Posted on 07/19/2005 4:16:25 PM PDT by SandRat
Boy Scout Jamboree returns to Fort A.P. Hill
By Rey Guzman
July 19, 2005
FORT A.P. Hill, Va. (Army News Service, July 18, 2005) – Thousands of Boy Scouts from across the nation will navigate their way to Fort A.P. Hill, Va., for the 2005 National Scout Jamboree July 25 through Aug. 3.
More than 42,000 Boy Scouts and adult leaders, along with an additional 270,000 visitors, are expected to convene at the 10-day, national event conducted every four years by the Boys Scouts of America.
About 2,000 Soldiers from the active Army, Army Reserve and National Guard, and an additional 200 members of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard will be on-hand to support the event.
The theme for this year’s National Scout Jamboree is “On My Honor – Timeless Values.”
In a welcome letter to Army units attending the event, Maj. Gen. John A. Yingling, commander of Joint Task Force-National Scout Jamboree, noted the similarity of the Army’s values with those of the Boy Scouts.
“The Army embodies the seven Army values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless-service, honor, integrity and personal courage,” Yingling said. “The Boy Scouts embody the Scout Laws (to be) trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. I have every confidence that each of you will live up to these values and be good role models to the Scouts while we support them during the Jamboree.”
The event is widely considered by Army officials as an excellent opportunity to sharpen the skills of Regular, Reserve and National Guard troops as they build a “tent city” equipped for more than 40,000 inhabitants.
In order to accommodate the large number of guests, Soldiers engage in various tasks from road building to installing water, sewer, electrical and telephone systems.
Fort A.P. Hill has been the site of the National Scout Jamboree since 1981. Among the many military units supporting this year’s event are the 61st Medical Group, 1710th Transportation Company of the Virginia National Guard, U.S Coast Guard Sea Services and 159th Aviation of the Army National Guard.
Scout leaders and members of Joint Task Force-National Scout Jamboree will attend a special Staff Show June 25, two nights before the arrival of the young scouts. The show will feature a Twilight Tattoo performed by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (Old Guard) and the U.S. Army Band (Perishing’s Own).
The official jamboree festivities kick off in grand fashion with an opening show July 27. The U.S. Navy Leap Frogs, Army Reserve 85th Division Jazz Ensemble and the Continental Army Band from Fort Monroe, Va., will perform during the opening night celebration, along with a military fly-over.
The Closing Show, scheduled for Aug. 3, will feature performances by the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp, U.S. Army Brass Quintet, U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet Band and Downrange U.S. Army Rock Band. The event will also include another military fly-over and close with a fireworks show.
In his letter, Yingling urged Soldiers to enjoy their opportunity to make a positive impact on the young Scouts attending.
“I guarantee that you will find this experience both personally and professionally rewarding,” he said. “Take full advantage of this great opportunity to train and make a positive impact on young people’s lives.”
Nope but they should be with the Arizona contingent.
Go Scouts! My oldest son and I are in the middle of summer camp at Camp Thunderbird near Olympia, WA. Having a great time. BSA is one of the finest American organizations in our country.
That's some camp with internet connection!
I was at AP Hill in '85 as well. I remember walking back to camp during the storm with the wind and rain at my back. When I got back, my back was soaked, and my front was dry. I remember being not very impressed with the choice of the Beach Boys. Oh well. It was a great time anyway.
I still have the large stack of council patches that I traded for all week, including a partricularly coveted one from somewhere in California. I'll have to go searching for them and all the old pictures.
And I swear, the coldest night of my life was spent in a foxhole at AP Hill, in water up to my *ss, in 32-degree weather.
I still lack feeling in my left big toe, a wintertime reminder of Ft A.P. Hill and the nightime guarding of a "hasty" minefield.
Exactly.
Not if - when
I was there from Butte council; the smallest council in the United States, so far as I understood at the time. It was the Oak Ridge Boys for the first concert, right? We were front row for that one, and back row for the Beach Boys.
Regular Troops don't go to Jambo (except as day visitors). Councils form special Jambo Troops out of Scouts throughout their Councils who apply to the Council to go. Scouts need to be at least 12 (or is it 13?) and First Class rank to go. Some Councils have problems filling their allotments; others overfill and have to apply to National to use extra spots that other Councils don't use.
Thanks, I appreciate the information. It's all new - we've had five years of Cubs, but this is our first kid in the "big time".
The Oak Ridge Boys sounds right. I was in the Morris County (NJ) Council. I remember being pretty far back for the Beach Boys. Don't recall where we were for the Oak Ridge Boys.
You'd be surprised at the opportunities available for the boys, especially if they keep up with making rank. There's the National Jamboree, of course. Then there are the World Jamborees. Those can be expensive, as the fees are assessed based on what country you are from. The thousands that a BSA member pays helps subsidize some kid from a tiny village in Bhutan.
There's also opportunities for international travel via friendship exchanges with other countries. I spent two weeks in Japan last summer as part of a Venturing contingent, and on Saturday I am part of the welcoming committee for a Japanese contingent that's spending two weeks in the USA. There are Jamborees in Canada, Mexico, and countries around the world, and there are often international contingents at them. Canada has regional jamborees as well, and your Troop could look into sending Scouts to one of them. If you look on the WOSM website and look at the activities posted for the various regions (there are 6 regions world-wide), you should see activities that you might be able to go to. Contacting the International division at National might also get you some information.
Then there are the BSA's high adventure bases. Philmont is about a 170,000 acre reservation near Cimmaron, New Mexico that has all kinds of back-country treks. Hiking, climbing, black-powder shooting, trout fishing, etc. You Troop will have to reserve a trek about 18 months in advance, though. Sea Base is in Key West in Florida, where you can spend a week or more on the water sailing and/or diving (you'll need to get certified for the latter before you go). That's about a 12 or 18 month wait as well. There are also the Northern Tier canoe bases in Ely, Minnesota; Atikokan, Ontario; and the one in Alberta whose particular location escapes me at the moment. I have taken a 10-day trip up into Canada out of Ely, and this last June I visited the one in Atikokan after I took a small group from our Troop into Quetico Provinical Park in Ontario out of Atikokan using a private outfitter; they have a good program, too. You can get a trek out of Northern Tier with a 8-month lead time with little problem.
All this takes advance planning and research. And the BSA likes to send it's best on international trips, so if you're looking at a World Jamboree or an exchange trip, start working on things like rank and offices.
Good news bump!!!
Thanks! I'll have Bill look at this later. He's working diligently on his ranks, but more motivation is always good!
That's what I've been saying since last year.
Remember it dearly.
Treated lots of heat stroke there when our NG unit trained in 100 plus degree temperatures, and we were from the mountains of PA, where it rarely reaches 85...
Camp A. P. Hill, 1967. We were Combat Engineers and too stupid to get heat stroke or to know that we were cold.
There was a mock POW Camp in the woods for the edification of Engineering OCS Candidates we would capture in the woods.
There wasn't much at A. P. Hill then and discipline was virtually nil so it was good duty.
The other thing is offices. That's not such a big deal in the kids' first year, but after that he should seek out to either do Patrol Leader or one of the Troop offices. It's a great way to learn leadership.
AMEN
Thanks. Our troop is pretty small, and several of the oldest boys will be graduating in the next year or so, so Bill will have opportunities to be a leader fairly shortly.
The first big challenge will be passing the swimming test for First Class. He doesn't like swimming very much!
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