Troop 9 Leadership Positions

Troop 9 is a boy-run Troop. Troop elections are held every six months. The Senior Patrol Leader is elected by the entire Troop. Each patrol leader is elected by the members of his patrol. A Scout can serve a maximum of two six-month terms in one position. The Patrol Leaders’ Council (PLC) meets monthly at 7:00 pm on Monday evenings, as scheduled on the Troop’s Annual Calendar.

Duties

Duties of Elected Positions

Senior Patrol Leader

Senior Patrol Leader
  1. Presides at all Troop meetings, events and activities
  2. Chairs the Patrol Leaders’ Council
  3. Assigns duties and responsibilities to other leaders
  4. Makes up a duty roster whenever the Troop is eating/functioning as a Troop rather than as patrols
  5. Calls all Patrol Leaders to communicate information when a "Patrol Phone Call" is required
  6. Establishes an agenda for Patrol Leaders’ Council meetings

Patrol Leader

Patrol Leader
  1. Attend Patrol Leaders’ Council meetings
  2. Plan patrol meetings
  3. Call the members of his patrol to inform them of recent and important information or reminders
  4. Makes duty rosters for his patrol when at a function where the Troop is functioning as Patrols
  5. Shows patrol spirit and instills patrol spirit in his patrol members

Duties of Appointed Positions

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader
  1. Takes over the responsibilities of the Senior Patrol Leader in his absence
  2. Helps with leading meetings and activities
  3. Attend Patrol Leaders’ Council meetings
  4. Assist Senior Patrol Leader with “Patrol Phone Calls”

Assistant Patrol Leader

Assistant Patrol Leader
  1. Performs Patrol Leader’s duties in his absence
  2. Responsible for making half of the phone calls during a “Patrol Call”

Troop Scribe

Scribe
  1. Keeps minutes of the Patrol Leaders’ Council meetings and submits them to the Scoutmaster and Troop Committee and Patrol Leaders at the following PLC meeting for approval
  2. Takes attendance at weekly meetings
  3. Prior to each Patrol Leaders’ Council meeting, prepares a rotation of patrols for patrol duties at the weekly meetings for the following month. This rotation will be voted on and approved at the Patrol Leaders’ Council meeting.

Troop Quartermaster

Quartermaster
  1. Keeps records of Patrol and Troop equipment
  2. Keeps equipment in good repair
  3. Checks out equipment and sees that it is returned in good order
  4. Suggests new or replaced equipment items needed to Patrol Leaders’ Council
  5. Responsible to the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and an adult Quartermaster Guide

Troop Librarian

Librarian
  1. Keeps records on literature owned by the Troop
  2. Advises Patrol Leaders’ Council of new or replacement items needed
  3. Has literature available for borrowing at Troop meetings
  4. Keeps system to check literature in and out
  5. Follows up on late returns

Troop Historian

Historian
  1. Gathers pictures and facts about past activities of the Troop and keeps these in permanent forms such as scrapbooks, wall hangings, or information files
  2. Provide a report of recent events at each Court of Honor. These reports should cover all outings and special or notable events since the last Court of Honor (e.g. Troop Swim, Eagle Scouts, Webelos Crossovers)
  3. Keeps information about Troop alumni and their doings
  4. Provides a report at a Troop activity immediately following the event so the Scouts who missed it know what they missed

Chaplain Aide

Chaplain Aide
  1. Plans and carries out religious non-denominational services at Troop activities. For this, he may utilize others if he wishes. These should be planned prior to the activity and submitted to the Patrol Leaders’ Council for approval.
  2. Provide invocation at all meals during a Troop activity
  3. Encourage Troop members to earn their religious emblem
  4. Responsible to the Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and adult Troop Chaplain.

Troop Bugler

Bugler
  1. Responsible for waking the members of the Troop on campouts on time
  2. Preference should be given to those who know music and can play taps and reveille unless there are none eligible who can perform these duties

Troop Guide

Troop Guide
  1. Works with younger Scouts on advancement and duties
  2. Assists in establishing a new patrol

Eligibility

To be eligible for any position, the Scout must have his dues paid up to date.

