This year your son will be making a decision that will impact the balance of his Scouting career---which Boy Scout troop he will join.  We are providing this guide to help you assist your son as he makes this decision.  It includes brief answers for many of the questions you may have for each troop and suggests other questions you and your son may want to ask.

Choosing Your Troop
The choice of a troop is a personal decision.  All members of a den need not join the same troop.  There is not a designated troop that you boy must join, although packs should have a close affiliation with a particiular troop.  Most troops welcome any new Scout that would like to join.

As part of the Webelos Arrow of Light requirements, your son must visit at least one Boy Scout troop and complete an application to join a troop.  We recommend that he visit several troops, so he can see how different troops do things.  If possible, you and your son should attend an overnight campout as a guest of a troop.  Usually the Webelos leaders wrok with the Scoutmasters to set up these visits.  When the initial round of visits is over, if there are other troopsyou would like to see of if you son would like to re-visit a particular troop, feel free to make the follow-up contact yourself.  Make sure to call ahead. 


The Webelos Transition

Questions?  Please call or email our Troop 358 leadership or scouts. 

During your visit, there are things to ask and observe. There are no "right" answers to these questions, but you want a troop with which you and your son feel comfortable. Don't be afraid to ask about the troop. They will be proud to tell you about themselves.

Here are some questions to consider.
How many registered Scouts are in the troop?
How many registered leaders? Troops will vary in size. Bigger is not necessarily better. In any troop, there should be an appropraite number of Assistant Scoutmasters ( at least 1:8 or 10) relative to the number of Scouts.
What is the age range of the Scouts?
 Is the troop currently able to hold the interest of the older as well as younger Scouts? 
Did they offer any "High Adventure" Scouting? Younger Scouts traditionally work on their rank requiremnts so they can advance through the Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class ranks in their first year of Scouting. Much of their attention in meetings and on campouts is devoted to their basic Scout skills for these requirements ( Not much merit badge work is done during this time). As the boys get into their teens, it is necessary to keep them challenged. Scout has established "High Adventure" programs for these older Scouts. These may be within the confines of the troop or may be accomplished through an associated Venture Crew. In "High Adventure" programs, Scouts will choose to do things like high level canoeing, rock climbing, sailing, travel to Philmont Scout Ranch or other high adventure sites or attend a national jamboree.

Adult Leaders
Who are the adult leaders in the troop?
Are the Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmasters and Committee Chairman trained? What trainings have they attended?
To be considered trained, a Scout leader must have completed a basic training course called BLT. Anyone who has completed BLT wears a "Trained" patch or his or her left sleeve. An advanced training called Wood Badge is also available. Almost all of our Troop 358 Scoutmasters have completed basic training. Some have also completed Wood Badge.

Boy Scout Leadership
Is the troop "boy run?"
What is their feeling about boy leadership?
In Boy Scouting, most troops aim to train their boys for leadership. Each troop has a Senior Patrol Leader, elected by all the boys in the troop, who with his Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, takes the helm for leadership within the troop. The troop is organzied into patrols of 5 to 8 boys who function together, similar to a Cub den. They will have an elected Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader. In a young troop, the boys will obviously need more adult assistance in running meetings, etc. In an established troop with older Scouts, you should see evidence of "boys leading boys."

Activities
What is their activity program like? Ask to see their yearly schedule. You'll want to see how often they camp. Scouting recommends that troops have a monthly outing.
Do they participate in district and council activities? You will find that troops in North Star do have monthly outings.

Meetings
What is a "typical" meeting like?
Is it "boy-run?"
Are the boys kept busy?
Does it look like they are having fun?
Do they show respect during the flag ceremony, during program time and to the adults?

Uniforms
What are the uniform requirements? Some troops require full uniform for all meetings and district and council campouts. Others require only the uniform shirt. Others have designated uniformed meeting days. Some wear the activity shirt or a customized shirt. You will probably want to choose a troop that feels the same about uniforms as you and your son do.