Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post - Boy Scouts and how it has Helped you in the military

Flagg · 07-31-2012, 18:06

1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts

Nope.....never had the opportunity...but spent a lot of time as a kid in the woods with my BB gun learning by trial and mostly error.

My two young fellas have started NZ Scouts and have already earned their first 3 badges

2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank. (I am sure that there are several other Eagles on the board)

N/A for me

My two young fellas have been in for a couple months now...and we have another Scout meeting tonight.

3. How did your Scout training help you in your military life or your Civilian life.

N/A for me

I hope it helps our fellas.

4. Did your Scout training guide you toward your decision to go SF.

N/A for me

But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't currently conducting "influencing operations" on my fellas to hopefully shape them towards serving their country....preferably in the Army...and hopefully a step or three beyond their old man if that's the path they choose.

5.... Any other comments about Scouts and the Military.
etc etc etc

I guess what has motivated my wife and I to encourage our children to become involved with NZ Scouts is reading about how Scouting is a frequent common denominator for business leaders, astronauts, SF, high achievers, etc.

So we figured, "let's do that too".

My next comments may not be totally aligned with this thread but I was unable to find any others(hopefully my search skills were up to scratch) on the forum.

We've(meaning "I" with my wife's full support) been trying to take baby steps in turning up the heat on our fellas in hopes of forging them in the appropriate direction in terms of life skills, attitude, and hopefully mindset

I am NOT SF, but I have successfully completed an "SF-like" assessment course that would appear to share some of the same goals and objectives of courses like Ranger School and SFAS...as best I can tell from open source.

I've also been invited back a couple times and am still involved on the instructing side of the house(only as a junior instructor working under some quite experienced SF folks) for the same assessment course.

What has intrigued me the most is the mental/psychological side(having seen it from both sides now) of it......but I'm only at the stage where my eyes have truly been opened, but I'm not a full time SME practitioner...so I could be at the "a little knowledge can be very dangerous" stage.

We have been trying to instill in our children the "don't quit" attitude that can often be tested and experienced in activities such as sport.

We've also been pushing them harder as they grow with trying to develop more self-reliance and to learn how to deal with ambiguity with confidence.

But my fear is that I don't want to turn into "that Dad" like the stories about Todd Marinovich in the NFL.

I guess where I'm personally looking for guidance as a Dad in training to a couple young kids is how to better help them develop the appropriate mindset that seems to differentiate SF from Regular Force personnel and high achievers in civilian life from the less successful.

As stated, I couldn't find a thread on life experiences when young that positively shaped and influenced folks to achieve success in SF and elsewhere. I wonder if some specific life experiences or family upbringing/parental expectations would present "clusters of considerable success" much like Scouts?

07-31-2012, 18:06	#111
Flagg Area Commander Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,423	1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts Nope.....never had the opportunity...but spent a lot of time as a kid in the woods with my BB gun learning by trial and mostly error. My two young fellas have started NZ Scouts and have already earned their first 3 badges 2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank. (I am sure that there are several other Eagles on the board) N/A for me My two young fellas have been in for a couple months now...and we have another Scout meeting tonight. 3. How did your Scout training help you in your military life or your Civilian life. N/A for me I hope it helps our fellas. 4. Did your Scout training guide you toward your decision to go SF. N/A for me But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't currently conducting "influencing operations" on my fellas to hopefully shape them towards serving their country....preferably in the Army...and hopefully a step or three beyond their old man if that's the path they choose. 5.... Any other comments about Scouts and the Military. etc etc etc I guess what has motivated my wife and I to encourage our children to become involved with NZ Scouts is reading about how Scouting is a frequent common denominator for business leaders, astronauts, SF, high achievers, etc. So we figured, "let's do that too". My next comments may not be totally aligned with this thread but I was unable to find any others(hopefully my search skills were up to scratch) on the forum. We've(meaning "I" with my wife's full support) been trying to take baby steps in turning up the heat on our fellas in hopes of forging them in the appropriate direction in terms of life skills, attitude, and hopefully mindset I am NOT SF, but I have successfully completed an "SF-like" assessment course that would appear to share some of the same goals and objectives of courses like Ranger School and SFAS...as best I can tell from open source. I've also been invited back a couple times and am still involved on the instructing side of the house(only as a junior instructor working under some quite experienced SF folks) for the same assessment course. What has intrigued me the most is the mental/psychological side(having seen it from both sides now) of it......but I'm only at the stage where my eyes have truly been opened, but I'm not a full time SME practitioner...so I could be at the "a little knowledge can be very dangerous" stage. We have been trying to instill in our children the "don't quit" attitude that can often be tested and experienced in activities such as sport. We've also been pushing them harder as they grow with trying to develop more self-reliance and to learn how to deal with ambiguity with confidence. But my fear is that I don't want to turn into "that Dad" like the stories about Todd Marinovich in the NFL. I guess where I'm personally looking for guidance as a Dad in training to a couple young kids is how to better help them develop the appropriate mindset that seems to differentiate SF from Regular Force personnel and high achievers in civilian life from the less successful. As stated, I couldn't find a thread on life experiences when young that positively shaped and influenced folks to achieve success in SF and elsewhere. I wonder if some specific life experiences or family upbringing/parental expectations would present "clusters of considerable success" much like Scouts?
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