Patrol System and Unit Organisation
What the exam tests
Unit structures and Indian titles, the size and offices of a patrol, and the difference between the two decision-making bodies.
Structure
- Pack (Cubs) - sixes of about six, led by a Sixer with a Second.
- Troop (Scouts) and Company (Guides) - patrols; Rover Crew and Ranger Team for older youth.
- Adults - Scoutmaster or Guide Captain, assisted by Assistant Scoutmasters, Assistant Guide Captains and warranted leaders.
The patrol
Six to eight members is the working size. Each patrol has a name (animal, bird or flower), a yell, a corner in the troop room, a patrol box, a flag and a patrol book. The Patrol Leader runs it, the Assistant PL deputises, and every member holds a job - quartermaster, scribe, first-aider, cheer master.
Two bodies
- Court of Honour: PLs, APLs when invited, and the Scoutmaster. Plans the programme, discipline, badge progress and camps. The SM advises; the senior PL usually chairs.
- Patrol-in-Council: the whole patrol sitting together. Decides patrol business, reviews each member's progress and prepares proposals for the Court of Honour.
Worked example
A troop of 26 Scouts is to be reorganised. Patrols must hold 6–8, so 26 needs four patrols: 7+7+6+6 = 26. Three patrols of 8–9 would break the ceiling, and a PL cannot personally track more than about eight members - show both the arithmetic and the reason.
Traps
- Confusing Court of Honour with patrol-in-council.
- Giving the Scoutmaster the chair as of right.
- Calling a Guide unit a troop - it is a Company.