Re: LONE SCOUT PLAN
Settummanque, ("MAJ)
Sat, 26 Oct 1996 19:03:45 -0500
Hi Berle!
You're moving to France, which is served by the Transatlantic Council, BSA.
Here's their address and phone number; you would want to talk with the
Council Scout Executive, Ron Brown. He'll probably get you with the Registrar
but the way that things are moving here, I'm sure that you would want to
talk with
him first.
The "Lone Scout Plan" is something that the BSA has been using since it's
inception in 1908 and its incorporation in 1910. Basically, the plan allows
your
sons to continue Scouting through registration with the nearest local Council
(in this case, TAC). You will have to register as a "Lone Scout Friend and
Counsellor" and be a combination Scoutmaster, primary merit badge counsellor,
and Troop Committee chair all rolled into one position. You will receive direct
service from the TAC like all unit leaders would, and would be invited to attend
District and Council-level activities and events, like any other unit. The only
thing is, your "unit" consists of your sons (and any other American citizens
that
you can find...if you happen to find five, which is why I recommend you calling
TAC...they may have the other four for you....then you have enough for a UNIT
and won't need the Lone Scout Plan to carry you through....)
The program allows your sons to continue their Scouting and by a combination of
substitutions and modifications, allow them to complete all requirements for
merit
badges and rank up to and including Eagle. Boards of Review are conducted
through
coordination with Scouters living near or in the country and the Council,
with approval
done as with any other local Council. Things run a little slower and you
will develop
a closer relationship with the District Executive and Commissioner for your
country
than many of your peers Stateside would have.
I've been a Lone Scout before, when my father was assigned to military
duties which
took him (and me) outside of the "boundaries" of TAC, which changes each fiscal
year. That's the other reason why I recommend calling and talking with him;
the
boundaries of the Council may have shifted again and you may be in Direct
Service
Council's area instead of TAC, in which case you will receive direct service
(hence
the name) from the BSA's National Offices and from the European Regional Office
(which doubles as the European District of the DSC) of the WOSM in Switzerland.
The Lone Scout program is a good experience but it's NOT as good as being in
a unit.
For one thing, it's hard to elect yourself to the Order of the Arrow, and
over in the
OA forum, we've talked about ways that the OA can make some changes if they
choose to do so. For another thing, it's hard to complete some requirements
with
Scouts like "teach a Scout a skill" unless you do it with a non-Scout member
(which
is what happens a lot).
You register or transfer like you would into any unit or Council. In your
son's cases,
they would be transferring to the TAC or Direct Service Council from the Council
they are registered in presently, with no loss of tenure. When it comes time to
come back to the States, you receive a transfer form from the Council which you
take to the new local Council in the States and you're all set.
The Transatlantic Council's office address is:
TAC/BSA, Stem Kaserne, TAC/BSA, Stem Kaserne Bldg#1002
Unit # 29242 APO AE 09102 68232 Mannheim, FRG
I don't have the Council's phone number handy, but I do have the DE's phone
number of the District that would probably handle you...Jack Gaylord's phone
number is 049-0631-536-7447/6887 . If you have access to the Defense Switching
Network (DSN), his DSN number is 489-7447/6887
>I've reviewed information on the BSA home page and wrote the BSA
>International Division a letter this summer requesting additional
>information, but I've had no response.
The BSA's International Division, like all divisions within the BSA's National
Office, hasn't warmed up to email yet, so they don't have a outward email
address. However, they do have a commercial phone number which is
214-580-2000. I believe that their extension is 2137, but that was when they
were a lot larger. They may have, and I'm pretty sure of it, forwarded your
letter to the Direct Service Council, which is undergoing some structural
changes
and therefore your letter like the others are waiting for new staffers; or
it may
already be at TAC, which is *why I ask that you give them a call* first.
Hang on...I'm going to look one other place for a civilian number for the
Council
office:
Okay...here it is: 049-0621730-7087 or 7039.
Hope the information is of help and is timely...sorry for the long delay in
responding to your request. Let us all know how things go!!
Settummanque!
-----
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle)
http://www.vhm.com/~uscardnl/
(Brigade) Signal Officer, TF 21, 21st Theater Army Area Command
Kaiserslautern, Federal Republic of Germany
"everything I say is "on the record"; speaking ONLY for myself unless indicated"
personal inquiries via blkeagle@midwest.net or kyblkeagle@aol.com
professional inquiries via waltonm%po2.hq@taacom.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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