An email from one of our Eagle Scouts (West Point Grad) serving in the Army to his Scoutmaster comparing his Army training to the skills and leadership he learned as a Boy Scout in the Troop.
Mr. Gaudin,
I wanted to tell you about an experience I had recently that you may wish to pass on to the boys in the troop. Last month I completed the Army’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) course. The training is for pilots and guys in the special forces and is designed to teach us how to survive if we get shot down behind enemy lines. They first taught us survival skills in the wilderness and then taught us how to survive and resist interrogation in the event that we do get captured. Overall it was some of the best training that I have ever had-I learned a great deal and feel confident with the skills I learned. But here’s where scouting comes in. Most of the training for the survival portion of the course was developed using the Boy Scout Manual. During the course they taught me many skills that I already knew from my experience in scouting like starting fires using flint and steel, collecting water, setting animal traps, preparing and cooking animals that we caught, building different kinds of shelters, and making tools and weapons from natural materials. We got to put these skills to use too in the final exercise, which was a week long. We were in the woods for the week with only the clothes on our backs, some first aid supplies, a knife, a piece of flint, some iodine tablets, and a map and compass. So not only did they teach us the different skills, but we had to put them to use as well. We probably could have gotten away with just sleeping on the ground, but it was cold and raining so fire and a shelter became pretty important. And we had to catch our own food, so making tools to for that purpose became important and we again needed a fire to cook the rabbit and snake that we caught. But my point is that while they taught us these things during the course, I already knew most of the skills from my experiences in Boy Scouts. These skills actually do work and can save your life. Plus I found it interesting that Army got much of the information for this course from the Boy Scouts.
Also, though not unique to this course, the leadership skills I learned in scouting came in handy. I was put in charge of our five-man team because I was the highest ranking person on the team, so I had to worry about taking care of four other people, not just myself. This was a little intimidating at first because I was the youngest one on the team and two of the people on our team were special forces guys that have deployed to Iraq a couple of times each. But I eventually got the hang of things and our team performed very well. The confidence to step up and take charge in an uncomfortable situation links back to my experience in Boy Scouts. I may not yet have much experience leading troops, but I do have leadership experience to go off of.
Anyway, I just thought that you and the troop might find this interesting. I wish everyone Happy Holidays send my best to the troop. Also, what is Matthew up to these days? How are things going for him? I heard from Matt C**** not too long after he deployed. His unit was just setting up at the time, but he said that he was pretty excited for the experience and looking forward to it.
Best Wishes,
Grant
Steve Graden Grant Mr. Gaudin Matt Jesse
Let’s all remember to keep our troops serving in our thoughts and prayer’s.
