Upcoming Activities
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Medical Forms
Per BSA requirements, all Scouts and Scouters must have Physical Exams annually.
Information
- Troop 8 Calendar - Information on the outings and activities the Troop 8 Patrol Leaders Council have scheduled. (PDF Format)
- Personal Camp Gear - Information on what is needed by Scouts on short term and long term campouts (PDF Format)
- Uniform Information - Information detailing the Troop 8 Boy Scouts of America Field Uniform and where to purchase. (PDF Format)
New Scouts
Physical and Health Forms
All new Boy Scouts are required to get a physical as soon as possible. Please click on the Annual Health and Medical Record Form link under Medical Forms and complete parts A, B, and C.
As soon as you get your physical, bring it to the Scoutmaster at the next Troop Meeting.
Class "A" Uniform / BSA Field Uniform
- Boy Scout Short Sleeve Shirt (Cotton or Polyester Microfiber)
- Boy Scout Uniform Canvas Cargo Shorts -or- Boy Scout Canvas Convertable Pants
- Boy Scout Web Belt or other BSA Belt (such as leather camp belt)
- Boy Scout Uniform Cap
- Boy Scout Uniform Crew Socks
- Hiking Boots
- Merit Badge Sash (once Merit Badges are earned)
- Boy Scout Shoulder Loops (Green)
- Boy Scout Neckerchief Slide
- BSA Neckerchief with Universal Emblem - Troop 8 wears the black and brick red neckerchief
The Boy Scout Uniform can be purchased at the Hearn Scout Shop in Beaumont, TX at 4650 W Cardinal Drive. Their phone number is 409-842-0032. Or you can order the uniform onlines at www.scoutshop.org.
If you have questions or need assistance, please ask the Troop 8 Scoutmaster or any Troop 8 Assistant Scoutmaster.
Differences between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts are not “Webelos 3”. There are significant differences between the two organizations. These differences reflect the differences between the target groups of youth served by the different organizations. They are there for good reasons. Cub scouts is a family program aimed primarily at 7-10 year olds; it requires the adults to run it in detail, largely because children of that age cannot be expected to run it. Boy Scouts is a youth-oriented program aimed primarily at 11-18 year old youth. It is run by the Scouts, for the Scouts, and the adults play a (considerable) role in supporting the program.
Whose Troop is it?
It is worth remembering the words of Baden-Powell, “The chief task of the Scoutmaster is to help the Scouts run their Troop”. The central goal of all adult leadership (really adult mentoring and teaching) is to empower the Scouts to take up the leadership of their unit. Every adult leader should always ask “does this action of mine enable the Scout leadership, or does it interfere with their ability to run their Troop?”
Equivalent Positions in Cub and Boy Scouts
| Cub Scouts | Boy Scouts |
| Den Leader | Patrol Leader |
| Cubmaster | Senior Patrol Leader |
| Unit Committee (planning functions) | Patrol Leaders Council |
| None | Scoutmaster |
| Unit Committee (administrative functions) | Unit Committee |
Notice that most Cub Scout positions are filled by youth in the Boy Scouts. This reflects the central difference between the two organizations. The Patrol Leaders are elected by their Patrols, and the Senior Patrol Leader by the Troop at large. Because it is run by the Scouts, Boy Scout meetings and activities tend to be more chaotic than Cub meetings and activities. This is healthy. The Scouts need to have opportunities to make mistakes, one role of the adult mentoring is to prevent these mistakes from becoming catastrophes. Unlike Cub Scouts, rank advancement in the first ranks (tenderfoot through first class) is examined by senior Scouts (technically the scoutmaster can now restrict who can examine them, but it does not bode well if a Scout who is most of the way to Eagle is not competent to teach basic knots to a Tenderfoot Scout or the Oath and Law to a Scout Scout), and checked by the Scoutmaster and Board of Review. Ranks like Star, Life Scout, and Eagle require merit badges which are taught and examined by adults who are registered merit badge counselors. They still have Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review.
But you have put none for the equivalence between Scoutmaster and Cub Scouts. What gives?
Baden-Powell was thinking of the turn of the last century English word “Schoolmaster” when he coined the word “Scoutmaster”. A Schoolmaster is a mentor, friend and teacher to his students. BSA is one of the few Scouting organizations that still uses the term Scoutmaster. The way to think of Scoutmaster is as “chief adult guide” and the Assistant Scoutmasters as “adult guides”. Unfortunately these don’t make as nifty patches as Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster.
For additional information on the differences, please see this November 2014 article from Scouting Magazine.