Troop vs. OA

[kb6jra]

Our troop policy is this,

If there are conflicting OA and Council/District functions, the troop is best served if both are functions are represented by the troop. Allowances should be made for OA functions as these are supposed to be our finest members, members of the honor society of Scouting.

 

OA and Council/District conflicts are a regular occurance in our Council (40K youth, 11 districts, bazillion sq miles). There are only so many weekends available in a year, and something's gotta give.

 

IMHO if the boys that attended the OA event had delegated their responsibilities of the SFF drive to other scouts before hand, then all is well and they've done what they should have. If they left you in a lurch though, I'd have some issue with it, since the OA is meant to enhance the unit and not detract from it.

 

[BrotherhoodWWW]

This is something that I often have mixed feelings about. The OA wants well practiced ceremony teams and yet makes the point in many places that an arrowmans first responsibility is to his troop. Without the OA many units might lose the interest of older Scouts. If the OA motivates these same Scouts to still be active in the unit even half time and very active in the OA at the Chapter, Lodge, Section, Region, or National Level have we not had a net gain. Perhaps if Ordeal members are doing their duty to their units by promoting camping and living according to the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives the will help inspire younger Scouts to be active and meet the requirements for election and ensure a steady steam of candidates each year to take their place at the unit level as they confirm their membership to Brotherhood. If the Scouts unit is a shining example of an active unit and has a weekly unit meeting plus occasional Patrol meetings plus a camping trip each month then the absence of a few Scouts even every few months will not IMHO be a big deal.