Boy Scouts who like building their own shelters and making survival packs will enjoy the Wilderness Survival merit badge.

In their outdoor activities, Scouts learn to bring the clothing and gear they need, to make good plans, and do their best to manage any risks. But now and then, something unexpected happens. When things go wrong, the skills of wilderness survival can help make everything right again.

Wilderness Survival Merit Badge Requirements

1. Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur in backcountry settings, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, blisters, insect stings, tick bites, and snakebites.
2. From memory, list the seven the priorities for survival in a backcountry or wilderness location. Explain the importance of each one with your counselor.
3. Discuss ways to avoid panic and maintain a high level of morale when lost, and explain why this is important.
4. Describe the steps you would take to survive in the following conditions:
1. Cold and snowy
2. Wet (forest)
3. Hot and dry (desert)
4. Windy (mountains or plains)
5. Water (ocean, lake, or river)
5. Put together a personal survival kit and explain how each item in it could be useful.
6. Using three different methods (other than matches), build and light three fires.
7. Do the following:
1. Show five different ways to attract attention when lost.
2. Demonstrate how to use a signal mirror.
3. Describe from memory five ground-to-air signals and tell what they mean.
8. Improvise a natural shelter. For the purpose of this demonstration, use techniques that have little negative impact on the environment. Spend a night in your shelter.
9. Explain how to protect yourself from insects, reptiles, and bears.
10. Demonstrate three ways to treat water found in the outdoors to prepare it for drinking.
11. Show that you know the proper clothing to wear in your area on an overnight in extremely hot weather and in extremely cold weather.
12. Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

If you are planning a vacation, then this would be a good time for your Cub Scout to earn the Family Travel pin from the Cub Scout Academics and Sports program. This recognition helps Cub Scouts understand all of the things you must do before you even set out on that trip.

Family Travel Pin Requirements

Earn the Family Travel belt loop, and complete five of the following requirements:

1. Go on a trip with your family that includes at least one overnight stay. Keep a journal of your trip and then share it with your den leader.
2. Play a travel game while traveling in a car.
3. With an adult, review the Guide to Safe Scouting, chapter XII, “Transportation.” Then make a list of safety rules to follow when traveling in the car or while using public transportation such as a bus, plane, boat, and train. Share the list with your den.
4. With the help of a parent or adult partner, use a computer to look up an airfare from your closest airport to a city in a foreign country. Calculate the total travel time, the day and time you will leave your home, and the day and time you will arrive at your destination.
5. Visit a travel agent office or look up a travel Web site.
6. Using pictures, explain to a family member how people’s forms of transportation have changed in the last 300 years.
7. Visit with an adult who has driven in a different country. List five things that the adult found to be very different from driving in the United States
8. Make a list of occupations that people have that are related to traveling. Describe the position you would like to try. Explain to a family member why you chose that occupation.
9. Learn how to apply for a U.S. passport. With adult supervision, read an actual application and complete as much of the form as you can.
10. Change $1,000 U.S. dollars into pounds, Euros, or pesos.
11. With an adult, conduct a motor vehicle inspection of the car designated for traveling. Use the checklist provided in the Guide to Safe Scouting called “Annual Motor Vehicle Checklist.” This can be found a
12. www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gssax.aspx

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

To earn the Venturing Ranger award, a young man or woman must complete eight core requirements and four electives. One of the electives to meet the Ranger award requirements is Lifesaver.

To complete the Venturing Ranger Award requirements for Lifesaver , a Venturer must have a BSA Lifeguard certification or Red Cross certification or take an emergency response course. He or she must also put together a first aid kit and share knowledge with others.

