Is the Boy Scouts of America a pre-military army training program for boys?

Answer 1

Ummm, no. I am a Cubmaster in he Hiawathaland Council, and an Assistant Scout Master.

It is a violation of BSA policy to even portray the Scouts as a military unit.

In 2006 a California Scoutmaster, and most of his staff were removed from thier positions(which is a very rare, if not unheard of action by a Council) because those leaders chose to uniform thier unit is a black para-military styled uniform. The Cubmaster I replaced last March was quietly told it was time to leave by our Council Commissioner for schedualing a squirt gun fight...it is a violation of BSA policy to tell any scout to point something at another person.

The military though does speed up advancement for those who have achieved the Rank of Eagle, this rank virtually guarentees starting 1 or 2 pay grades higher than your average man off the street, not because of the "pre-military training", but because an Eagle Scout has extencive training in first aid, citizenship, outdoor skills, and had to excell in school. Being an Eagle is not just recieving a reward, its a career move.

Answer 2

Pre Military Training

Answer 3

Absolutely not...its not even close.

Unfortunately, there will always be parallels between the military and the boy scouts, because they do share common singularity's. like uniforms, discipline, and skills. What they don't share is the end goal of what is achieved through the organization.

And the military awards stripes also for the completion of college work. Because they do, would you consider college to be a pre-military training program also?

Answer 4

I would not say it that way, I know from my experience as a navy recruiter that the service will place a eagle scout in a higher pay grade if I remember right it would be at a E3 and depending on the branch of service that is a big step because one the pay is better and you are closer to becoming a E4 and in the navy that is a big step for a young person you get some responsibility among other things. The bottom line is better pay.

Answer 5

Not hardly. While many of the outdoor skills learned in Scouting are useful to someone who later becomes a soldier, none of the Scout training comes anywhere even close to what I went through in 28 years in the Army.

Answer 6

My father was a Boy Scout Executive for more then 15 YEARS.... he had been a Scout Master, a Boy Scout Camp director and my mother had been a den mother for the cub scouts.... The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is a United States Scouting organization, with some presence in other countries. The BSA is the largest youth organization in the United States; over one hundred million Americans have been members. Founded in 1910 as part of the Scout Movement, it had a registered membership of 2,938,698 youth with 1,146,130 leaders in 122,582 units as of the end of 2005.[1] The BSA is administered mostly by committees of volunteers, but employs professionals at the higher levels of administration and for commercial activities.

The BSA sprang from the concerns of the progressive movement in the United States from people who sought to promote the social welfare of young men. The BSA adheres to the Scout method to teach values such as self-esteem, citizenship, and outdoorsmanship through a variety of outdoor activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking.[2][3]

The BSA recognizes the achievements of Scouts through advancement in rank and various special awards. It includes several program divisions, targeted at boys ages seven through seventeen and young men and women ages fourteen through twenty-one. The BSA operates locally, through volunteer-led units such as troops, packs, and crews. It has never BEEN nor never WILL be a pre-military army training for ANYONE....It's equal counterpart is the Girl Scouts of America which could NEVER be mistaken as a pre-military group.....NEITHER has their main objective in teaching weaponry ---they DO however (in the Boy Scouts) teach Archery and Riflery AS A SPORT!!! They NEVER encourage combat of ANY nature.

Answer 7

When I was in the Army (101st Airborne Vietnam) we had a saying:

"What's the difference between the Boy Scouts and the Army?"

"The Boy Scouts have adult leadership"

:-)

Answer 8

Ask a recruiter. You might be able to start out as an E2 or E3, but I can't guarantee that. I suspect a lot of that would depend upon your school grades.

Answer 9

While some of the skills learned will help them if they enter the military (map reading, camping, rope knots and general woodsmanship), they also learn those and other things that will help them in life and in choosing a career (photography, social contribution, political organization of the country, civic service)

Most importantly, BSA teaches morals and civic service. (Honesty, teamwork, enviromental preservation.)

Answer 10

No, it is not. What kind of nut are you to even think this? Teaching camping skills and how to build toy race cars leads to the Army. I don't think so.