Exploring/Venture/Sea Scouting
William H. Sills (whs@idcnet.com)
Tue Apr 21 10:01:45 1998
Perhaps, everyone will be interested in some comments upon Gordon Cooke 's
queries.
(1), Venture Crews in troops will remain in the Boy Scout Division. They
probably will have a name change;
(2), Sea Scouting was created by General Lord Baden Powell and his elder
brother Admiral Warington Baden Powell as the older boy program of the Boy
Scout Association. Warington, the skipper, and George Baden Powell, the
navigator, built boats, sailed all over the waters of the UK and camped
either at anchor or on the beach. They took their younger brother Robert,
the Cabin Boy, with them on their adventures. Thus, Sea Scouting was the
genesis of the Scouting movement.
Sea Scouting was always a separate division of the US BSA. It came
over the ocean at the same time as the BSA and became official in 1912. Its
nautical system of ranks and terminology began then and the present system
has remained basically the same since National Director of Sea Scouting
Commander Thomas J. Keane developed it in 1925. Until after World War II,
Sea Scout Ships were very closely affiliated with Boy Scout Troops with the
skipper and Scoutmaster often being the same individual.
In the 1930s, the BSA organized Rover Scout Crews and Explorer Scout
Posts ("The old Green Weanies"). Sea Scouting was very large and successful
so it was thought that Rovers could retain older youth and the Explorer
Scouts would appeal to many youth not in ships. The Ranger and Silver Award
track were developed on the same lines as the traditional Sea Scouting
Quartermaster Award program of Apprentice Sea Scout, Ordinary SS, Able SS
and Quartermaster.
At the end of WW II, Air Scout Squadrons were organized and they were
given the Air Scout ACE Award advancement track. Thus, the BSA had covered
all of the bases. They had Rover Crews for the older youth, Ships for the
traditionalists and nautically oriented, Squadrons for the youth fascinated
by aeronautics and Posts for the rock climbers, hikers and canoeists, etc.
There was a veritable potpourri available to youth in the USA.
Unfortunately, the Chief Scout Executive James A. West had retired and his
vision had retired with him. Thence arose the focus on numbers to the
detriment of quality. Career Awareness Exploring was the new toy.
Traditional ships, crews, squadrons and posts were de-emphasized. Career
Awareness Posts were emphasized to the point that service was essentially
discontinued for traditional units. Finally, in the massacre of 1965, Air
Scout Squadrons and the Ace track was abolished. Explorer Scout Posts (as
well as their crews) and Rover Scout Crews were discontinued as were the
Ranger and Silver Award tracks. All posts were the same, only an interest
code on their charter distinguished them at all.
Only the Sea Scouts REMAINED separate with its traditional Fleet
Commodore, Chief Boatswain (youth) and Committee, its regional Flotilla
Commodores, Chief Boatswain and Committees, its Area Task Force commodores,
Chief Boatswains and committees, its local council squadrons and commodores,
Chief Boatswains and committees and its Sea Scout Ships, ship committees,
skippers and mates, boatswains, coxswains and crews. The Sea Scouts also
were able to retain their professional National Director of Sea Scouting.
However, the BSA officially called the Sea Scouts, "SEA EXPLORERS" but,
except for that and more benign neglect nothing changed. Sea Scouting was
administered within the Exploring Division.
A once in a lifetime opportunity has arisen for all Senior
Scouting outdoors programs. We all have had our own identities restored.
Explorer Scouts are now Venturers, the SAME AS THE REST OF THE WORLD!!! Sea
Scouts have officially the name traditional ships never gave up. We are all
able to market our programs properly now that we have readily identifiable
names to fit our programs.
The fog of confusion evinced by Gordon's query will dissipate and
our traditional, Scouting programs will no longer be smothered by the
octopus called Career Awareness Exploring.
Now, if Venturing and Sea Scouting will work together, we may have
the smallest but certainly we will have the highest quality traditional
Scouting Division in the BSA!!!
Yours In Sea Scouting;
Bill Sills
> crews part of the Boy Scout program? If they move High Adventure
> Explorer units to Venture Crews than what about the Explorers over 18
> and the female scouts? I also always thought that Seas Scouts was a
> branch of the Explorer program, like Police and Fire Explorers have
> national councils. Are there Sea Explorer posts that arent Sea scout
> ships? That would seem a logical move if there are.
>
> -Buddy
> P2609
> S168
> T68
> Hudson Valley Council, NY
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