Venturing Ranger Award Requirements – Lifesaver

1. Do 1(a), (b), or (c)
   1. Complete the Boy Scout or Venturing Lifeguard requirements and hold a current certification. (Note: BSA Lifeguard certification lasts for three years from the time of certification.)
   2. Complete a 45-plus-hour emergency response course or an EMT Basic course.
   3. Earn the American Red Cross Lifeguard Training or Lifeguard Trainer certificate.
2. 1. Help build a crew or family first aid kit.
   2. Know how to use everything in the kit.
   3. Teach another person or group how to make and use a first aid kit.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

To earn the Venturing Ranger award, a young man or woman must complete eight core requirements and four electives. One of the electives to meet the Ranger award requirements is First Aid. (Note that there is also a First Aid core requirement which must also be earned for the Ranger award.)

To complete the Venturing Ranger Award requirements for First Aid, a Venturer must learn about making a first aid kit and share this knowledge with others. He or she must also complete a first aid course.

Venturing Ranger Award Requirements – First Aid Elective

1. 1. Build a personal first aid kit or help build a group first aid kit.
   2. Know how to use everything in the kit.
   3. Teach another person in your crew, another crew, a Cub or Boy Scout group, or other how to make and use a personal or group first aid kit.

Do 2, 3, or 4.

2. Complete a 25 hour emergency first aid course.
3. Complete a 45-hour emergency response course.
4. Complete an EMT Basic course offered through a local hospital, college, or first aid crew.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

Our local police department holds a Crime Prevention merit badge skill center for Boy Scouts every year. If there is nobody in the lockup, they even get put in jail, which is always what they talk about afterwards.

Preventing crime, which can be as simple as reducing the opportuntities for crime to occur, is far less costly than apprehending and bringing legal action against those who break the law and it helps save people from the anguish of being victims.

Crime Prevention Merit Badge Requirements

1. Discuss the role and value of laws in society with regard to crime and crime prevention. Include in your discussion the definitions of “crime” and “crime prevention.”
2. Prepare a notebook of newspaper and other clippings that address crime and crime prevention efforts in your community.
3. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. The role of citizens, including youth, in crime prevention.
2. Gangs and their impact on the community.
3. When and how to report a crime.
4. After doing EACH of the following, discuss with your counselor what you have learned.
1. Inspect your neighborhood for opportunities that may lead to crime. Learn how to do a crime prevention survey.
2. Using the checklist in this pamphlet, conduct a security survey of your home and discuss the results with your family.
5. Teach your family or patrol members how to protect themselves from crime at home, at school, in your community, and while traveling.
6. Help raise awareness about one school safety issue facing students by doing ONE of the following:
1. Create a poster for display on a school bulletin board.
2. With permission from school officials, create a page long public service announcement that could be read over the public address system at school or posted on the school’s Web site.
3. Make a presentation to a group such as a Cub Scout den that addresses the issue.
7. Do ONE of the following:
1. Assist in the planning and organization of a crime prevention program in your community such as Neighborhood Watch, Community Watch, or Crime Stoppers. Explain how this program can benefit your neighborhood.
2. With your parent’s and counselor’s approval, visit a jail or detention facility or a criminal court hearing. Discuss your experience with your counselor.
8. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. How drug abuse awareness programs such as “Drugs: A Deadly Game” help prevent crime.
2. Why alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are sometimes called “gateway drugs” and how gateway drugs can lead to the use of other drugs.
3. Three resources in your city where a person with a drug problem or drug-related problem can go for help.
4. How the illegal sale and use of drugs lead to other crimes.
5. How to recognize child abuse.
6. The three R’s of Youth Protection.
9. Discuss the following with your counselor:
1. The role of a sheriff’s or police department in crime prevention.
2. The purpose and operation of agencies in your community that help law enforcement personnel prevent crime, and how those agencies function during emergency situations.
3. Explain the role private security plays in crime prevention.
4. Choose a career in the crime prevention or security industry that interests you. Describe the level of education required and responsibilities of a person in that position. Tell why this position interests you.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

The Emergency Preparedness BSA award for Boy Scouts recognizes young men who are ready to respond when an emergency strikes. Events like the recent Hurricane Sandy drive home the point that we should all be prepared at all times. By developing the knowledge and skills needed in an emergency situation, Boy Scouts will be ready and able to help their communities and families when disaster strikes.

