Assistant Patrol Leader and Advancement

[whitney679 10]

I would like to know if there are established and written guidelines that prohibit a boy scout, who holds an assistant patrol leadership postion, from advancing to the next rank if all other criteria have been met?

[scoutldr 732]

For the ranks that require successful service in a Position of Responsibility (POR), APL does not count. Must be PL or a troop level POR such as SPL, Scribe, Quartermaster, etc.

[scottteng 11]

What rank? Asst. PL is not a troop POR as required for Star and above advancement. Up to First class he should be able to advance normally.

"While a First Class Scout, serve actively for 4 months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (or carry out a Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project to help the troop):"

The Scout looking to advance without a POR should ask his scoutmaster to assign a project.

[Beavah 205]

Yah, Whitney679, as others have mentioned, there's no obstacle to achieving Tenderfoot, Second Class, or First Class, if in fact all other expectations for that rank have been met.

 

For Star or Life rank, a boy must "serve actively for four months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility: Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, or instructor."

 

Most troops don't use all of these different positions, so for example your troop might not have a historian or a bugler. Some troops use two boys in some positions, like having two Assistant Senior Patrol Leaders or two Quartermasters in a large troop. A few troops use Assistant PL's as "dual PL's" who participate in all the troop PLC's and who actually are responsible for leading patrol and troop outings, and they might get credit as PL or for a "scoutmaster assigned project."

 

In general, though, an Assistant Patrol Leader's role doesn't let a boy really develop the responsibility and planning skills that we want to teach 'em for Star or Life, and that they'll really need when they approach Eagle. And that's what we really care about, eh? Kids learnin' and growin', not just gettin' the next badge.

 

Be patient and don't push to hard. It's not a race, it's an expedition.

 

Beavah