Boy Scout SAR merit badge

[RiverAux]

Apparently the Boy Scouts are getting into SAR.  http://www.scouting.org/Media/PressReleases/2012/20120605.aspx

I've known of Boy Scout Explorer posts that do SAR, but this is new.

[Eclipse]

More power to them, there's plenty to go around...

[PHall]

Enough of them get lost, that's for sure.

[That Anonymous Guy]

Is this just another badge we have to help them with?

[Extremepredjudice]

What badges do we help them with now?

[♠SARKID♠]

As a former Scout, I'll say this:  As long as this is just an educational type of thing I support it.  I wouldn't support BSA SAR teams, save for Venturing Crews/Explorers.

Scouts must complete a series of nine requirements relating to SAR fundamentals...

lol.  Its hilarious how easy it is to get some of those badges.

[RiverAux]

CAP around here has helped with the aviation merit badge (I think thats what its called) and maybe one other. 

The press release sort of implies that they will actually be available for doing SAR. 

[arajca]

CAP around here has helped with the aviation merit badge (I think thats what its called) and maybe one other. 

The press release sort of implies that they will actually be available for doing SAR.

From the end of para 2:

Scouts will learn the fundamentals of SAR, but the badge will not qualify a young person as a trained searcher.

[EMT-83]

I got a chuckle out of the article. Every GTE I've attended had a scenario involving lost scouts.

[lordmonar]

As a former Scout, I'll say this:  As long as this is just an educational type of thing I support it.  I wouldn't support BSA SAR teams, save for Venturing Crews/Explorers.

Scouts must complete a series of nine requirements relating to SAR fundamentals...

lol.  Its hilarious how easy it is to get some of those badges.

The badges are not there to make anyone an expert.  They are like college 101 classes.....they are supposed to be easy so that the scout gets a "survey" of the subject and maybe develope an interest in the subject.

From the press release....the SAR merit badge is not so that the scout troop can do their own SAR but to assist other agencies.

Something that CAP could look into IMHO.

[bflynn]

I don't think the Scouts are getting into SAR in terms of having standby emergency teams.  This is a merit badge, it's a learning thing.  Essentially, a scout learns the technical steps of HOW to perform SAR, but once the merit badge is earned, there is no further SAR involvement.  If we wanted to do something to help them, we could try to coordinate with them to make sure what they teach about SAR is what we do.  It could even be a recruiting opportunity.

As far as Scouts getting lost - they spend more time in the woods that we do, at least my son's troop goes camping something like 10 times a year.  It's expected that if someone is going to get lost, it sould be the one who was in the woods the most.

[Walkman]

I like this addition to the merit badges. As a scout leader and GTM, I'll be having fun teaching this one to my troop.

As I told a un-motivated scout a few years ago: merit badges aren't just to collect so you can be an Eagle Scout. They're chances to experiment in something new. To see if there's something out there that you haven't encountered before that you like. I'm sure there have been many scouts over the years that have found lifelong hobbies, passions and even professions from taking a few weeks to earn a merit badge.

Plus, I see this as a great recruiting tool. "Hey you like this stuff? Wanna do it for real?"

[Eclipse]

That's been my experience, both personally and now with my kids.  Merit badges, etc., are essentially an orientation-level exposure to
something new. 

In this case, it'll likely just bring some structure to things most active scouts are already doing.  Fieldcraft is fiedcraft, and the rest is just herding the cats,
no matter what organization we're talking about.

Absent regular retraining, MOUs, insurance, etc., not to mention the fact that there's no adult training, I wouldn't expect this to be anything more.
To Walkman's point, if anything, this may open some recruiting doors for CAP.  Not only can we assist in the training, but for those that get the bug,
we'll certainly offer more opportunities for both training and service.

Good on them for the idea.

[krnlpanick]

I think coordinating with the local BSA Troops to do training days for the MB is a fantastic recruiting opp. I know we will be reaching out to all the local troops around here. Guess I better get crackin on my Quals for GT3

[lordmonar]

As a long time Scouter.....merit badges have always been something of an "outsource" training opportunity.

While we do a lot in house.....and summer camp knocks out a lot of them.....the intention is for the scout or troop to seek out experts in the field to teach them.