The requirements below are for youth enrolled in the Boy Scout program. There are also variations of this award for Cub Scouts and Venturers. For more information about this award, see the Scouting.org website.

Emergency Preparedness BSA – Boy Scout Requirements

Do the following:

1. Participate in creating an emergency plan for your home and for your troop or team’s Scouting activities. Be sure you know the details of both emergency plans.
2. Earn the First Aid or the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.
3. With your troop or team, including its adult leaders, participate in emergency preparedness training conducted by community emergency preparedness agencies.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

The Safety merit badge is not required for Eagle Scout like it used to be, but it still teaches Boy Scouts valuable lessons.

Knowing about safety helps Scouts to make the right choices and to take the best actions to avoid accidents by making informed choices in their everyday activities and to respond appropriately during an emergency situation.

Safety Merit Badge Requirements

1. Prepare a notebook to include
1. Newspaper and other stories, facts, and statistics showing common types and causes of injuries in the home and in the workplace, and how these injuries could be prevented
2. Newspaper and other stories, facts, and statistics showing common types of crimes and ways to avoid being a crime victim
3. Facts you have obtained concerning the frequency of accidents and of crimes in your local area
4. A paragraph or more, written by you, explaining how a serious fire, accident, or crime could change your family life
5. A list of safe practices and safety devices currently used by your family, such as safety practices used while driving or working and safety devices that prevent injuries or help in an emergency
2. 2. Do the following:
1. Using a safety checklist approved by your counselor, make an inspection of your home. Explain the hazards found and how they can be corrected.
2. Review or develop your family’s plan of escape in case of fire in your home.
3. 3. Do the following:
1. Discuss with your counselor how you contribute to the safety of yourself, your family, and your community.
2. Show your family members how to protect themselves and your home from accidents, fire, robbery, and assault.
3. Discuss with your counselor the tips for online safety. Explain the steps individuals can take to help prevent identity theft.
4. Discuss with your counselor the three R’s of Youth Protection and how to recognize child abuse.
4. Show your family the exits you would use from different public buildings (such as a theater, municipal building, library, supermarket, shopping center, or your place of worship) in the event of an emergency. Teach your family what to do in the event that they need to take shelter in or evacuate a public place.
5. Make an accident prevention plan for five family activities outside the home (at your place of worship, at a theater, on a picnic, at the beach, and while traveling, for example). Each plan should include an analysis of possible hazards, proposed action to correct hazards, and reasons for the correction you propose in each plan.
6. Plan and complete a safety project approved by your counselor for your home, school, place of worship, place of employment, or community. Include in your plan an explanation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory System and appropriate actions to take for each threat level.
7. Learn about three career opportunities in the field of safety. Pick one career and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this choice with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

The Emergency Preparedness BSA award recognizes young men and women who are ready to respond when an emergency strikes. Emergency preparedness preparation is vital to our communities and having the appropriate skills and knowledge can enable our youth to know what to do when something unexpected happens.

The requirements below are for youth enrolled in the Venturing program. There are also variations of this award for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

Emergency Preparedness BSA – Venturer Requirements

1. Complete all of the Emergency Preparedness core requirement number 4 . (page 17, Ranger Guidebook)
2. Do one of the following:
   1. Complete the First Aid core requirement. This may be fulfilled either by completing the standard American Red Cross first aid course When Help Is Delayed or by completing the American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid Course.
   2. With your crew, including its adult leaders, participate in emergency preparedness training coordinated by community emergency preparedness agencies.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

What is the best way to treat a knife cut? This article from Boy’s Life magazine explains how to stop the bleeding, clean the cut, and dress the wound.

See the article: How to treat a knife cut

Cub Scouts earning Whittling Chip or working with knives should have this knowledge. Webelos should use this information for Craftsman activity badge, Outdoorsman activity badge, and Readyman activity badge.

Boy Scouts need this information for their Tenderfoot first aid requirements and when earning Totin’ Chip for Second Class rank. They will also need to know how to treat a knife cut if they earn the Woodworking merit badge or the Woodcarving merit badge.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

BSA has just released the Search and Rescue merit badge requirements. This new merit badge teaches Boy Scouts what is involved in search and rescue missions, so they will be prepared to help out if the need arises in their area.

