Patrol Flags

[rrclark1]

Our troop is working hard for the troop to be boy led. It's been taking some time. One of the things that I noticed since my son joined the troop was the lack of patrol and troop pride. That is starting to change. The patrols now have their own yells and are competing against one another in competitions and games.

 

Another thing that we're going to start working on is creating patrol flags. What size (dimensions) should the patrol flags be? What is the best way to attach them to the staffs? I'm assuming either tying them or stapling? Should they have their own stand?

 

Mind you, it's been 20 years since I did anything like this and our troop didn't have patrol flag. Our jamboree troop did. We did see one troop at our fall camporee last year have patrol flags. They all had the same dimensions and looked sharp.

 

Any suggestion and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Mike F]

There's no set size. I'd recommend smaller than the troop flag so it can easily be carried by patrol, transported on campouts, etc.

Staples won't hold up. You can get a grommet tool at hardware shop or have ties sewn into flag. Consider installing eye-bolts on staff which are big enough to attach patrol award ribbons or other cool stuff.

Consider getting some pictures of some real "old school" patrol flags so guys can be inspired. So many patrol flags we see at camporees (district competitions) are nothing more than pillow cases with stuff scrawled on with markers and I believe they accurately reflect the patrol's pride.

Our patrol flags were all made by the guys (maybe with some sewing help) and they're all different. One resourceful patrol welded a staff with cross piece so their flag hangs down. One has signatures of all past and present members on the back.

Get the guys to include their patrol flags in troop formations at beginning and end of troop meetings. Create a "golden spatula/spoon award" for the winner of a cooking competition to hang on their flag until the next competition. Hand out your own ribbons for winning other skill competitions. Before you know it, they'll be hauling them on campouts to designate their patrol camping area.

[Buffalo Skipper]

What the patrols in our troop did/do most often is to use a "Vexillum" (Like a Roman Legion standard); that is a pole (7') with a cross member near the top and a the flag hangs down. That way it is easily seen and read. The standards are have them about 2.5'- 3' across, draping down as much as the patrol likes. They generally use a folded piece of muslin (the thin stuff is cheap), with a small dowel in the "hem" at the top and 4-8 (small) brass grommets just below that. They use leather thongs to tie them on to the cross member.

 

For more on vexillums, see http://www.legionxxiv.org/signum/

 

One of our old patrols (now defunct) was the Shark patrol. Their flag was stout fising pole with a 1' set of sharks' teeth permanently affixed with a stout, bent fishing hook. It was really cool! (we still have it in the QM closet)

 

[SctDad]

I like the velexiun (sp) thing. I think that would even be easy enought for the Cubs to make. I have an official Tiger Flag, But I think that I am going to let the other dens make their own like the ones that you showed. I think that I will have them make em up before we co camping this spring and also have them ready for Summer Encampment

[ASM915]

rr,

Check with a local tack shop. See if the have any larges pieces of leftover leather that they are willing to donate to the troop. I've seen some nice old patrol flags (check out the Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leader handbooks) made out of thick branches and or woody vines (watch out for poison ivy, LOL). Some have been formed in circles, squares or rectangles, with a leather flag (or other materials) tied in place with strips of leather thongs.

 

At summer camp, have the patrols come together to build/lash an entryway to the troops campsite, with the troop and patrol flags and awards being displayed. These can be quite stunning, and make quite an impression.

[Eagle92]

My troop took the easy way out. We used the old red and white signal flags with a patrol medallion drawn in the center, a CSP in one corner, and a troop keystone shaped patch in another corner. the flags dated back to when semaphore was still required and those flag had alot of history. No one wanted to retire them, except when the patrol went inactive. I had the privelege of restarting one of the old patrols and we decided to just update out flag as the original flag was getting shoddy.

[Stosh]

My boys use the standard bullet shaped flags from the 50-60's. They can start with any color they want. My Panthers have a black flag with yellow eyes. The Ravens have purchased off of E-Bay the original raven flag, and the other two patrols have picked emblems off the internet and iron-transferred them onto a white flag.

 

I carry a beaver flag (WB patrol), my SPL has a white flag with 3 green bars, my ASPL has a white flag with 2 1/2 green bars. All flags are carried on a 6' stave. It is nice to be able to quickly look around and know where everyone is at at any given time. They are displayed outside their tents so everyone knows where the SM, and troop officers are located and where every patrol grouping is located.

 

Once they started using the smaller patrol flags, the "created" flags they had made were quickly discarded as cumbersome and not very "professional" looking. They preferred a more polished flag.

 

Stosh

[Buffalo Skipper]

I always thougth that a traditional Viking raven banner would be very cool. This was really neither a flag (as we now think of them), nor was it a standard (as I discussed above), but somewhere inbetween. The Raven was not a universal Viking symbol (like a national flag) but was a banner representing a specific Viking king.

 

See a representation of the traditional Raven banner here: http://flagspot.net/flags/xn_raven.html

[Liz]

We have one patrol with their patrol emblem painted onto the underside or a rabbit skin, stretched out on a loop at the end of a pole. I think it looks pretty neat.

 

One of my boys used to be in a patrol (which no longer exists) that had a really neat flag. They took a thick piece of leather, cut it out into the shape of the State of Oregon, and with a stencil and spray-paint put an outline of an eagle logo and their troop number on it. They hung this from a t-shaped pole. They were very proud of it. Unfortunately for the fate of the flag, most of the boys in the patrol (a "new scout" webelos cross-over patrol) dropped out of Scouting within a couple months, and the remaining two switched to a new troop a year later and were enveloped into a patrol of older Scouts. But I've still got that old leather flag laying around here somewhere.

 

All that being said, none of the boys in our troop use their patrol flags very much.

 

-Liz

[ThunderFox]

One thing about patrol flags the always seems be left out of discussions is validity.

 

We humans are usually practical, sometimes even overly pratical. Young folks are no different. If they have no reason to carry a patrol flag and take care of it, they will soon leave it and home and lose it.

 

The patrol flag is a symbol for the boys to rally around and it is a bonding tool. We as adults need to provide the additional relevance they need to make their flag meaningful and have validity.

 

One of the tools we use is RECOGNITION. Patrol competitions call for recognition. We use blue, red and yellow feathers with leather loops prepared as for warbonnet mounting. 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place awards by color for patrol competition results. Gee, its funny how those feathers automatically migrate to the patrol flags.

 

Baden-Powell taught us that recognition should be of no real value and the accomplisment itself held the value.

 

Cheers,

Ol' Thunder Fox

[ThunderFox]

Materials,

 

My personal preference is natural and weatherproof while it is sized to be comfortable for the smallest Scout in the patrol to be able to proudly carry it along with his gear.

 

I like a slender, sturdy forked branch with a lashed crossbar at the top suspending a small leather banner. Designs "woodburned" into the leather and highlighted with leather dyes are long lasting and weatherproof. The fabrication should be a group effort by the patrol members with only adult info when asked.

 

IMHO Cheers,

Ol' Thunder Fox

[AlabamaDan]

This is good stuff! I'm implementing the usage of Den flags in our Pack, most especially in the Webelos dens. I saw the usage of them at day camp this summer and the boys really liked it. I'd like to hear more about den and patrol flags.

[ThunderFox]

Dan,

Careful here. Den Flags & Patrol flags have different purposes and are in two different programs. If you bring too much of "Boy Scouting" into Cub Scouting, you run the risk of damaging both experiences. I encourage you to look in Cub Scout Leader information for the correct use of Den Flags, especially Tiger, Wolf & Bear dens. Also ask some of the long time District Cub Scout Leaders.

 

Yours in Scouting,

Old Thunder Fox