Leadership positions

[dperry3568]

We have just restructured our troop to accomodate the new scouts crossing over this month to Boy Scouts, as well as better support the patrol method of Scouting.

In each Patrol the leadership positions are Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, scribe, Quartermaster and Troop Guide.

According to the scouting book, only Patrol leader and Troop Guide qualifies for leadership toward rank advancement. My concern is that, if executed properly, the quarter master roll in the patrol can be a just as meaningful leadership position as the patrol leader especially with the emphasis we are putting on this position.

 

Is there any reason that we cannot have multiple quartermasters in the troop and count this toward rank advancement (especially if carried out properly)? Included in the Quartermasters responsibilities would be patrol gear care and maintenance, meal planning/purchase assignments and duty roster.

[sctmom]

Quartermaster does apply.

 

For Star and Life the following positions apply:

Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, OA troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor.

 

For Eagle, these apply:

Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, OA troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor.

[evmori]

In my Troop, there are 4 quartermasters. 1 per patrol & 1 Troop.

 

Assistant PL is not considered a position of responsibility for rank purposes in the handbook.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

[LongHaul]

Actually, dperry3568, the Scoutmaster can recognize the position of partol quartermaster for both Star and Life ranks. They could fall under the approved Scoutmaster assigned leadership project heading. For Eagle, however, this is not an option.

[Bob White]

dPery3568,

I agree with LongHaul, I am curious though, am I reading your post right? Do you have Troop Guides assigned to all your patrols or just your New Scout patrols?

Bob

[eagle90]

I agree with Long Haul. In our troop, where we have a good number of oler scouts all working on higher ranks, we use the job of Assistant Patrol Leader for Star and Life awards per the Scoutmaster Leadership project. Then for Eagle we make sure they have a "legitimate" position.

[dperry3568]

Yes: We have two troop guides assigned per each of the two new scout patrols. We picked up 17 new scouts this year and now have 52 scouts in the troop. We have one troop guide per patrol in the existing patrols with about 10 scouts per patrol. About 1/2 of the scouts in the existing patrols are now working on Star or above

 

The intention of a larger patrol is to assure that when we go on overnights, even if we only have 1/2 of the scouts in a patrol, we still have a meaningful food group. We do not combine patrols unless we have only one scout from a patrol going on a trip.

 

The Troop Guides are responsible for the training aspects in the patrol. We also occaisionally pull them to do one on one training with the new scouts. The patrol leader is the "tester" on rank advancement sign-off. The Guides sign on the left side of page in the book after teaching, the patrol leader on the right side of the page after testing. Since we are after proficiency in the basic skills we feel that this gives us some checks and balances in the process.

[NJCubScouter]

Dperry, aren't your Troop Guides in the "regular" patrols really doing the job of Instructor rather than Troop Guide? Although I thought the Instructor was more of a supplement; if you have one permanently assigned to each patrol and are acting somewhat as a "check" on the patrol leader, then maybe you are sort of blending parts of the roles of Troop Guide, Instructor and (maybe) ASPL all in one person. The result, it seems to me, is that you may be limiting the role of the patrol leaders (of the regular patrols) and not letting them "fly on their own" as much as they are supposed to.

 

Of course, I could be wrong. I haven't been involved with a Boy Scout troop since 1976 (though my son is less than a year from crossover.) But I do read Scouting stuff on the Internet, and it seems to me like some of the youth roles in your troop might be askew.

 

Also just to nitpick a little more, you have the patrol quartermaster doing the duty roster and planning the meals. As I think back, the duty roster was the patrol leader's job and meal planning was more of a group function with the PL in the lead. I don't think it's just a matter of delegating responsibility -- I think the PL needs to be able to do this stuff. And if the PL is skilled and comfortable with doing these things, then shouldn't they be delegated to the APL as part of developing his leadership skills?

 

 

[Bob White]

dperry3568,

 

if I could recommend.. the position of troop Guide is specifically for the New Scout Patrol, because you changfe the Patrol Leader monthly and since the scouts have limited troop experience the job of Troop guide is to "show them the ropes" as it were.

 

To have Troop Guides in the regular patrols, diminishes the role and the weight of the elected patrol leadership. It also confuses the leadership structure to the patrol members. Who do they follow? ("No man can serve two masters")

 

The scouting program offers you a better choice. Make the older more experienced scouts Instructors. The can help teach the scouts without being part of the patrol leader structure.

 

The situation you currently have may seem at first glance to be more efficient to operate the troop, however efficiency is not the goal of the Patrol Method. We are trying to teach government and responsibility through elected leadership, among other goals.

 

Bob White

[LongHaul]

Making them instructors, which is the job they seem to be doing, will solve the approved leadership position question for all ranks incuding Eagle

[dperry3568]

NJ, Bob and Longhaul make valid points. We are using the troopguides in the regular patrols as instructors, not really as troop guides and should refer to them as such. One point on the patrol quartermaster question, we have combined this function with what would be the grub master position.