Here’s what an announcement from BSA said:

 Scouts won’t fly helicopters, but they’ll get practice in finding and rescuing people in case a real emergency ever happens.

Search and Rescue Merit Badge Requirements

1.  Do the following:
   1. Explain to your counselor the hazards you are most likely to encounter while participating in search and rescue (SAR) activities, and what you should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these hazards.
   2. Discuss first aid and prevention for the types of injuries or illnesses that could occur while participating in SAR activities, including: snakebites, dehydration, shock, environmental emergencies such as hypothermia or heatstroke, blisters, and ankle and knee sprains.
2. Demonstrate knowledge to stay found and prevent yourself from becoming the subject of a SAR mission.
   1. How does the buddy system help in staying found and safe?
   2. How can knowledge of the area and its seasonal weather changes affect your plans?
   3. Explain how the Ten Essentials are similar to a “ready pack.”
3. Discuss the following with your counselor:
   1. The difference between search and rescue
   2. The difference between PLS (place last seen) and LKP (last known point)
   3. The meaning of these terms:
      1. AFRCC (Air Force Rescue Coordination Center)
      2. IAP (Incident Action Plan)
      3. ICS (Incident Command System)
      4. Evaluating search urgency
      5. Establishing confinement
      6. Scent item
      7. Area air scent dog
      8. Briefing and debriefing
4. Find out who in your area has authority for search and rescue and what their responsibilities are. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain the official duties of a search and rescue team.
5. Complete the training for ICS-100, Introduction to Incident Command System. Print out the certificate of completion and show it to your counselor. Discuss with your counselor how the ICS compares with Scouting’s patrol method.
6. Identify four types of search and rescue teams and discuss their use or role with your counselor. Then do the following:
   1. Interview a member of one of the teams you have identified above, and learn how this team contributes to a search and rescue operation. Discuss what you learned with your counselor.
   2. Describe the process and safety methods of working around at least two of the specialized SAR teams you identified above.
   3. Explain the differences between wilderness, urban, and water SARs.

A Note About Unauthorized and Restricted Activities
The BSA’s Guide to Safe Scouting states under “Unauthorized and Restricted Activities” that flying in aircraft as part of a search and rescue mission is an unauthorized activity for youth members. For complete information, see http://www. scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety.aspx.

7. Discuss the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system, latitude, and longitude. Then do the following:
   1. Using a 1:24,000 scale USGS topographic map, show that you can identify a location of your choice using UTM coordinates.
   2. Using a 1:24,000 scale map, ask your counselor to give you a UTM coordinate on the map, then identify that location.
   3. Show that you can identify your current location using the UTM coordinates on a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit and verify it on a 1:24,000 scale map.
   4. Determine a hypothetical place last seen, and point out an area on your map that could be used for containment using natural or human-made boundaries.
8. Choose a hypothetical scenario, either one presented in this merit badge pamphlet or one created by your counselor. Then do the following:
   1. Complete an incident objectives form for this scenario.
   2. Complete an Incident Action Plan (IAP) to address this scenario.
   3. Discuss with your counselor the behavior of a lost person and how that would impact your incident action plan (for example, the differences between searching for a young child versus a teen).
   4. After completing 8a-8c, discuss the hypothetical scenario with your counselor.
9. Discuss with your counselor the terms hasty team and hasty search. Then do the following:
   1. Plan and carry out a practice hasty search-either urban or wilderness-for your patrol or troop. Include the following elements in the search: clue awareness, evidence preservation, tracking the subject, and locating the subject using attraction or trail sweep.
   2. When it’s over, hold a team debriefing to discuss the hasty search. Discuss problems encountered, successful and unsuccessful tactics, and ideas for improvement.
10. Find out about three career or volunteer opportunities in search and rescue. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this professional or volunteer position. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this position might interest you.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

To earn the Venturing Ranger award, a young man or woman must complete eight core requirements and four electives. One of the core requirements is Wilderness Survival.

