Scouting's Military Traditions
Anthony Mako (ajmako@NLS.NET)
Thu, 1 Apr 1999 13:38:10 -0500
Please keep in mind that there is no such thing as an Official BSA
Drill Manual. I have seen troops that spend a great deal of time
marching, learning how to salute, stand at attention, stand at ease,
etc. None of this really has anything to do with Scouting, and the
more time spent on it, the less time there is for REAL Scouting stuff.
Military Traditions in the BSA:
There IS room for a little "military stiffness" on certain occasions
in Scouting. To my way of thinking, a typical flag ceremony in
Scouting should be somewhere between the normal civilian "oh, we're
supposed to stand up, what'll I do with my beer?" and the military
"stand straight, thumbs along seams, feet at 45 degree angles,
shoulders back, salute sharply, don't lock your knees, I hope the wind
doesn't blow too hard."
Most of the military style traditions present in Scouting were put
there by leaders who had served proudly in the military, and their
attitude was that Scouts _should_ salute sharply or stand straight.
Baden-Powell himself felt that way, but he wasn't too keen on letting
the "drill" get in the way of having a good time. Boy Scouting as a
concept may have been modeled after a military corps or military
training, but it was soon evident that Scouting wasn't about learning
how to march and salute properly. In the US, few of the founders of
the BSA were military men. Most were artists and frontiersmen, or
directly involved in social welfare. The first leaders of Scout troops
tended to be veterans and educators. After WWI, though, Scout troops
sponsored by the American Legion and VFW grew in number, and military
veterans made up a substantial percentage of Scout leaders.
In the 1940's and 1950's Scouting grew substantially, and veterans of
WWII or Korea replaced the older veterans as Scout leaders. The
military draft in the 1950's produced an overwhelming number of Scout
leaders who had served at least some time in the military. The 1960's
and 1970's may have included a period of decline for the BSA, but the
number of Scout leaders who were veterans remained pretty high. There
may have been a decline in the 1980's with respect to veterans
becoming Scout leaders, I'm not really sure, it seems possible given
the history of that decade.
As we get ready to put a lid on the 1990's, it is apparent that
military veterans still make up a good portion of the adult leaders in
the BSA at this time. I know my troop has three leaders who are
veterans, two of them war veterans. Our district staff includes at
least six veterans of military service (I think maybe half of them may
be war veterans). Given all this history, it's not hard to see why
there might be a military flavor to Scouting. It's not something that
was intended or caused by the BSA, though. It's the legacy of
generations of military veterans who saw Scouting as a way to foster
good citizenship and character in the youth of their community. I
think the overwhelming belief was: "if they are properly trained in
citizenship and develop a good character, perhaps they won't have to
go through what I went through."
YIS
A. J. Mako, ajmako@nls.net , Scoutmaster Troop 381
Home of the Unofficial Win95 Boy Scout Desktop Theme,
http://members.aol.com/Scouts381/
Old Portage District, Great Trail Council, BSA
"I used to be an Eagle (C-7-97), but I'll always be an Eagle (1981)"
AZ2 - United States Navy (1988-1996)
Plank Owner - Medium Attack Squadron One Five Five
Final Crewmember - USS Ranger (CV-61)
Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Southern
Watch, Operation Provide Comfort
