Team: Interesting word. Team in Old English used to mean family or descendant. In older English, it meant harnessing a group of animals or beasts to pull or work together. Like a team of horses or oxen. “Team” is mostly used today with a sports connotation.
I want to deconstruct the word team a bit: A number of people working together as a unit to bring about a result. In Scouts, we use the word Patrol. If members of a patrol work together they are a team just like a football or soccer team. How many other teams can you think of Orchestra, Band, Cook crew, Manufacturing, Firefighters, Search & Rescue, Air traffic control, Pilot & Copilot & Flight Crew, Hospital and medical staff such as Doctors, Nurses, Technicians, et al?
How can a Patrol be a team? Let’s just look at cooking a meal.
A- Cook
B- Asst. Cook
C- Water
D- Fire
E- KP
F- Trash
G- Bear bag
Everyone eats but it took 7 Scouts to bring about the meal. Using the Patrol Method; every meal rotates responsibilities. With menus planned ahead of time the cook and asst. cook can practice cooking the meals assigned to them before going on the camping trip. That just might make the results a taste bit better.
Another set of rotating duties are Lead Scout or Pathfinder. And Assistant. They lead the patrol on the trail with map & compass. These positions rotate also.
More advantages of the Patrol Method are Building Leadership, Building following skills, Build team skills, Helping others in & outside of Scouting, Building co-operation, Build planning & organizing skills, Growing sense of responsibility, Shared goals, Developing co-operative attitudes, Communication skills growth, Defusing disagreements, Molding individuals into an effective team and …
A Troop of 20 individuals goes on a camping trip. 20 Stoves, 20 cans of fuel, 20 different menus, 20 tents, 20 large First Aid Kits…
OR
A Troop of 20 goes on a camping trip as 3 patrols. 4 Stoves, 4 Cans of fuel, 1 menu, 10 – 2 person tents, 1 large First Aid Kit….. Everyone benefits -).
My personal notes:
- All of the camp stoves should be alike / the same. That means only 1 spare parts/repair kit. BSA has policies on what types of stoves may be used. Read up on those safety policies.
- Water may drive the menu selection. Or may drive when / where you eat.
- Menus will drive what kind of pots & pans that are needed. And Chef’s Kit? And how much fuel is needed?
- The temperature will drive whether to take fresh foods. Dehydrated, Freeze-dried, Food bars become options.
- I dislike MRE-type meals because of the cost and there is nothing learned from using them.
- I also find that the commercial “backpacking” meals are very expensive.
More discussion next,
Gaither
C- What rises every morning at Scout camp & waves all day long?
D- The American Flag.