By completing the Venturing Ranger Award requirements for Wilderness Survival, a Venturer must learn how to survive in the wild, focusing on things like hydration, fire making, food, and shelter. The Venturer must also share these skills with others.

Venturing Ranger Award Core Requirement – Wilderness Survival

1. Write a risk management plan for an upcoming crew high adventure activity such as a whitewater canoeing or rock-climbing trip. The plan should include nutrition, health, first aid, supervision, insurance, safety rules and regulations, proper equipment, maps and compass, in-service training, environmental considerations, emergency and evacuation procedures, and emergency contacts.
2. From memory, list the survival priorities and explain your use of each in a survival situation.
3. Learn about and then make a tabletop display or presentation for your crew, another crew, a Cub or Boy Scout group, or another youth group on the following subjects:
   1. Emergency signals used in the outdoors
   2. Search and rescue patterns
   3. Evacuation procedures and value of when to move and when not to move in a wilderness emergency
4. Explain the following environmental exposure problems. Discuss what causes them, signs and symptoms, and treatment.
   1. Hypothermia
   2. Frostbite
   3. Sunburn
   4. Heat exhaustion
   5. Heat cramps
   6. Heat stroke
5. Hydration
   1. Explain dehydration and the necessity of conserving fluids in a survival situation.
   2. Explain at least four methods of obtaining water in the outdoors and demonstrate at least two ways to purify that water.
6. Fire making
   1. Demonstrate at least two different fire lays-one for cooking and one for warmth.
   2. Learn and discuss the use of fire starters, tinder, kindling, softwoods, and hardwoods in fire making.
7. Explain and demonstrate how you can gain knowledge of weather patterns using VHF band radio and other radios, winds, barometric pressure, air masses and their movements, clouds, and other indicators.
8. Knots and lashings
   1. Explain the different rope materials and thicknesses that are best for wilderness use and how to care for them.
   2. Know the use of and demonstrate how to tie the following knots and lashings:
      1. Sheet bend
      2. Fisherman’s knot
      3. Bowline
      4. Bowline on a bight
      5. Two half hitches
      6. Clove hitch
      7. Timber hitch
      8. Taut-line hitch
      9. Square lashing
      10. Shear lashing
9. Food
   1. Explain the usefulness and drawbacks of obtaining food in the wilderness, including things to avoid.
   2. Prepare and eat at least one meal with food you have found in the outdoors.
10. Survival kit
    1. Make a list of items you would include in a wilderness survival kit and then make copies to hand out to visitors to your wilderness survival outpost camp.
    2. Using your list, make a wilderness survival kit. Explain the use of each item you have included.
11. Outpost camp
    1. Set up a wilderness survival outpost camp and spend at least two nights and two days in your site.
    2. Use and demonstrate several knots and lashings from requirement (h) in your wilderness survival campsite demonstration.
    3. Know how to plan a wilderness shelter for three different environments and then build a shelter as part of your wilderness survival campsite demonstration.
    4. Have your crew, another crew, a Cub or Boy Scout group, or another youth group visit you in your outpost for a presentation you make on wilderness survival (at least one hour).

Remember to use the Leave No Trace principles you learned.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

Blisters are a common injury for outdoor and physical activities. Correct blister treatment can prevent further irritation. This article from Boy’s Life magazine describes the appropriate treatment for blisters. In particular, it discusses how to drain a blister if leaving it intact is not an option due to irritation or enlargement.

Blister First Aid: How to treat a blister

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

BSA offers supplemental pack program ideas for each month. The newest theme for the August core value of Honesty will be a Kids Against Crime theme. This one was the program theme at least once in the past. So I’ll be adding some ideas related to the theme this month.

Here is what the old program helps said about this theme:

Crime Prevention is everyone’s job. Cub Scouts will spend the month learning how to keep themselves, their families and their homes safe.

