Are rules preventing scouts from helping out?b

[willysjeep]

I just thought of this. All throughout scouting, scouts pitched in in emergencies. They have acted as couriers, forest fire crews, as emergency search and rescuers, and many other important jobs during emergencies. In fact, the saftey MB still requires a practice troop mobilization. My thought is are the current rules of scouting preventing these scouts from pitching in during emergencies, or are local scouters just stepping back and letting professionals do the job. I really have never in recent times heard of a troop serving as a group in an emergency, only of individual volunteers. Are saftey concerns from national preventing scouts from working in disaster areas, or is it just a lack of need that keeps scouts from pitching in? Mabey this is just a local issue because my area doesn't see too many disasters, but I still question this.

[Fat Old Guy]

I read of a couple Scout troops that went to the Pentagon and supplied water to the rescue workers after the ragheads attacked.

 

However, if you read the old literature, Scouts often served as couriers. Now we have VHF radios, cell phones, etc. so disasters don't need couriers.

 

[SR540Beaver]

Just within the last couple of months there was a thread by a scout who wanted to set up a search and rescue group with his troop. I don't recall the name of the thread, but you might find some info there. I think that disaster relief has gotten to be specialized like everything else has. The pros don't want "civilians" in the way.

[OldGreyEagle]

"I read of a couple Scout troops that went to the Pentagon and supplied water to the rescue workers after the ragheads attacked."

 

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You rascal FOG, using a racial Epithet like that in full disregard of all scouting principles just to make a point to all those who read these forums. I do have a question, what was your point?

 

[CubPack495]

This actually seems to be encouraged--at least to a degree. BSA National has an Emergency Preparedness Award for all levels of Cubs and Scouting. Would this address what you are asking? Here's the link:

 

http://www.scouting.org/pubs/emergency/index.html

 

~Laurie

[Bob White]

I agree that the scouting members are less involved in community emergencies than when I was a scout in the 60' and 70's. But the world has chqanged. Many communities did not have organized emrgency services at the level they have today. There were no Paramedics, EMTs, local ambulance sevices, etc. Technology was very different also, to be a more effective, efficient emrgency responder takes more training and equipment than in the past. All of which I think is a good and has let to better emergency resonse. But it has also narrowed the opportunities for scouts to help.

 

Another thing that has changed our opportunity to become involved is litigation. Due to the many abuses of our legal system, towns are much more careful about who does what and the exposure to liability that might exist. This too has caused the opportunities to serve to diminish.

 

That does not mean that scouts cannot be a benefit in an emergency? If our scouts learn how to react in a given emergency to protect their lives, their families and help in their neighborhood, then they can greatly reduce the work load to community emergency services and allow them to respond to the greater prioity situations.

 

We can make a huge contribution by "being prepared", knowing how to remain calm, evalute needs, know our personal and community resources, and be able to "help other people at all times" in our homes and our neighborhoods.

 

Bob White

[willysjeep]

That's it right there! liability! SO many activities have been frowned upon by parents because Junior might get a boo-boo playing football or something. I bet now if a scout troop were called upon by a government entity for help like serving on a fire crew, filling sand bags in a flood area, helping to clear fallen trees after a windstorm, or even something as simple as helping the injured to medical aid in an emergency area their parents would probably throw a major temper tantrum. Those types of things aren't necisairily that dangerous or technical, but because of the miniscule chance of injury doing some of it that parents would probably pitch a fit.

 

Scouts are awarded medals for heroisim, but if they actually preformed an act worthy of one of those medals in the presence of an adult and were injured I'm sure the adult would probably be sued for negligence or something. I think that is a tad hpocritical, but given the number of these medals awarded I bet it would not be an issue too often.

[Bob White]

Willysjeep,

I think you have a misconception of liability. It is the liability concerns of the agencies, for the scouts would be assisting, that is the problem. Those agencies, more specifically their lawyers and isurance carriers do not want to see there agencies involved in legal suits brought upon them by the family of a scout who was injured while assisting them.

 

Liability has nothing to do with parents being woried about thier sons getting hurt. Liability is who is responsible for the scout being injured.

