Is the real patrol method dead?

[Armymutt]

I've been reading the 1941 Handbook for Scoutmasters and it reminded me of something I read as a kid in my first Boy Scout Handbook, 9th edition.  To make sure I wasn't misremembering, I pulled it off the shelf and on page 17, it discusses Patrol Hikes and Camps.  It says "Good patrols go overnight camping by themselves."  The 10th edition dilutes the encouragement and makes it more of a possibility.  By the 12th edition, the notion of a Patrol doing something without the rest of the troop isn't even an idea.  Just to make sure it wasn't a Green Bar Bill anomaly, I went back to the 7th edition and found a similar idea as the 9th.  Even as a youth, I always thought it would be fun to have a patrol campout, but we were pretty limited due to transportation.  Even the SA website says, "Patrol Activities - A Scout patrol may camp or hike with other patrols in the unit."  This sounds suspiciously like "Only troop camping is allowed", which is a bit like Cub Scouts, with the exception of the Webelos and AOL dens.  Even the G2SS has eliminated any mention of patrol outings.  

If a troop is supposed to be made up of patrols and not split into patrols, then shouldn't the focus be on patrol-level activities?