well and would be happy with it again.

 

We had a very busy week in camp. The first year boys participated in the T-FC program (Mountain Man) and earned 4 MBs each - Swimming, Art, Basketry, Finger Printing. Second year boys all took 4 MB classes, including Wilderness Survival, Archery, Indian Lore, Fishing, Camping, Fish & Wildlife Mgmt, Mammal Study, Pottery, Sculpture, Photography and Nature. In addition, we scheduled a troop mountain bike ride, canoe overnighter, rifle and archery shoots, and fielded a team in the Banana Relay. Of course, we all went whitewater rafting on the Nantahala. I'll recover in a few days... :-)

[Kudu]

Stosh,

 

For what it is worth:

 

1) Some BSA camps still do a good job of offering Patrol Cooking. This is important in bear country. I Googled "Patrol Cooking" (with the quotes) and my favorite camps came up. Did you try '"Patrol Cooking" Wisconsin'?

 

2) Local Council summer camps may take you for granted, but out-of-Council camps always review our feedback forms very carefully. When we return for a second year I am always surprised at how many of our specific recommendations have been implemented.

 

3) Summer camp is a business. When you "Just Say No!" and take your business out of Council, be sure to write a detailed explanation to a local sympathetic BSA professional (they do exist) and a Commissioner group in your Council. Some Councils keep track of exactly where every Troop goes to summer camp and why.

 

4) Remember that terms like "boy led" and "Patrol Method" have been corrupted to mean "Troop Method" now (volunteer to Staff the "Patrol Method" session of Scoutmaster Specific training to catch up on the new meanings). So when providing feedback to your local Council and your out-of-Council camp, be very specific about your Troop's meanings for those terms.

 

5) We have found that when we camp at the very end of the camp's season, and the furthest from the center of camp, adjacent Troop sites are often vacant so our Patrols can move in and take them over if they are still vacant on Monday.

 

Kudu

(This message has been edited by Kudu)

[eagle90]

JBlake, I think you need to find a camp that has NO dining hall. You will always be treated as an afterthought in a camp that has a dining hall and one or two troops who patrol cook. Since you are in Wisconsin, look at Lefeber Northwoods Camp in Laona, run by the Milwaukee County Council. Great program, excellent staff, and completely a patrol method camp. All meals except one are done parol method in your campsite. We leave in 19 days! Can't wait!!

 

Dale

[SMT224]

We went to Camp Bashore in the PA Blue Mountains this year. The camp was very supportive to the Patrol - the campsite was set up with Patrol areas (5 tents and a dining fly). Our area had four Patrol areas, one of which we used for adults. All the camp wide games focused on the Patrol working together, and the camp awards were for the Patrol. The only way a Troop could get an award was to have all it's Patrols win the Patrol award. We did not do Patrol cooking, but a neighboring campsite did and they found it worked quite well. The camp provided stoves, chuck boxes full of pots, pans, plates and utensils, and of course the food to cook in camp. It looked good to me, but I think we'll stick to the dining hall (food was good, and plenty of it!).