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Old 04-12-2009, 11:45   #16
Fiercely Loyal
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts
Yes. Started out in Cub Scouts, active in boy scouts up until I was 17, and I even was a Counselor for Cub Scout summer camp one summer.
2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank. (I am sure that there are several other Eagles on the board)
I only made it to Star. When I was 16 I went to a Military Youth Academy and turned 17 just two weeks after 9/11. I joined the military and had a lot less time for scouting.
3. How did your Scout training help you in your military life or your Civilian life.
I think that not having a father in my case it helped immeasurably provide me with a good moral foundation. It also taught me field craft that I put to use professionally and personally all the time. Being prepared!! I always have the gear I need and then some.
4. Did your Scout training guide you toward your decision to go SF.
Actually the training influences my decisions greatly pertaining to this. After my return from this deployment I'd like to attend selection. If I could get paid to camp and teach other people how to survive and fight, it wouldn't get much better.
5.... Any other comments about Scouts and the Military.
etc etc etc
GET INVOLVED!! If I didn't have scout leaders I have no idea how I'd be today.
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Old 04-12-2009, 21:15   #17
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?

Yes, for about 3 years.


2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank?

No, 2nd Class... Didn't make 1st Class, because I didn't get the hang of Morse code. Kinda funny, because I wound up being an 05B4S - 18E to you young bucks!

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

The fieldcraft skills learned in the troop and at Boy Scout summer camp have been very useful in both.

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

No.

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

I think Scouting is something every youngster should have the opportunity to experience. The quality of the experience is proportional to the quality of the leadership in the troop.
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Old 04-12-2009, 22:11   #18
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Looking back on my youth I wish I would have had the opportunity to spend some time with the Scouts. I think that it is a very positive thing for a young man to do. Unfortunately I grew up in a rural area and didn't have the chance. But in a sense growing up in the country did help me with the military in some ways because I spent a lot of time hiking, camping, fishing, and shooting.

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Old 04-13-2009, 09:54   #19
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?

Spent 4 years in Cub Scouts (no Tiger Scouts back in my day), earned the Arrow of Light; spent 7 years in Boy Scouts. I've been involved as an adult Scouter for the last 4 years at both the Cub Scout and Boy Scout level.


2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank?

Yes. Also OA. I wish I had stayed active after finishing my Eagle to apply my additional merit badges towards palms, but I got distracted by the fumes in high school--exhaust fumes and perfumes

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

In civilian life, it started me down the road to being self-sufficient and increased my comfort with living in the woods. It also broadened my understanding of citizenship and many other skills I may not have sought out to learn on my own (through earning various merit badges). On the mil side, it helped my fieldcraft, navigation, first aid knowledge and knots, and provided the seeds I'd later develop into my understanding and practice of leadership.

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

Not really, but I feel it gave me a leg up in some of the training, since I had done something similar to it before in Scouts (esp. the lashinging in SFAS)

5. Any other comments about Scouts and the military, etc.?

I find Scouting to be a great program. Sure, it has its faults, but the benefit derived is IMO far greater. Its served as a great opportunity for me to teach my boys many of the things I wanted them to learn growing up, and teaches them that hard work can indeed pay off.

Speaking of hard work, I recently happened across a letter from Mike Rowe to a Scout regarding earning the Eagle rank that was posted on another forum. I've attached it to this post. His stats are just a little off, but the point is still valid. The more I learn about this guy, the more I like him.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Mike_Rowe-Dirty_Jobs_Eagle_Letter[1].pdf (48.6 KB, 96 views)
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Old 04-13-2009, 10:13   #20
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Didn't make 1st Class, because I didn't get the hang of Morse code. Kinda funny, because I wound up being an 05B4S - 18E to you young bucks!
I can appreciate that one - I struggled with Morse code, too. Fortunately, learning semaphore (using signal flags to send messages) was an alternative back then and I was able to pass.

Richard's $.02
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Old 04-13-2009, 10:17   #21
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1. Yep, but I had problems with organizations with rules. . . didn't last much beyond 2nd Class. The troop I was involved in was big on climbing/camping/etc and less focused on rank.
2. Rank: see prior note.
3. Did Boy Scouts help me? As a kid, I was a whole bag of mess and BS was a good thing for me; should have stayed in longer rather than skipping out and going the petty criminal path (which, in it's own small way help prepare me for SF as well). Interestingly, I did a trip with some TACPs about a month a go up Mt. Rainier to do Cold weather training (snow caves, cold weather medicine) and it was the first time since I was 13 where I had built a snow cave. Good times.
4. Not really. . . I've always wanted to be a sneaky pete. I was a sneaky pete as a Boy Scout and it got me into a little bit of trouble then.
5. I think Scouting is a fantastic program and wholeheartedly support it. I've thought at times that I might want to be a Scout Master or work with Explorers if only I wouldn't leave for work on such a regular basis.
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Old 04-13-2009, 15:17   #22
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts
- Yes. Tiger Cubs , Weblos & Boy Scouts. My whole family including my mother who was the first woman to be inducted into tha Order of the Arrow was involved in scouting. My father was a Scoutmaster before I was born and was proud as hell the day he pinned my Eagle Badge on me.

