Training

How good would you be at chess or checkers if no one had ever explained the rules or taught you how to play? This is essentially the reason the BSA lists this criterion as required for the National Quality Unit Award.

In order to meet this requirement, the troop's Scoutmaster must have taken Fast Start and Scoutmastership Fundamentals. With the changes to the adult leader training the wording of the requirement will change, but the concept behind the requirement will not. The one adult leader responsible for making Scouting happen in a troop needs to be properly trained.

Your goal, of course, should be for every adult leader to be trained to the same level. That includes the Committee Chair, all of the assistant Scoutmasters, and maybe even the entire troop committee. Realistically, that's not always possible. At the very least, the Scoutmaster and assistant Scoutmasters should have the Scoutmaster specific training this requirement asks for. Additionally, the Committee Chair should have the committee specific training offered as part of the new training cycle. Everyone else should have at least BSA Basic Training.

The reason is simple; in Little League we expect the coaches and umpires to know something about baseball, don't we? In youth soccer, we expect the coaches and referees to know a little something about soccer. How is Scouting any different? Parents should expect the adult leaders of their son's troop to know something about Scouting - and if they don't they should be expected to learn. If you won't trust your car to a mechanic who doesn't know how to fix it, why would you trust your son to a Scouter who doesn't know how run a Scout troop?