Troop Organization Made Simple

Scout troops are built on the principle that “(the) unit is the natural gang of the boy, led by its own boy leader.”

Baden Powell, Aids to Scoutmastership. We have categorized and complicated this simple principle with overlays of military discipline, management science, job descriptions and flow charts that put the Scoutmaster at the top and the boys on the bottom; opposite of the order intended.

Turning the chart upside down better represents the roles of leadership; The Scoutmaster is the base of a pyramid of shared responsibility and service to the apex of the pyramid; the Scouts. This responsibility (and the attendant authority) flows upward to serve the goal of advancing the aim of scouting. From a practical standpoint is is helpful to remember that a patrol is a little troop, and a troop is a big patrol.