2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank. (I am sure that there are several other Eagles on the board)
- Yes, Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow, Camp Cadre for 4 years, Bsa Lifeguard

3. How did your Scout training help you in your military life or your Civilian life.
- Leadership, Land Nav, Pioneering, Common Sense & Maturity. Ended up meeting the love of my life at summer camp! That was the Camp Nurses Daughter not my Scoutmaster

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

5.... Any other comments about Scouts and the Military.
etc etc etc
- It was better than sitting on the couch all summer playing video games and eating chips all day. Everthing I ever learned in the Scouts I have applied to my everyday life and has put me a step ahead of my peers at all times.
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Old 04-13-2009, 17:39   #23
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Originally Posted by WCH View Post
No, 2nd Class... Didn't make 1st Class, because I didn't get the hang of Morse code. Kinda funny, because I wound up being an 05B4S - 18E to you young bucks!
Guess the Scouts had Higher Standards than the Military.....

It kicked my ass also and I learned semaphore like Richard did.
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Old 04-14-2009, 10:17   #24
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Semaphore got me through my 1st Class requirements, too. When I was in RVN my Morse abilities were so bad that my four letter ID was ... .... .. -
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Old 04-14-2009, 15:36   #25
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Heading to Philmont Scout Ranch this Summer..Road Trip..
I remember getting my Arrowhead and my first 50 Miler award. It's something I took pleasure in earning. 614C2 (the number assigned to our group) is still burned into my head and it's been nearly 2 decades since I was there. Enjoy it every minute of it, I did.
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Old 04-28-2009, 11:03   #26
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?

Yes, Cub Scouts, Weblos and Boy Scouts.

2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank?

No, I got Life Scout. I was playing alot of sports around the age of 16 and did not have too much time for Scouts. I regret not getting Eagle, because I and a couple others from our group never got Eagle.

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

No military experience, yet. In my civilian life, the morals and values that Scouts has taught me has helped. I follow the motto of Being Prepared everyday of my life.

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

No.

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

Scouting is a great program that teaches young men skills, morals and values that will help them in their lives. I think about my Scouting experiences all the time and the fun I had. Every boy should participate in Scouting, and I hope to get more involved in Scouting than I already am.
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Old 04-28-2009, 11:36   #27
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Originally Posted by Razor View Post
Speaking of hard work, I recently happened across a letter from Mike Rowe to a Scout regarding earning the Eagle rank that was posted on another forum. I've attached it to this post. His stats are just a little off, but the point is still valid. The more I learn about this guy, the more I like him.
I am printing that one for my 14-yo son, a Life Scout with a Service project left that he has been delaying. Thanks for posting that letter, Razor.
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Old 04-28-2009, 15:07   #28
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1. Yes.
2. Eagle Scout and OA.
3. Two most important lessons learned through the Scouts: Follow through on things you begin, and Be Prepared.
4. N/A
5. I was fortunate enough to be part of a great Troop that was actively involved in the community. I still know people i met through various Scout related activities, like Scouting for Food, etc. The Scoutmaster and other troop leaders did a great job organizing hiking, mountain biking, skiing, camping, whitewater rafting, and various other adventure trips. Summer camps at Camp Yawgoog in Rockville, RI are some of the fondest memories i have as a young man.
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Old 05-07-2009, 03:03   #29
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1. Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?

Yep. Troop 342 - Raleigh, NC.

2. Did you obtain Eagle or what was your highest rank?

Eagle Scout.

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

For me, the real contribution of Scouting was learning how to work with a group of people that I had nothing else in common with.

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

Scouting didn't guide me towards SF, but it showed me that if I put my mind to it, I could get done what needed to be done. That's helped me out a lot over the years.

5. Any other comments about Scouts and the military, etc.?

My Troop was fortunate enough to have several former military parents as leaders. Their experiences with herding cats must have helped them when faced by a room full of awkward teenagers with pocketknives.
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Old 06-12-2009, 16:57   #30
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1. Yes
2. Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow
3. Provided the fundamentals to help me grow up, have better SA and basic skills. Survival, Road marching, shooting, uniform preparation, etc.
4. No, but it helped with my decision to go into the Infantry.
5. I think BSA is something every kid should go into and that our youth will be much better off in life with the core fundamentals that they are taught... I also think that Boy Scouts is a "civilian" version of JROTC, only without military ranking and "objectives".
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