Wow!

[CA_Scouter 11]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html?_r=2&hp

 

 

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More

 

IMPERIAL, Calif. Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor.

 

The responding officers eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots BAM! BAM! fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.

 

United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up! screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued.

 

It is all quite a step up from the square knot.

 

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence an intense ratcheting up of one of the groups longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

 

This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl, said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriffs deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.

 

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out active shooters, like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

 

Put him on his face and put a knee in his back, a Border Patrol agent explained. I guarantee that hell shut up.

 

One participant, Felix Arce, 16, said he liked the discipline of the program, which was something he said his life was lacking. I want to be a lawyer, and this teaches you about how crimes are committed, he said.

 

Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.

 

I like shooting them, Cathy said. I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.

 

If there are critics of the content or purpose of the law enforcement training, they have not made themselves known to the Explorers national organization in Irving, Tex., or to the volunteers here on the ground, national officials and local leaders said. That said, the Explorers have faced problems over the years. There have been numerous cases over the last three decades in which police officers supervising Explorers have been charged, in civil and criminal cases, with sexually abusing them.

 

Several years ago, two University of Nebraska criminal justice professors published a study that found at least a dozen cases of sexual abuse involving police officers over the last decade. Adult Explorer leaders are now required to take an online training program on sexual misconduct.

 

Many law enforcement officials, particularly those who work for the rapidly growing Border Patrol, part of the Homeland Security Department, have helped shape the programs focus and see it as preparing the Explorers as potential employees. The Explorer posts are attached to various agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police and fire departments, that sponsor them much the way churches sponsor Boy Scout troops.

 

Our end goal is to create more agents, said April McKee, a senior Border Patrol agent and mentor at the session here.

 

Membership in the Explorers has been overseen since 1998 by an affiliate of the Boy Scouts called Learning for Life, which offers 12 career-related programs, including those focused on aviation, medicine and the sciences.

 

But the more than 2,000 law enforcement posts across the country are the Explorers most popular, accounting for 35,000 of the groups 145,000 members, said John Anthony, national director of Learning for Life. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many posts have taken on an emphasis of fighting terrorism and other less conventional threats.

 

Before it was more about the basics, said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.

 

The law enforcement posts are restricted to those ages 14 to 21 who have a C average, but there seems to be some wiggle room. I will take them at 13 and a half, Deputy Lowenthal said. I would rather take a kid than possibly lose a kid.

 

The law enforcement programs are highly decentralized, and each post is run in a way that reflects the culture of its sponsoring agency and region. Most have weekly meetings in which the children work on their law-enforcement techniques in preparing for competitions. Weekends are often spent on service projects.

 

Just as there are soccer moms, there are Explorers dads, who attend the competitions, man the hamburger grill and donate their land for the simulated marijuana field raids. In their training, the would-be law-enforcement officers do not mess around, as revealed at a recent competition on the state fairgrounds here, where a Ferris wheel sat next to the police cars set up for a felony investigation.

 

Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, Separate your feet! as she moved to handcuff her suspect.

 

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. If were looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like, he said, then maybe your role-player would look like that. I dont know, would you call that politically incorrect?

 

Authenticity seems to be the goal. Imperial County, in Southern California, is the poorest in the state, and the local economy revolves largely around the criminal justice system. In addition to the sheriff and local police departments, there are two state prisons and a large Border Patrol and immigration enforcement presence.

 

My uncle was a sheriffs deputy, said Alexandra Sanchez, 17, who joined the Explorers when she was 13. Alexandras police uniform was baggy on her lithe frame, her airsoft gun slung carefully to the side. She wants to be a coroner.

 

I like the idea of having law enforcement work with medicine, she said. This is a great program for me.

 

And then she was off to another bus hijacking.

 

Next Article in US (1 of 38) A version of this article appeared in print on May 14, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.

 

 

[BadenP 93]

Personally, I do not see this type of program as anything but a negative for the BSA. Whats next do they give these kids live ammo, put them on the border and let them take shots at Mexicans trying to get across the border? All this unit really is, an extension of the fear and paranoia of the previous eight years instilled by the former guy in the White House, and is certainly not anything to be proud of for the BSA.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Exploring, as part of the Learning for Life program, has a goal of teaching vocational Skills. From the article it looks like the economy of Imperial County is based on criminal activity and at least this Post is on the side of the law.

 

Maybe this is what Beavah talks about when he says that the program has to have the flexibility to offer what the community needs. I think thats what Beavah says, I could be wrong.

 

I mean here we have youth who most likely shoot guns at human targets and its ok, how neat is that?