So this theme will revolve around the ideas of safety and crime prevention. Several of the Cub Scout achievements and electives fit in with this theme.

Achievements Related to Kids Against Crime

Tiger Cub Scouts

• Achievement 2: Where I Live - – Go See It Activity: Visit a police station or a fire station. Ask someone who works there how he or she helps people in your community.
• Achievement 3: Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe - 3F – Family Activity: a. With your family, plan a fire drill then practice it in your home. and b. With your adult partner, plan what to do if you became lost or separated from your family in a strange place.
• Tiger Elective 27 – Emergency!  - Talk to your adult partner about what to do if these things happened: You are alone with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable.

Wolf Cub Scouts

Wolf Achievement 4 – Know Your Home and Community:

• Make a list of phone numbers you need in case of an emergency. Put a copy of this list by each phone or in a central place in your home. Update it often.
• Tell what to do if someone comes to the door and wants to come in.
• Tell what to do if someone calls on the phone.

Bear Cub Scouts

Bear Achievement 7 – Law Enforcement Is a Big Job

• Practice one way police gather evidence: by taking fingerprints, or taking shoeprints, or taking tire track casts.
• Visit your local sheriff’s office or police station or talk with a law enforcement officer visiting your den or pack to discuss crime prevention.
• Help with crime prevention for your home.
• Be sure you know where to get help in your neighborhood.
• Learn the phone numbers to use in an emergency and post them by each phone in your home.
• Know what you can do to help law enforcement.

Webelos

Citizen Activity Badge

• Tell about two things you can do that will help law enforcement agencies.
• Tell why we have laws. Tell why you think it is important to obey the law. Tell about three laws you obeyed this wee

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

The Boy Scout Roundtable Planning Guide suggests a Safety troop program feature for August 2012.  This program feature offers the opportunity to introduce kids to safety programs in a troop setting. A PLC can use this program feature to plan a month of activities with a focus on safety.

The plans for the Safety troop program feature can be found in  Volume 3  of Troop Program Features from BSA:

Having a good experience on a troop campout requires safety practices that prevent accidents. Safety is actually a prevention tool. Performing a project correctly, using the proper tools and procedures, could protect you from serious injury.

Safety Programs

Younger scouts can work on their early rank requirements, including first aid.  Older scouts can earn the Safety merit badge and Fire Safety merit badge. Some other related merit badges include First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, and Lifesaving. All scouts can help develop safety programs for their campouts.

The feature event for this program is a campout where safety programs are developed and practices. As an alternative, youth can arrange a visit to a hotel to learn about safety in public buildings or set up a display about safety programs in a mall.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

To earn the Venturing Ranger award, a young man or woman must complete eight core requirements and four electives. One of the core requirements is emergency preparedness.

By completing this requirement, a Venturer is not only prepared to deal with emergencies which he or she encounters, but has also passed this knowledge on to others.

Venturing Ranger Award Core Requirement – Emergency Preparedness

1. Discuss potential disasters and emergency preparedness with your family and then set up a family emergency plan.
2. Build a family emergency kit.
3. Make a tabletop display or presentation on what you have learned for your crew, another crew, a Cub or Boy Scout group, or another youth group.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

Purchasing information: Gerber 31-000701 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit

From the manufacturer:

Bear Grylls and Gerber Team Up
The Ultimate Kit is part of the Gerber Bear Grylls Survival Series of gear. This collaboration brings together Gerber’s 70+ years of knife and gear expertise with Bear Grylls’ extensive outdoor survival and adventure experience to create a one-of-a-kind line of knives, tools, and gear.

From spending time in the British SAS, to scaling Mount Everest, Bear knows what it takes to be a survivor in extreme situations and multiple environments. Now he brings that knowledge to the creation of a range of items that help you make the most of your outdoor adventures.

Heavy-Duty Survival Kit for the Toughest Spots
Ideal for hard-core outdoor adventurers, the Ultimate Kit has everything you need to stay safe and alive until you can be rescued or rescue yourself.

