Within Troop 809, we divide scouts into patrols – usually between six to ten Scouts and use the patrol method. A patrol’s independence from the troop varies between activities. For instance, a troop typically holds ordinary meetings as a unit. Patrols’ autonomy becomes more visible at campouts, where each patrol will set up its own cooking area, have their own food stores and be responsible for certain duties while on the trip.
In Troop 809 we encourage patrols to hold meetings and even excursions separately from the rest of the troop in order to expand the range of activities and experiences of the scouts and to report these new insight to the entire troop. Each patrol has a Patrol Leader (PL) and Assistant Patrol Leader (APL).
Troop 809 currently has the following patrols:
- Aliens
- Black Dragons
- Jaguars
- Moose
- Ravenz
- Rebels
- Oh . . . and one more really big patrol – WOO (That’s the Wise Old Owls – meaning the adults)