Training, advising and assisting

Afghan veterans celebrateFor the past eleven-plus years, the United States military has been engaged in warfare in the mountainous Asian nation of Afghanistan, assisting the Afghan forces in defending against the Taliban. Politics aside, many observers have been looking forward to an end to US involvement. Chiefly among them are families of our fighting men and women, many of whom were Scouts as youth.

Within the last few days, President Obama announced his intention to pursue an accelerated withdrawal of fighting forces from Afghanistan. No longer would American troops be fighting the battles; rather, most will come home, and for those who remain, their role will be one of training, advising and assisting Afghan forces as they engage in combat against their country’s insurgents. Continue reading “Training, advising and assisting”

Tips for trainers, part 2

In an earlier article, I gave you some of the BSA’s tips for trainers from the national website’s training page. Here are a few more, dealing this time with the content of your presentations. While much training depends on a syllabus provided by BSA, occasionally we need to develop our own material, either in conjunction with an established training course or one we are putting together for a special presentation, such as a class at University of Scouting. Continue reading “Tips for trainers, part 2”

New training awards for Cub Scout leaders

Last year, the BSA’s national training team announced it was revising many of the training awards, or “knots,” that Scouters earn for service, training and performance in their volunteer roles. Chief among the changes is the revamping of the many knots that a Cub Scout leader can earn, which we wrote about last fall.

Now, the specific changes have been put into effect and the sunset dates for the previous awards announced. Continue reading “New training awards for Cub Scout leaders”

Why are we still training?

“Every boy deserves a trained leader.”

“Train ’em, trust ’em, let ’em lead!”

If there’s one thing that’s everywhere in Scouting, it’s training. We train our youth leaders to run their troop. We teach Scout skills – that’s a form of training.   Even in Cub Scouts, we teach the boys to say the promise and the Law of the Pack in the course of “instilling the values” As adults, we take online training for youth protection, Cub Scout leadership, safe swim, weather hazards, and others. We attend Scoutmaster leader-specific training, outdoor skills training, BALOO training, and the list goes on. Continue reading “Why are we still training?”