Troop & Crew merger

[AggieScouter]

Our Crew is struggling to survive, and the main advisor is looking to retire from day-to-day involvement. Some advisors want the Crew to "tag along" on some Troop functions, especially the high adventure type campouts.

Is there any way a Troop and Crew can merge? I know you can have a Venture Patrol within a Troop, but that patrol cannot be coed, can it? Is there a way for the Troop Commitee and Crew Committee to be the same? We have people in the Troop that say it can be done, but I don't see how. Any advice?

[Eamonn]

I can't help asking what are you trying to save?

Sure you can welcome the male members of the Crew back into the troop as Boy Scouts and as Boy Scouts they can be a Venture Patrol. Being that they would be Boy Scouts they would follow the Boy Scout program.

I feel very strongly that the Boy Scout program is just that and any group "Tagging Along." Can only harm the program.

If the Crew is to survive it has to do so by itself. The Crew needs to go about selecting new adult leadership. Sad to say if the Chartered Organization and the committee can't find someone then the crew will not be able to recharter and will close.

Females can not be youth members of the troop. Sure adults can serve in both just as some adults serve in both a Cub Scout Pack and a Boy Scout Troop. However I think mixing a troop and a crew is not such a good idea.

Eamonn

[AggieScouter]

I must admit I am not too keen on the merger. One of our adults brought up the idea, and said it could be done. I just wanted some info on the procedure, if there is one. I think the adult is worried that the crew will fold, and there will be no place for his daughter.

[Bob White]

Aggie,

The two programs have different advancement programs, different membership requirements, different leadership structures, and use different methods. What part or parts does the leader feel could be merged?

[LovetoCamp]

The leaders can be co-registered. The committee could be the same. The CO can be the same. To keep the females registered, the crew will need to have at least two Venturers primarily registered with the crew and the others could be co-registered with the troop. They could surely meet on the same meeting nights. I would add that on outings or whenever the G2SS dictates a female advisor needs to be present. On a positive note, the females would have a pretty captive audience for all the tabletop displays they need to create on their way to their Silver Award.

[ASM1]

You can do it, and it works well. Here's how. If you have a crew and a troop and the crew is co-ed, than you must have two seperate charters, one for each. That's it, if you have that your on your way. The two units can go on outings together and the crew, even the females can work with young scouts on advancement. It helps their own advancement requirements. We work this way and it works great!

 

ASM1

[Bob White]

Aggie,

Don't try to drive two cars at the same time.

 

These are two different programs. Troops cannot have coed outings as described in ASM1's post without violating the BSA membership regulations. Running two programs together is a simplistic solution for the adults that does nothing for the needs and characteristics of the individual youth groups they are designed to serve.

 

Sure you can have the same charter organization and the committee members can dual register on the second charter. But that is not "merging the programs" as you inquired about. The program is what you do with the scouts and how you do it. You can no more merge a troop and Crew than you can a pack and a crew.

 

As I pointed out before they have unique methods, leadership structures and responsibilities, membership rules and different advancement programs. The solution to a weak program is not to to merge it but to fix it.

 

Retrain the adult and youth leaders, follow the program recommendations, improve the activities. You can't fix a poisoned well by mixing it with good water, you will just end up with more bad water.