Boy Scouts of America - a brief introduction

Yesterday, in a very welcome break from the cloud cover that seems to be perpetually hanging over Los Angeles this month, I was given my first experience of the Boy Scouts of America. And you know what? I absolutely loved it! And it gave me a great chance to learn a bit more about the structure of the BSA, which I will try to relate here.

The first event I went to, with Second Cousins Oliver and Ben, was a Pack 718's rocket launch. The premise was simple; make a rocket out of paper an tape that would be stuck on a tube attached to a compressed air cylinder; the Cubmaster released the pressure, and hey presto! Rockets!

At the launch I saw lots of cubs with different coloured hats; orange, yellow and blue. These referred to different ranks of Cub Scouts; Tigers, Wolves, and Bears (ranks are a recurrent theme here in BSA). Each one is given a different scarf and cap to wear as part of their uniform, which is a dark blue shirt. The whole group is called the "pack", the same as the UK, and within the pack the kids are split into 'Dens'. Dens are very similar to UK Cub Scouts' 'Sixes', and are led by one Cub called a 'Denner', but each Den is also lead by a Cubmaster and meets separately to the other dens, each week; once a month the whole pack gets together for an activity like the rocket launch I saw. The Dens are normally based on age and rank, so you will end up with a Den of Tiger Cubs, Wolf Cubs, or Bear Cubs. After Bear cubs there is a rank called Webelos; Webelos means "WE'll BE LOyal Scouts", and focuses on the transition up to the Boy Scouts, and they wear green caps (or, according to good old Wikipedia, they can wear the Boy Scout uniform with blue shoulder loops!).

The rocket launch was a lot of fun; paper and sellotape everywhere, pens that didn't quite work properly to decorate the rockets with, big fun-loving Cubmasters manning the pneumatic rocket guns, and an atmosphere of organised chaos hanging over the whole scene. But we weren't there for too long; I had been invited to Troop 718's Honor Court! Now I know what you're thinking; what is an Honor Court?

I wasn't expecting this, to be honest with you, but I was secretly hoping for it (source)

Well, an Honor court is a formal event at which the Scouts are awarded their badges; this is different to the UK, where badges are normally given out at the end of meetings. The event was MC'd by two of the older scouts, who called up their fellows individually for their merit badges. It was here I learnt that Boy Scouts wear their merit badges on a sash; it was very confusing at first because in the UK only Brownie Guides wear sashes!

Cub Scouts actually wear their badges on their belts, which
I personally think is brilliant. If they earn the second stage
of each merit badge they get to wear a pin on their shirts, too

After Merit badges, rank advancements were awarded. The ranks represent a Boy Scout's advancement through the section, and is the path that ultimately results in the title of Eagle Scout; the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. I didn't get a chance to learn all the ranks, and for this I think it would be cheating to look them up on Wikipedia, so I will have to try and learn them from another scout when I next meet some! The ranks I did see were Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, and Life Scout; Life Scouts, I believe, are only one rank away from being Eagle Scouts.

After the awards had been presented, I was honoured to be given a chance to talk about my trip, and to try to enthuse the kids with an international curiosity. In the US, Boy Scouts range from 10.5 years to 17, so there was a wide range of ages to talk to, from those who would simple enjoy talking to a foreign pen-pal to those who are in a position to start thinking about making their own international adventures, and make their own friends in other countries. And I also knew that my public speaking skills were getting better; I kept the kids interested even though I was standing between them and food, games, and pie eating!

"Dude, shall we just push him out the way and eat pie?"

"Wait until the leaders start looking bored first, man"

Speaking of pies... if you watch this YouTube video you can see what happened when I was invite to take part in the Boy Scouts' pie toss...

Did you watch it? If you did, then you will have met my cousins Ben and Oliver! (Ben was the one who threw the last pie). It was ok though, we all made friends in the end...

Ice cream, the healer of all pie-related conflict