Eligibility for Elected Positions

Senior Patrol Leader

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Be active in the Troop
  3. Scoutmaster Approval

Patrol Leader

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Be active in the Troop
  3. Scoutmaster Approval

Eligibility for Appointed Positions

Assistant Senior Patrol Leader

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Be active in the Troop
  3. Scoutmaster Approval

Assistant Patrol Leader

  1. Be an active member of the Patrol
  2. Recognize that this position does not count toward Troop positions of responsibility required for the Star and Life rank advancements

Troop Scribe, Troop Guide

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Active member of the Troop

Troop Librarian, Troop Quartermaster

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Active member of the Troop

Troop Historian, Chaplain Aide

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Active member of the Troop

Troop Bugler

  1. First Class Rank or higher
  2. Active member of the Troop
  3. Preference is given to those who know music and can play taps and reveille

Election Procedure

The election procedure for junior leaders and other positions will be as follows:

  1. In order for elections to be held there must be a quorum of 50% of the active Scouts in attendance.
  2. The election for Senior Patrol Leader will be the first election to take place, following speeches by the candidates. The Senior Patrol Leader will be the candidate who receives the MAJORITY of the votes. (Note: This is a majority, not a plurality.) If none of the candidates receives a majority of the votes, the two candidates who received the highest number of votes will remain on the ballot for a run-off election.
  3. After the Senior Patrol Leader election is completed, the Senior Patrol Leader will select his Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. The Scoutmaster must approve the selection for Assistant Senior Patrol Leader.
  4. Following the election for the Senior Patrol Leader, the Troop will break up into Patrols and select among themselves a Patrol Leader by secret ballot.
  5. After each Patrol Leader election is completed, the new Patrol Leader will select his Assistant Patrol Leader. The Scoutmaster must approve the selection.
  6. If an elected junior leader is unable to serve his full term or chooses to resign, the Senior Patrol Leader, with advice and approval of the Scoutmaster, will appoint someone to fill the position for the rest of the term.
  7. The term for an elected junior leader will last for 6 months, with the elections generally taking place on the second Tuesday of March and September.

The Scoutmaster will then appoint other Troop Leadership position appointments, with the Senior Patrol Leader’s approval:

  1. Troop Scribe
  2. Troop Librarian
  3. Troop Quartermaster
  4. Troop Historian
  5. Chaplain Aide
  6. Troop Bugler
  7. Troop Guide
Instructor Den Chief OA Troop Representative

The Scoutmaster may appoint these additional positions of responsibility:

  1. Order Of The Arrow Troop Representative
  2. Den Chief
  3. Instructor

A Patrol Leader or Assistant Patrol Leader may hold one of the ten positions listed above in addition to his Patrol position.

Junior Assistant Scoutmasters

Junior Assistant Scoutmaster

Junior Assistant Scoutmasters are nominated by the Scoutmaster and confirmed by a vote of the Troop committee.

Eligibility

  1. Must be at least 16 years old but not yet 18
  2. Must demonstrate marked ability as a leader
  3. Must be proficient in scouting skills

Responsibilities

  1. Attending regular meetings with the Troop’s Scoutmaster to ensure responsibilities are properly carried out
  2. Helping the Scoutmaster and his assistants in the running of the Troop
  3. Teaching Scouts in the skills they need for advancement
  4. Assisting the Senior Patrol Leader whenever requested
  5. Serving as a judge in inter-patrol competitions

For More Information

The Patrol Leader Handbook, Fourth Edition and The Senior Patrol Leader Handbook provide the groundwork for leading troop and patrol activities and being an effective leader at troop meetings and on the trail. The Troop provides them to newly elected SPLs, ASPLs, PLs and APLs.

These handbooks also generally describe the other Troop leadership positions, Any questions should be first directed to the ASPL or SPL.

Detailed program feature descriptions and activity suggestions are available in the BSA publications Troop Program Features, three volumes that can be downloaded from the BSA website.

The Order of the Arrow Troop Representative, Chaplain Aide and other Troop Leadership positions have detailed descriptions posted on the Troop web site.

Guiding Principle

From Lord Baden-Powell, these are his most important ninety-seven words to know and understand for everyone in the Boy Scout movement:

Every Boy Scout troop is made up of patrols, groupings of six to eight boys who work together as a team. Each patrol elects its own leader. The patrol leaders, with an elected Senior Patrol Leader, form the Green Bar. It is the Green Bar’s job to plan and run the troop program.

Each patrol leader represents his patrol on the Green Bar, and interprets to his patrol the plans and decisions the Green Bar makes. Patrols have their own meetings, elect their own officers, and plan and carry out their own patrol activities.