[BadenP 93]

OGE you got to be kidding with that last post. Why don't we have a post to teach these kids how to be snipers, or conduct prostitution stings, or how about stealing and stripping cars, all these are vocations too. This kind of cr*p that passes itself off as Scouting is nothing more than irresponsible and immoral behavior, much like your last post. Any activity whose primary purpose is to teach youth how to kill has no place in scouting, period. And scouting wonders why they have the image they do.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

And here I thought Learning for Life was not scouting, can't be as it take governmental money to conduct programs for all youth

 

[Merlyn_LeRoy 72]

BadenP, note that this is an Explorer Post, so technically it is *not* passing itself off as Scouting.

[Stosh 3452]

I've been working off and on for 40 years with Exploring/Venturing and think what these kids are doing is just great! I organized fire, police, emergency medical posts back in the 70's that actually did much of the non-lethal work of the departments. Maybe all they did was haul fire hoses, directed traffic and manned a first aid station, but these kids were learning lessons that fit in with their career interests. To me that's a program that really meets the needs of the youth they serve.

 

I currently do a military Civil War reenactment group where I teach military leadership and tactics as part of the program. Currently I have one former member fully disabled for his service in the US Marines, having been severely wounded in Baghdad combat. Another right now is serving in Afganistan and a third in Iraq. I have a current member in ROTC training as I write.

 

I have former scouts that have enlisted in all branches of the military and many have commented how scouting had prepared them for many of the challenges of military service. One of my former scouts is a US Naval Academy graduate and served in the first Gulf War.

 

To critize the efforts of this CA group is to say leadership training for tomorrow's leaders shouldn't be done until after they become adults? If my training these boys to respect weapons, handle them correctly, watch out for their buddies in any small way gives them an edge in a fire-fight in Afganistan, then I'm a happy camper and proud of it.

 

Just be thankful we have a program that safety introduces them into service to our country that may some day require a great sacrifice on their part to accomplish.

 

Remember the old scout adage that everyone expounds on in the forum? "There's no such thing as too much training! - Be Prepared!" I go to bed every night thankful for young people like these that make my night a safe one, both tonight and tomorrow night as well.

 

Every boy in my troop and crew may indeed be called upon to fight terrorists. I hope I have done my part to get him/her ready.

 

Stosh

[BadenP 93]

Gee, there is a Neo-Nazi training camp about fifty miles away from me, maybe they could become an LFL post too, what great things they could do. Stosh as a DE I started several law enforcement posts and NONE of them ever trained the kids to kill, so your analogy really doesn't hold up and your "BUSH" sentiments are really out of line for 14 year old teens. Heck, lets change the GSS to allow all scouts to have lethal firearms training in order to "keep our country safe and make my night a safe one",lol, Stosh that really is a load of bull. To me if you guys are typical of the scouting leadership today then maybe it is time to let the organization die why it still has a modicum of respect left.

[Stosh 3452]

And how many law enforcement posts/crew are out there with kids that believe they will never be put in a life or death situation? Kids today don't want pie-in-the-sky from adults, they are a bit more focused and serious than many want to give them credit for. If BSA is going to meet the interests of these kids, they had better keep doing it in a way that prepares them for reality. Are police trained to kill? No, they are trained to protect and serve. Is there a possibility that sometime in their law enforcement career that they may need to kill? Yep. Has BSA done their job to open their eyes to this possibility? I hope so. Kids will see through the hypocracy of mamby-pamby rather quickly and move on to other interests. I'm thinking BSA is on the right track.

 

Let's drop the politics out of it and get our kids ready for the real world. I grew up in a world that meant I could possibly be killed by some Viet Cong, kids today know it's some terrorist. A law enforcement officer know it's some domestic violence perpetrator. It's time to show our older scouts that there's more to being an adult than being a happy-camper.

 

Stosh

[BadenP 93]

Stosh

 

What you are talking about is politics. The reality of your youth is NOT the reality of teens today. Law enforcement is all about protecting and saving lives, and the use of deadly force is taught to them ONLY to be used as a last resort. I guess we can agree to disagree then IMHO the teaching of killing another human being has no place in scouting or any program affiliated with scouting.(This message has been edited by BadenP)

[Stosh 3452]

My apologies for the double post, but I wanted to add something and I couldn't go back and edit my former post.

 

We have a Venturing Crew in our council that is located at Ft. McCoy, a US Army fort here in the state. This crew is made up of men and women who are given a chance to avoid jail time if they go through the program. It is basically adult led and I'm pretty sure there is no president, vice-president, etc. The crew came out to one of our camporees and hosted all the competition events. They arrived by bus, got out and stood in formation without moving an inch until the leaders worked out the last minute details with the district staff. Once assigned they marched to their stations and instructed the boys on what the competition was all about and how to do each of the tasks. Their presentations were precise and military in demeanor. At the canoe competition, one of the crew members accidentally fell in the drink early in the morning and spent the rest of the day sitting in the bus after informing the crew advisor at the top of his lungs he was unfit to complete his task. Every question was answered with a "Sir" at the end of it and every time a crew member spoke to an adult it included "Sir or "Ma'am". It was obvious that none of these crew members wanted to be there and were looking forward to getting out of Scouts. However, as successful as this program worked, it was and has been sanctioned by BSA for over 10 years now. I often wonder if these crew members ever wished they had opted for jail. The group is called Challenge Academy and by everything I have heard has been very successful. I'm thinking that the discipline these people have to endure makes the California crew look like Micky Mouse.

