All Souls Episcopal Church, Washington DC
Similar to many BSA programs and activities, our troop is youth-led. There is the Senior Patrol Leader and the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader who are the 2 main youth leaders of the troop.
Every scout also belongs to a smaller group of 5-8 members within the Troop called a Patrol. All Patrol names are chosen by the scouts. Currently, the Troop has 4 patrols: Fire Phoenix, Blue Phoenix, Athena, and Falcons!
At the beginning of each semester, each Patrol elects a scout to serve as Patrol Leader and another girl as Assistant Patrol Leader. These 2 scouts run Patrol Meetings which usually occur every Troop meeting. Each Patrol has a patrol patch for your uniform, a patrol cheer, and have a patrol flag.
When the Troop meets on Saturday mornings, we break-up into Patrol meetings for part of the time to learn and plan things, such as the menu for an upcoming campout. When we go on hikes, camping or other activities we often break-up into our Patrols to do things. For example, all girls in a Patrol put their tents near each other during campouts. Patrols often compete against each other to sharpen and demonstrate their Scouting skills.
In June, the troop elects a Senior Patrol Leader (SPL). She is usually an experienced scout who has already earned at least the First Class rank. After she is elected, she appoints an Assistant Senior Patrol Leader (ASPL). The SPL is the head scout who, with the help of the Troop’s adult leaders and the ASPL, runs the Troop.
Apart from these 2 leadership positions, there are also many other important roles that help the Troop run smoothly:
All Patrol Leaders, along with the SPL, ASPL, and Troop Guide (makes sure new scouts feel welcome), usually meet every other Troop meeting, forming a group called the Patrol Leader’s Council (PLC). PLC meetings are run by the SPL. They plan campouts, hikes, and other activities such as a bicycle trip or a Halloween party.
This is a group of scouts appointed by the SPL with the help of the ASPL. These are more specialized roles including a Quartermaster (manages all of the Troop’s supplies and inventory), a Historian (records memorable events of the Troop’s history), and more.
This group also meets every other meeting, when the PLC is not meeting, and it is led by the ASPL. These meetings are used to make sure everyone’s job is going well and to address anything that might need some tweaking.
Because of the numerous leadership positions, every scout will have the opportunity to be a leader.
The Troop is lucky to have a group of adult women and men that help guide and teach scouts as they learn about Scouting, advance in ranks, and earn merit badges. These people include our Scoutmaster and several Assistant Scoutmasters. Together, they are called the Scoutmaster Staff. You can usually tell who they are because they tend to wear brown “Smokey the Bear” hats. They attend most of our Troop meetings and go with us on most of our trips.
They are very experienced with Scouting, keep us safe, and help youth leaders navigate the tricky fields of leadership. But most importantly, they have a good sense of what is right and wrong. They try to say and act in the same manner as any good adult role model in our lives (ex. Parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc.). The Scoutmaster Staff doesn’t lead the Troop – that is what our Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leaders do. But they help us steer us in the right directions and give us advice or help when we need it.
The Scoutmaster Staff is selected by our Troop Committee, which is a group of about 10 adults, and includes a representative of All Soul’s Church (where we meet). No adult can become a volunteer leader unless the representative of All Soul’s approves.
The Troop Committee also includes some of the parents/guardians of the scouts. It is a very important group that does a number of things:
The Troop also has a Chaplain who is also a religious leader of All Soul’s. Our Troop and the BSA believes that girls should follow the faith preferences of her family, and our Chaplain encourages that as well.
Finally, we have a parent support committee which includes all of the parents of girl members. This group helps with transportation needs and other tasks we need to accomplish to run the Troop.