Someone wants to do fire fighting merit badge......he makes contact with the local fire department, bee keeping....the local bee keeper....SAR the lcoal SAR agency.

Obviously since the announcment was made at NASAR, BSA has partnered with NASAR for this merit badge.....since our training matches NASAR in most ways......it is an opportunity for CAP to partner with our local BSA units to provide this sort of training.  We should already be doing this as we are certainly already geared up to provide support for the aviation merit badge.

This is also another way that CAP could adopt a BSA style of doing things to help improve the cadet program.  Develope a list of "career" orintation courses (we can't call them merit badges  ) covering different aspects of the aviation industry, military, emergency services, etc...which may or may not tie directly into CAP ES or CP.....to provide the cadets the opprotunity expand their thinking about what CAP can do for them....besides just an entry into military life.....and yes we should have some sort of ribbon to recognise them when they complete a course.   

Yep....I just made it a uniform thread! 

[Eclipse]

Ignore - turns out I disagreed by agreeing.

[Walkman]

This is also another way that CAP could adopt a BSA style of doing things to help improve the cadet program.  Develope a list of "career" orintation courses (we can't call them merit badges  ) covering different aspects of the aviation industry, military, emergency services, etc...which may or may not tie directly into CAP ES or CP.....to provide the cadets the opprotunity expand their thinking about what CAP can do for them....besides just an entry into military life.....and yes we should have some sort of ribbon to recognise them when they complete a course.   

That's kind of a cool idea!

[krnlpanick]

This is also another way that CAP could adopt a BSA style of doing things to help improve the cadet program.  Develope a list of "career" orintation courses (we can't call them merit badges  ) covering different aspects of the aviation industry, military, emergency services, etc...which may or may not tie directly into CAP ES or CP.....to provide the cadets the opprotunity expand their thinking about what CAP can do for them....besides just an entry into military life.....and yes we should have some sort of ribbon to recognise them when they complete a course.   

I think this is great, provided we don't also adopt the BSA style of throwing awards at people that haven't gone through all the steps to earn them. Taking a "There are no winners or losers" approach like BSA does (at least in my experience) is not doing them any favors because that isn't the way it works in real life. Also I think if we were to design this type of program we would want to make it difficult enough that the cadets would really have to work towards earning that ribbon. I think the T/S/M model used for PD is a good model for this. Just my humble $0.02

[Spaceman3750]

This is also another way that CAP could adopt a BSA style of doing things to help improve the cadet program.  Develope a list of "career" orintation courses (we can't call them merit badges  ) covering different aspects of the aviation industry, military, emergency services, etc...which may or may not tie directly into CAP ES or CP.....to provide the cadets the opprotunity expand their thinking about what CAP can do for them....besides just an entry into military life.....and yes we should have some sort of ribbon to recognise them when they complete a course.   

That's kind of a cool idea!

We already have that...

(That might have been what lordmonar was getting at)

[lordmonar]

This is also another way that CAP could adopt a BSA style of doing things to help improve the cadet program.  Develope a list of "career" orintation courses (we can't call them merit badges  ) covering different aspects of the aviation industry, military, emergency services, etc...which may or may not tie directly into CAP ES or CP.....to provide the cadets the opprotunity expand their thinking about what CAP can do for them....besides just an entry into military life.....and yes we should have some sort of ribbon to recognise them when they complete a course.   

I think this is great, provided we don't also adopt the BSA style of throwing awards at people that haven't gone through all the steps to earn them. Taking a "There are no winners or losers" approach like BSA does (at least in my experience) is not doing them any favors because that isn't the way it works in real life. Also I think if we were to design this type of program we would want to make it difficult enough that the cadets would really have to work towards earning that ribbon. I think the T/S/M model used for PD is a good model for this. Just my humble $0.02

I don't know what you are talking about.   You earn merit badges by completeling the requirments. 

I'm not suggesting T/S/M model for anything.  The, say, Aircraft Maintenance "merit badge" would not make the cadet qualified to actually do any maintenance.....but would give him/her a "survey" of what GA aircraft maintenance was about.  How to get their A&P, what it training it takes, what duties are invovled.

In a lot of ways it would be like how our SDA's are supposed to work.