 

Am I in favor of such work? I don't know, but it does work for most of the kids and so I'm not going to pick it apart and call it some kind of a Neo-Nazi outfit. Even my reenacting group has been described as more disciplined that ROTC training by those who have been involved in both, so does that make my kids Neo-Nazis? When they wear their NC uniforms and go as confederates does that make them a racist hate-group? Get real people.

 

Yes, Venture crew youth can handle handguns, they can go on organized hunts and do all kinds of things that prepare them for the future. Why would BSA sanction the learning of handguns if it were not for self-protection, (yes, killing someone else if one is forced to), because unless one is handicapped, handgun hunting is not allowed in our state. Every activity right down to the Whitlin' Chit can be viewed as handling weapons if one wishes to stretch it far enough.

 

As far as the politics go, I do believe BP, you dropped it in with your first post.

 

Stosh(This message has been edited by jblake47)

[scoutldr 726]

I too was in an Explorer Post in the 70's ...fire and rescue. At that time in my life, it was a blast and the only thing that kept me in Scouting. I finished my Eagle as an Explorer, did three 50 milers, did Hurricane Camille search and rescue from a Huey helicopter, staffed all the council events with our hand-me-down ambulance, responded to fires and did the grunt work (cleanup and salvage operations). Took all the same training as a fully qualified firefighter...including heavy-duty rescue/vehicle extrication. The Post went co-ed during that time, and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Too bad the reporter missed the fine nuances of LFL, starting with the headline. They are not technically "Scouts". I think it's great. (and yes, the Scouts already get training in "lethal weapons"...we call it the "rifle range")

[BadenP 93]

Stosh, Stosh, Stosh

 

How on earth is going on hunts and teaching teens about taking a human life preparing them for the future? Hunting was a necessity in humanity's earlier history in order to survive, but today it is little more than an archaic and bloody trophy sport that serves NO useful purpose. As far as self protection is concerned, to learn how to use a gun for target shooting is one thing, but most law enforcement professionals will tell you that home gun owners wind up having that gun used on them by a criminal or a member of their own family than the owner ever uses it to "protect" themselves.

 

When I was a DE I had an Explorer post in my district, pre LFL, only for youth who got in trouble with the law and were given a choice of going to this post or juvenile detention, but instead of guns they were granted a special charter by National for a focus on Tai Kwon Do, the emphasis was on learning the mental discipline to control their feelings of anger and rage and to refocus them on the technique of the martial art, instead of hurting others.

 

While guns do have their place in scouting, using them to teach teens how to kill other human beings has NO place in scouting. Knives, axes, etc. are tools used in scouting for learning and performing certain skills, not as weapons.

 

[Beavah 205]

From the article it looks like the economy of Imperial County is based on criminal activity and at least this Post is on the side of the law.

 

Yah, despite da liberal spin/bias of the NYTimes, I don't think yeh read that right. It was that the economy of the county is poor, and based largely on law enforcement - including two major prisons, plus da border patrol, customs & immigration officials, etc. Probably most of these kids' parents are involved in law enforcement related jobs.

 

Fact is, the types of units that exist depend on the sort of adult volunteers available. I don't reckon this county is goin' to have a lot of BSA Teams chartered to offer competitive hockey.

 

Maybe this is what Beavah talks about when he says that the program has to have the flexibility to offer what the community needs. I think thats what Beavah says, I could be wrong.

 

Sure. In a cursory read, there is nothing here which is a violation of da G2SS or any other BSA rule. Remember that Law Enforcement posts and crews are exempt from the G2SS paintball/lasertag/simulated weapons pointed at humans prohibition. And it seems to meet da needs of these kids, the community they serve, and da mission of the Chartering Organization.

 

Not every troop needs to be chartered to organizations da political left find cuddly.

 

Beavah

 

[OldGreyEagle 5]

No, I think I read it correctly, the economy is heavily tilted towards what may be called "Crminal justice' and you are right, thats where the jobs are. I didnt mean to imply anything else

 

Beavah, this may be an instance of identifying a need of what many would consider a key demographic of this area. And I agree, it seems like they are doing fine, its not up to us who know nothing of the program other than a few sentences to judge it harshly, well judge it at all.

 

Now, if I can only remember those words next time in the Advancement Sections?