Wood Badge is designed to be as valuable to leaders involved with Cub Scouting, Varsity Scouting, and Venturing as it is to those primarily involved with the Boy Scout program.
Participants begin a Wood Badge course as Cub Scouts. The pack format is used initially, with the Cubmaster doing the leading and den chiefs assisting with the learning and activities. When participants bridge over at the blue and gold luncheon today, the troop format will be incorporated, with the Scoutmaster mentoring the senior patrol leader while the senior patrol leader takes over management of the troop. The troop guides will aid with instruction and the ticket. Later on in the course, the troop guides will become part of the Venturing program. But for the bulk of the course, participants and staff will consider themselves to be members of Gilwell Troop 1.
A troop setting provides a good framework to practice the leadership skills introduced during the course. Be assured, though, that the course content and leadership principles will be applicable to Scouters working throughout the movement and will provide a common foundation of leadership skills to be used in all program areas.
There will be three troop meetings during this course, one on each of the firstthree days. These represent three weeks in the life of a Boy Scout unit. The finalportion of the course—the outdoor experience—parallels the sort of activity aScout troop, a Cub Scout pack, a Varsity Scout team, or a Venturing crew would build toward for the final week of a monthlong program.
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