A contingent of 10 Scouts and 6 adults (maybe 7) attended the West Point Camporee at the US Military Academy on May 4-6. The weather was good — clear, with highs in the 60s, and a 5-minute rain shower just to keep up the statistics.
This year if Scouts wanted to get brass insignia from cadets, they had to undergo a challenge. One of our Scouts beat a cadet at keeping his legs off the ground; another won a knowledge challenge. Troop 160 Scouts participated in (at least) Knot Tying, Fire Starting, Canoe Race, Leadership Reaction Course, Camouflage, and Grenade Toss. This year we remembered the makeup remover for the camouflage.
The cadets conducted a number of demonstrations, including a landing by the parachute team and a number of equipment static displays.
The final parade was reviewed this year by the Commandant of Cadets (a very big deal for the cadets involved), a visiting Major General, and the Colonel advising the cadets who ran the Camporee. (The Colonel’s talk to visiting Scoutmasters was very like our Scoutmaster’s talk to parents — “We’re just here for health and safety — they run the show.”).
Click here for some pictures of Troop 160 Scouts by Meg Bonnell-Bradley. Click here for pictures of the whole Camporee by the official Historian.
The pictures taken by Meg were wonderful, it raised the bar for our photo taking. Lien