JASM

[Troop173Scoutmaster]

Is there a hard and fast rule about JASM being 16+? Given that the appointment is made by the SM, can he/she go beyond the age requirement if the scout is deemed worthy of the honor and trust of the position at a bit younger age?

[WVBeaver05]

SM Handbook says "at least 16".

Also, appointed by SPL with advise of SM.

So, the answer would seem to be no.

YiS

[WeeWillie]

If we keep pushing down age requirements for "exceptional" Scouts, whatt incentive is there for older Scouts to staying in Scouting.

[scoutaholic]

If we keep pushing down age requirements for "exceptional" Scouts, what incentive is there for older Scouts to stay in Scouting.

There is the Varsity Letter; Denali Award; Venture Bronze, Gold, Silver, Ranger, Quest, Trust, Quartermaster, etc.; The Hornaday Awards; etc; etc;

There are also some great opportunities in OA, Camp Staff Positions, NYLT Staff Positions, etc.

There is no shortage of things for the 'older Scouts' to do.


Now the question of having a JASM who is under 16: The books say he should be 16. If you want to make an exception, that is up to you and your troop leadership. Before doing so, make sure you look at the situation you could be creating. Is the boy mature enough at 14 to really act like the leader your JASM should be? Will the other boys be able to look up to him as a leader, even though they are only a few months younger than him? Is there a younger brother (or neighbor / friend) who may need the opportunity to shine without being in this boys shadow? Not every boy is ready to be JASM at 14, and not every troop is ready for an underage JASM.


Now My Story: When I was a scout I was in a unit that was chartered by the local LDS Church. Our troop was very active in scouting, but the Varsity Team and Explorer Post that were chartered by the same LDS Church unit didn't do anything but play basketball. I never really fit in with the boys older than me in the area (and I don't play basketball), so didn't really want to move into the Varsity team when I turned 14. I was serving as SPL and Troop Songleader, and was OA Chapter Chief at the same time. I went to the SM and asked if I could continue to attend troop meetings even though I was too old (the LDS church always moves boys to the next scouting den/troop/team/crew on their birthdays). He offered to let me stay a member of the troop as JASM. I haven't asked his reasons for doing this, but I suspect he saw that my leadership could be an asset to the troop while at the same time I would have the opportunity to continue scouting and advancing. At first, I don't remember being assigned a lot of duties as JASM, but as time went on I naturally took on the role like an ASM. Back in the olden days, Youth Protection and Two-Deep Leadership were not emphasized like they are today. It may not have been the right way to do things, but there were several times that I was the only ASM who could go on activities and I was the 2nd leader. By the time I was 16, the J of JASM was mostly ignored, and I was serving as ASM. I grew from unofficial JASM at 14 and continued as jASM until I turned 18, and became ASM.


In the past few years as SM, I have had 3 boys serve as JASM.
The first was 16 when he came to me wanting to be involved and go camping with the troop. He served for several months. When he snuck out with a few boys on one camp and was caught as the ring-leader in the pyromania and unsafe fire practices, was the last time he was invited to go camping with us.
The next JASM came to me when he was turning 14. He had been to JLT and had served as SPL. I knew his leadership abilitities, and was not worried about having any problems with that. My one hesitation was that he had a younger brother in the troop. The younger brother was close enough in age that he had rarely if ever had opportunity to do scouting without his older brother there to overshadow his accomplishments. Before letting the older brother be JASM, I talked with the younger brother to see how he felt about the situation. I made it very clear that I didn't want him to feel slighted if his brother was always there. I also spoke with the boys parents and our church leader about my concerns. This boy served well for many months, (even after the younger brother moved into the Varsity Team), until he got too busy with other things and stopped coming.
My current JASM wanted to be JASM when he turned 14. At the time I had 3 or 4 boys who all wanted the position. I had my reasons to not pick any of them at that time. I had this boy serve as DC for a few months while his brother and his friend had time in the troop without him always there. He was 15 when I took him as JASM. He has been a great help on camps, and has taken well to a few leadership assignments he was given. He is now 16 and I suspect he will continue to serve well for quite a while.

[gwd-scouter]

Just a quick funny story about our JASM.

He is 17 and recently appointed. He has not been active for a few years, but has recently become reacquainted with the troop - he wants to finish his requirements for Eagle. He's very good with the young new Scouts and the difference in his maturity to that, for example, of our 14 year-old Patrol Leader is obvious.

Anyway, on our campout last August, one of our new Scouts was messing around and our JASM called him over. Young scout walked up to JASM and asked, "sir?"

JASM did a double take. Gave some direction to Young Scout and then walked over to me with a strange grin on his face and said, "that's the first time I've ever been called sir."

[ICanCanoeCanU]

That's a nice story - thanks for including it.

Our troop has only used the JASM position for boys that held the SPL position, usually earned or are almost done with earning Eagle and are not 18, therefore they still want to be in the troop and need a position. This has worked out well for everyone. Don't think we have had anyone younger than 17 in this position either.

[Mrw]

My son is currently a JASM with our troop. He regularly reminds his SM that he is not ready to be an ASM or SM yet as he doesn't have the physique (read gut) that the rest of them mostly have.

We currently have 3 JASM's. All are 17, two are Eagles and the third will be very soon. They did a SM minute one night at the end of the meeting when the SM was not there. They made sure it was only 30 seconds since they are JUNIOR ASM's.

[WVBeaver05]

Just a quick funny story about our JASM.

He is 17 and recently appointed. He has not been active for a few years, but has recently become reacquainted with the troop - he wants to finish his requirements for Eagle. He's very good with the young new Scouts and the difference in his maturity to that, for example, of our 14 year-old Patrol Leader is obvious.

Anyway, on our campout last August, one of our new Scouts was messing around and our JASM called him over. Young scout walked up to JASM and asked, "sir?"

JASM did a double take. Gave some direction to Young Scout and then walked over to me with a strange grin on his face and said, "that's the first time I've ever been called sir."

I can relate to that one!

I was 16 the summer that I worked at the Council summer camp. We had been there for a week getting the camp ready, then the first campers showed up. This one Scout followed me for a couple hundred yards saying "Sir?" ever little bit. Never occurred to me that he was talking to me until he finally caught up with me and looked straight at me.

It's quite an interesting feeling to be called Sir at 16 or 17.

YiS