How to attend..

[VentureScoutNY 10]

 

Ok, so I am attending the Jamboree as a guest. I am camping with my former Troop somewhere in the great state of Virginia. I am as most of you know an Eagle Scout and Venturer.

 

My two best friends are also fellow Eagle Scouts. One of them is 20 and the other is 21. They are no longer registered scouters in any way. They would like to go camping with me and the Troop, and also visit the Jamboree.

 

How can they jump aboard and camp with my troop? (we are not camping in a scout camp, probably state park).

 

I am thinking I should just talk to the Scoutmaster of the Troop and find out the details of guests camping with the Troop, since they are not registered with any Troop, or Crew.

 

Is this the best route to take?

 

[Eamonn 61]

Maybe I'm having a brain malfunction? But I don't understand what you are talking about.

You can't attend the Jamboree as a Troop guest. You participate in the Jamboree as a staff member or a troop member. Either way you have to pay fairly big bucks.

Do you mean that you will be visiting the Jamboree?

If this is the case the camping arrangements will be up to the person in charge of running that event.

I have to admit if I were the SM and you came up with the idea of having a couple of non Scout pals tagging along, I wouldn't be over joyed about it. But that's just me.

National is asking that units don't camp within 50 miles of AP Hill.

All visitors will require a photo ID.

Eamonn.

[Proud Eagle 13]

If I were the SM in your troop, I would make certain everyone going on the trip who is over 18 and not immediate family of one of the Scouts, be registered in BSA.

 

There are fine ways to bring along parents and families. There are reasons to bring along potential new recruits.

 

But what reason is there to bring along some extra adults who are no longer part of BSA?

 

Now, if they are willing to serve as actual leaders with the group, and are willing to fill out an application and pay the membership fee, and are willing to at least take some on-line training, I would probably be willing to let them pay their own ways and come along.

 

Another option would be, these two friends of your could simply camp in the same park you will be, at the same time. They could then go visit Jambo on the same day(s) your troop does and meet up with you.

 

However, I really must ask the question, why are you going on this trip? Are you planning on providing leadership to the troop and its youth, or are you simply going for your own enjoyment?

There is nothing wrong, per se, about going for the fun of it, but you are an adult now and that carries certain responsibilities. I had a bit of a hard time adjusting the idea of being an adult for the first year or so, and often thought I was going as a leader, when in truth I was still more of an overgrown Scout. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into here.

 

 

 

 

All of that aside, your SM is the person to talk to. Don't go to him asking how these guys can come along, go to him and ask if it would be possible for a pair of Eagle Scouts who are not affiliated with the troop to be part of the group going to visit the Jamboree. Also, make certain your friends understand they are adults now, and that if they go, they will be going as adult leaders (even if they are not registered, they will still have responsibilities) and as guests (someone else is in charge).

 

 

I can understand your enthusiasm, and that of your friends. After all, how often do you get to go to Jambo (even if just as a visitor) with two good friends? That being said, consider other alternatives if the three of you can not go with the troop. (Obviously if you have made a commitment to providing adult leadership and the troop is counting on you, then you should stick with the troop.) There is no reason 3 Eagle Scouts couldn't plan an independent visit to Jambo.

[SR540Beaver 116]

I'm going to make an assumption. You said you are an Eagle Scout and a Venturer and you want to go with your FORMER troop. My assumption is that you have aged out of Boy Scouts. Obviously your 20 and 21 year old friends have.

 

I don't know your relationship with your former troop or how the leadership does things. On the face of it, I wouldn't allow your friends to go and possibly not you. A troops outings program exists for a number of reasons. One is fun. Another is to learn, develop skills and advancement. I don't think I would want several non-family young adults coming along on a pleasure trip in the middle of a troop outing. I believe there could be some insurance issues as well. If I were just a parent instead of an ASM, I would hesitate to send my son out with an additional three people who are not part of the troop and that I've never met.

 

I probably have strong feelings about this because of a situation that happened last year in a troop that we used to belong to. We had a 17 year old boy who was a month away from aging out. This boy had the maturity of a 10 year old and was always causing problems with the new scouts. Many of us were counting the days until he was gone. He nad his dad who is a committee member got the bright idea to make his last campout his last hurrah birthday party and wanted to invite 3 or 4 of his friends and former scout buddies. Those of us with 11 year old sons who had only been in the troop for around 3 to 4 moths were less than thrilled. He occasionally had these friends show up towards the end of troop meetings to pick him up. We are talking boys with spiked hair, long black raincoats, etc. that would roam the church halls while we were in our meeting. We were new and didn't want to rock the boat. Most of us chose to skip that campout because we disagreed with the troop leadership over letting these older non-scout boys attend one of our outings.

 

Now, I have no doubt that you three Eagles are anything like what I described above. But the principle is the same. Scouting is for Scouts. The outings are part of the program we are providing. They should not be used as an weekend out for non-registered or non-family adults. You guys are old enough to go camp on your own. I don't believe you have to be attached to a troop or the BSA to visit the Jambo. I could be wrong.

[VentureScoutNY 10]

 

Thanks for the Responses. I will probably be asking the Scoutmaster when I get a chance about my fellow Eagle Scouts coming along. Proud Eagle, I will make sure they know what they are getting into. Knowing them better than I know myself soemtimes I know they would look forward to helping out in any way that they can to ensure that all of the young scouts on the Trip really get a lot out of the whole experience. Whether or not we all go with the Troop, or camp out nearby and meet up with them there, I know this will be a great Trip!