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szelenskei
Scout
Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 5
Location: Woodburn, OR
Posted: 08 Jul 2004 05:38 pm Post subject: Air Scouting
I have been, and continue to be a very active participant in
the many branches of the Boy Scouts of America, including the
Sea Scouts the Varsity and the Venturer scouts. About three
years ago I have learned of the prior existence of the Air
Scouting program, which seemed to be extremely active in the
1940's. Around this same time the Sea Scouts came to
existence, however, one thing that distances these two
programs is the inactivity of Air Scouts. This act does not
seem fair, and therefore, I ask to give me the permission to
reintroduce the Air Scouts of America into the BSA placing it
into a separate branch, similar to the Sea Scouts of America.
I intend to do this by working with the United States Air
Force and the local agencies to construct a council similar to
the Sea Scout one, which will work with the BSA on the
construction of medals, uniforms, books, and other needed
supplies. Also as I have previously mentioned I will be
working with the United States Air Force to provide updated
Air Scout uniforms, training, and equipment as far as the
actual air planes.
These "squads" or crews will be run by adults age 21 and over
with the proper technical training given to them by the Air
Force, they will be supported by the squad leader, the squad
representative, the squad secretary and the squad publicity
agent, who are all scouts under the age of 21. They will
answer to a district committee composed of mostly young
scouts; they in turn will answer to the council committee, who
will answer to the national council of the BSA. In my opinion
these committee members should not be paid but carry out their
duties voluntarily. Of course they will deal with such things
as registration, local events, publishing of pamphlets and be
in charge of counseling the squad leaders on the proper
standards of uniform wear and award placement.
The money that is needed to start this program will be
collected from fund raisers done by the squads, however, some
of the equipment I intend will come from the Air Force through
donations. These donations will be kept track of in the same
way the Sea Scouts keep track of their donated boats. For a
while now I have been asking several troops and crews in our
Woodburn area about their interest in such a program. Many of
them had approved of a program of this magnitude some adults
with the proper training have also agreed to become squad
advisers. I have previously talked with 15 Boy Scout troops
who welcomed the idea and will be a part of this if it was to
be offered to them. Since then I have proposed this plan to
you, and am anxious to get a reply in the affirmative, for
this program will open many new doors of opportunity for the
Boy Scouts of America and connect us with the Air Scout squads
in England and Australia.
Sincerely,
Sergei Zelenskei H.S.
Boy Scout Troop 59
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optimist
Advancement Chairman
Joined: 27 Jun 2004
Posts: 118
Posted: 08 Jul 2004 11:35 pm Post subject:
That is a worthwhile proposal, Sergei. Please understand that
this web site is not operated by the Boy Scouts of America so
if you really wish to make that proposal to them, you will
need to contact them directly. In the mean time, I'm happy to
discuss your proposal with you and hope that I may be of some
help.
The Air Scout program is not quite as dead as it appears. It's
simply not actively supported by the BSA. But that's okay
because another organization does a much better job of it, the
Civil Air Patrol.
There are many troops, crews, and posts throughout the US that
are active CAP Units as well. I don't know if the two
organizations have any type of official policy about this but
the two programs work well together. I would suggest you
contact your local CAP program and chat with them about
working with the Scouts in your area (if they don't already do
so).
Last edited by optimist on 08 Jul 2004 11:48 pm; edited 1 time
in total
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optimist
Advancement Chairman
Joined: 27 Jun 2004
Posts: 118
Posted: 08 Jul 2004 11:46 pm Post subject:
Actually, I found an official CAP policy on dual CAP/BSA
units:
Quote:
6-2. CAP POLICY FOR THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA (BSA). CAP
and the Venturing and Aviation Explorer divisions of the
Boy Scouts of America have much in common. CAP
encourages dual membership in both CAP and BSA as either
an Aviation Exploring Post or Venturing Crew, with CAP
being the chartered partner. By being the chartered
partner, CAP is the basis for the union; therefore,
members first belong to CAP. The existing CAP structure
does not change and all members will conform to CAP
standards and wear the CAP uniform.
