venture crew/patrol questions

[IM_Kathy]

I'm trying to understand the whole Venturing program deal...

 

1) are they totally seperate from a BSA troop?

 

2) can the be involved with a troop and be a seperate Patrol?

 

3) can a boy or girl be dually registered?

 

In otherwords can a boy be in the Venturing Program and still be in Boy Scouts to continue his rank work there? Or should it only be for boys who have already earned their Eagle?

 

and for the girls - can they still be registered with Girl Scouts thereby continuing to work on their badges and pins there?

 

 

The reason for my question is this... my son's (13 years old) troop has several boys that have earned their eagle and are still involved, but not as much as they use to be. I'm just a committe member with his troop. For my daughter (15 years old) is in girl scouts - her troop has only 4 girls (3 come summer when 1 moves away). I'm just wondering if it's possible to make a "venture patrol" which would allow the girls to join in and allow for some special trips for the older boys. I do have to say the troop does do a good job in that they have a high adventure trip at least every other year.

 

anyway, like I said I'm trying to understand all this and would like to know the answer to these questions so I would know how I should think this through. Oh, and as to joining an already active crew - there are none around that I know of.

 

thanks in advance

 

[Bob White]

There are two separate and unique but similar sounding programs in the BSA.

 

A Venturing Crew is a specific age defined program and just like a Boy Scout Troop or a Cub Scout Pack, A Varsity Team or a Sea Scout Ship it is it's own unit wit its own charter. It is forYouth male or female that are 14 and out of the eighth grade to age 20 (21 actually in some cases but that is another thread).

 

A Boy Scout Troop on the other is recommended to be made of three types of Patrols. A New Scout Patrol for scouts under the ranks of First Class, and Experienced Patrol, and a Venture Patrol.

 

 

Notice the similarity but difference between a Venturing Crew...and a Venture Patrol.

 

There is no current group in the BSA called a Venture crew.

 

A Venture patrol is part of a troop. They wear the Boy Scout Uniform and earn the Boy Scout Recognitions. They are simply older more skilled members of the troop.

 

A boy can be multiple registered in any BSA programs that he is age and grade qualified for.

 

Girl Scouts is a separate organization from the BSA and for a girl in Venturing to continue to earn Girl Scout recognitions she would need to stay active in a Girl Scout program.

 

No you may not form a venture patrol with female members in it as the Boy Scout program is not a coed program.

 

You can however with a minimum of 5 age eligible youth, form a separate unit, a Venturing Crew, that can include young men and women, however you will need to have male and female leaders as well. If any of the young men who join the crew are under 18 and have completed their First Class rank in Boy Scouts, then they (and only they) can continue to earn the Boy Scout Ranks including Eagle. Any female and any male who is has not completed the First Class rank or is over 15 may only earn the Venturing recognistions and not the Boy Scout Ranks.

 

I think this covers all your questions.

 

Any female, and any male who has

 

I think this covered all of your questions.

 

 

 

 

 

[IM_Kathy]

yes, that answered my questions and yes that is where I got confussed with the crew/patrol term. So what I was wanting to do I can't do in that I didn't want to pull any of the boys away from what they are doing - I just wanted to find a way for my girls to do both because being such a small troop does limit them a lot.

 

thanks again.

[Eagle92]

If you have have enough girls who are old enough, start an all girl venturing crew. Crews can be all male, all female, or coed, based upon the CO's wishes.

 

yep it gets confusing, especially since venture patrols were orignially called venture crews prior to Venturing splitting from Exploring.

 

Also Venture patrols can earn the Venture letter (used to be known in SD circles as the Varsity/Venture Letter) and earn the Varsity/Venture Activity pins. I know some read the Scouting Article from 2005 that gave an incorrect answer, so check out the 2007 uniform inspection sheet at this link

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34283.pdf

 

And it's also in the current edition of the handbook.

 

If they haven't changed the requirements for the activity pins since 1995, the requirements for both Varsity Scouts and Boy Scouts in Venture patrols were identical. At least in my neck of the woods way back when, the activity pins were not real popular as no one understood or used these awards.

 

 

[emb021]

"Also Venture patrols can earn the Venture letter (used to be known in SD circles as the Varsity/Venture Letter) and earn the Varsity/Venture Activity pins. I know some read the Scouting Article from 2005 that gave an incorrect answer,"

 

Am sorry, but what is your basis that the letter (not an article) is incorrect? I wrote that letter to get an answer one way or another. If it was published there, it should be a correct answer. Claiming a uniform inspection sheet (which, btw, applies to both Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts) makes it correct doesn't work.

 

Also, AFAIK, the Handbook never made mention of the letter.

 

Frankly, I have been hearing rumors for years (at least since 2001) that National was going to (in one case I was told they had) get rid of the Venture Patrol.

[Eagle92]

Emb,

Unfortunately not everything in Scouting, is correct, try as they might. if you read the inspection form, dated 2007, it still calls the letter "Venture/Varsity Letter"

 

Also this website

http://www.scouting.org/media/insigniaguide/03.aspx

 

refers to the award as "Venture/Varsity Letter" and can be worn on the red jac shirt.

 

 

I know it's wikipedia, so take it witha grain of salt, but they have soem ifno two, that's where i got the info on the 2005 letter.

http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Venture_Patrol_Activity_Pins

 

it also points to the inspection sheet.

 

Unfortunately I my copies of the books come from 1996 or older, when I was trying to implement a high adventure program at summer camp that incorporated these awards. Not alot of interest. Also working for supply, those pins were NOT real popular, I don't believe I sold any, just kept the requisite 12 on hand to "be prepared."

 

maybe someone from a scout shop, or has access to the activity books could clear this up.