 

Bob White

[ASM7]

Our scouts help out in emergencies. During catastrophies where there are widespread power outages, our scouts help the Red Cross set up their relief stations. We mobilize and take supplies to these stations at various schools around the county. All of our scouts are CPR trained. Three of our leaders, including myself, are licensed amateur radio operators and keep in communication and also help out the local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) with county comms. By the way, I have that BellSouth message service with all my scouts in a group. Great way to get a message out to everyone in a hurry.

[eisely]

Scouts still help out in disasters and always will. In widespread disasters such as major earthquakes or large tornados or hurricanes the normal emergency services are simply overwhelmed. What about the incident a few years ago of a Philmont crew traveling by train when the train derailed? That crew was the first response team and did themselves and scouting proud.

[evmori]

About 5 years ago our lodge tap out ceremony was sanitized. No more chiefs coming across the lake in canoes. No more indian brave fights. No more runners. Why? 'Cause someon might get hurt. Well guess what, just walking around camp someone might get hurt!

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Bob White]

evmori, if your local OA was doing "Tap outs" 5 years ago then they were doing it wrong for 10 years.

 

Tap outs were abolished over ten years ago and became "call outs" due to the number of stupid and unnecessary injuries that where happening.

 

I saw a boy get his shoulder separated from being 'tapped' and another narrowly missed being thrown into a bonfire. Ahh, the good old days!

 

Runners are still a part on the ceremony, but physical violence has no place in the program. Does it?

 

 

Bob White

[SR540Beaver]

Being fairly new to scouting, I have only seen one calling out ceremony. Could someone explain the "tap out" to me? What, did they club the poor guy?

[Bob White]

It varied in style and degree of contact from ceremony to ceremony, but basically a candidate was identified by a runner or runners and then one of the ceremony characters, usually the medicine man or chief, struck "tapped out" the individual three-times on the shoulder. In some ceremonies the blows grew way out of control. In a case I witnessed the candidate was yanked out of line and thrown from one runner to another three time. The final runner held the scout from behind by his arms while he was struck three times by the chief. One runner missed the scout as he was hurled at him at the boy was spun toward the fire. Another candidate in line tackled him in the nick of time. There were also cases of boys having their shoulders separated by the force of the impact.

 

Because too many adults think this kind of behaviour is acceptable and "adventurous" becasue "Thats the way I was tapped by gosh" it was necessary to implement new safety rules. So many years ago (about 13 I believe) it was changed to a "Call out" where there is to be no violent contact with the candidate. Unfortunately despite the rule change many OA Chapters continued the Tap-out procedure ignoring the rules of the OA and the danger to the scouts. This is more of a problem of adult advisors failing in their leadership responsibilities than anything else.

 

Bob White

[Eagle74]

A simple piece of advice from someone involved in emergency services. Don't wait until the emergency strikes to make your contacts. If you want to become involved during an emergency, find out beforehand what if anything, would be needed that your organization can offer.

 

During a crisis situation I do not have the time or resources to learn about your group, its capabilities, its training, how well supervised it is and then match it to a task; especially early in the crisis. If however, I know beforehand that Troop 123 has the training and ability to assist at a shelter, assist at a rehab area for emergency workers, assist with providing meals, clearing downed trees (proper supervision/safe practices) etc., I now have a resource that can be called upon when it is most critically needed.

 

As BW states, one thing that is top on my priority list for Boy Scouts is to thoroughly understand and know what to do during an emergency situation - what can/should be done at home, at school, at work, in the neighborhood. (Emergency Preparedness, First Aid, Fire Safety, and so on) Scouting can and should prepare you for this. What you do to help yourself and those immediately around you within the first minutes and hours is important because you become one less person that needs immediate direct assistance from my organization. And when people see someone who knows what to do, they follow. After a vicious storm a few years ago, our units arrived in one neighborhood with trees down, no electric, and flooded houses (urban flooding) and I recognized a number of local scouts and their families that were "taking care of business". They were organized, had a plan, and were making the best of a bad situation because they knew what to do. It was a beautiful sight to behold. We were able to move on quickly to other areas to assist others more in need of help.

 

"Be Prepared" is as important now as ever.