a. Exploring is suited for squadrons that emphasize
flying and aerospace education. Venturing encompasses
high adventure programs and is suited for squadrons that
emphasize camping and wilderness activities.
b. The benefits for dual chartering are:
1) The BSA organization includes approximately 4,000
professional staff and over 93,000 adult volunteers who
would be available to provide assistance in the
following areas:
a) Identification of potential youth members with an
interest in aviation or search and rescue through a
school career interest survey (where available).
b) Additional “working with youth” adult leader training
opportunities.
2) Eligibility to participate in all Venturing
activities upon becoming a Venturing crew, such as:
scholarships and awards, the Explorer Olympics, air
rifle competitions, fly -ins, an emergency preparedness
program, use of local BSA camps and facilities and more.
c. The squadron commander should meet with
representatives of the local BSA Council to discuss dual
chartering. If the decision is made to dual charter,
then the BSA representative will complete and submit the
required BSA chartering documentation. After a squadron
receives its charter, the next command echelon should be
notified of the new status.
d. Dual chartered members are authorized to wear the
Venturing Patch, or the Aviation Exploring Patch as
appropriate, in place of the organizational emblem on
the BDU uniform (see CAPM 39-1).
e. All CAP flying activities will be accomplished in
accordance with CAPR 60-1, CAP Flight Management, and
all CAP search and rescue activities will be
accomplished in accordance with CAPR 60-3, CAP Emergency
Services Training and Operational Missions.
f. A jointly chartered CAP Venturing Crew or Aviation
Exploring Post will conduct all operations and
activities under CAP regulations or clearly and
unmistakably conduct itself under the auspices of the
scouting program only. If the unit wishes to conduct any
activity outside of, or restricted by CAP regulations,
the unit commander will obtain Scout liability insurance
protection for CAP and the members of the unit from the
Scouting Council or Scouting National Headquarters
before proceeding.
As you can see, CAP encourages BSA involvement. Next time I'll
research a bit more first
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fgoodwin
Scout
Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 3
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posted: 15 Jul 2004 10:03 am Post subject: Air Scouting
I wish you the best of luck in resurrecting the Air Scouts.
You may know this already, but here is a link to a webpage
that talks about Air Scouts and many more "Senior Scouting"
programs:
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/8826/
Good luck, and please keep us posted on your progress.
Fred Goodwin
ACM, Pack 2003
Alamo Area Council
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fgoodwin
Scout
Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 3
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posted: 15 Jul 2004 10:27 am Post subject: Air Scouting
FYI: the UK has an "Air Cadet" program that looks similar to
the CAP:
http://www.aircadets.org/
The UK also has an active Air Scouts program:
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/6to25/explorer/airscout/
http://www.airscouts.co.uk/
Fred Goodwin
ACM, Pack 2003
Alamo Area Council
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Firefish
Life
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 145
Location: Beaver, Pa
Posted: 16 Jul 2004 08:54 am Post subject:
anybody have experience in sea scouts
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szelenskei
Scout
Joined: 08 Jul 2004
Posts: 5
Location: Woodburn, OR
Posted: 16 Jul 2004 04:00 pm Post subject: Air Scouts
Furthermore, I have written an Air Scouting guide which
describes the way it will run who will be in charge and what
would be done at regular meetings, if you may be intrested I
will send it, only it is 24 pg. long
_________________
Sergei Zelenskei H.S.
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Firefish
Life
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 145
Location: Beaver, Pa
Posted: 18 Jul 2004 02:14 pm Post subject:
air scouts sounds fun
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Yeah, most likely it would go there.....UNLESS (gray area?) the Unit was an Explorer Post sponsored by some Air type agency. Hmmm, but most likely it would be in Venture's area.