The 15-piece kit includes the Gerber miniature multi-tool, which offers stainless steel, weather-resistant components including needle nose pliers, wire cutters, fine edge and serrated knives, a Phillips screwdriver, small and medium flat drivers, a lanyard ring, a bottle opener, and tweezers. This tool’s rugged construction and external components make it a reliable multi-tasker, even in the harshest environments.

Rugged, Ready-to-Go Tools and Accessories
In addition to the multi-tool, the Ultimate Kit comes with a lightweight ripstop nylon bag with a waterproof zipper for weather-resistant storage and an array of tools and accessories, including a miniature light, a hand saw, a signaling mirror, a survival blanket, a fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball fire tinder, a snare wire, an emergency cord, waxed thread, a fishing kit, and a sewing kit.

Includes Survival Guide and SOS Instructions
For added peace of mind and a higher level of preparedness, this kit comes with land to air rescue and SOS instructions. It also includes Bear Grylls’ informative Priorities of Survival pocket guide, loaded with survival basics.

What’s in the Box
Nylon pouch, multi-tool, miniature light, hand saw, signaling mirror, survival blanket, fire starter, waterproof matches, cotton ball fire tinder, snare wire, emergency cord, waxed thread, fishing kit, sewing kit, pocket survival guide, and rescue instructions.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

I recently received some Cobrabraid 550 paracord bracelet samples to review. The bracelets I received were made of study paracord. In a pinch, the cord can be unwound and used for any number of uses:

Paracord is the ultimate survival tool. It can be used as a tie down, tourniquet, animal snare, boot lace, clothes line, fishing line, and hundreds of other things!

The bracelets are well made. They have a velcro closure, so they fit just right. That is important for me. I have twig like wrists for some reason and often can’t get bracelets that fit.

I like the look of the bracelets and my sons liked them also. They immediately put them on and declared them “cool”.

Cobrabraid has a number of products available. They also offer keychains and kits for making the bracelets yourself. I think the kits would make a great Craftsman project for Webelos. The products come in a number of colors.

They also offer a fundraising option. You can purchase the items in bulk at a discount and then sell them for your pack, troop, or crew. You can learn more about Cobrabraid products, get the details about their fundraising program, and see all of the items available at their website.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

To earn the Venturing Ranger award, a young man or woman must complete eight core requirements and four electives.

The first aid core requirement is fairly brief and straightforward. (See below.) The Venturer must complete a wilderness first aid course. The Red Cross course is mentioned by name, but the Venturer may do an equivalent course also. The choice of an equivalent course would need to be approved by the Crew Advisor.

Learn more about American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid courses

Venturing Ranger Award Core Requirement – First Aid

Complete a standard first aid course or the American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid Basics or equivalent course.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

BSA provides den meeting plans for den leader on the Scouting.org website. Today, I am going to go through the eighth Bear Cub Scout plan. This plan focuses on Bear Achievement 11 – Be Ready.

If you don’t already have the BSA den meeting plans, download BSA Bear Den Meeting Plan 8 to follow along with this article.

BSA Bear Den Meeting 8 – Be Ready

Preparation and Before the Meeting

For this meeting, the plan recommends you invite somebody who knows about first aid (doctor, nurse, EMT, etc.) to come to your meeting and help with the instruction. If you can’t find somebody, don’t worry about it. You and your other parents will be able to do this meeting. You will also need to gather materials ahead of time for the demonstrations and first aid kits.

Gathering

Check out my gathering activities page for some ideas.

Opening

Do a  simple opening flag ceremony

Business

Do the business portion and then move on to the activities.

Activities

Start with Achievement 11a (“Tell what to do in case of an accident in the home. A family member needs help. Someone’s clothes catch on fire.”) Letting the Cub Scouts role play as victims and rescuers will work well for this requirement.

Next you will do Achievement 11e (“With your family, plan escape routes from your home and have a practice drill.”) Even if you are doing a den drill, they will still need to complete this requirement at home. See my post Fire Drill Time for some tips and a checklist you can send home with them.

Next the plan suggests you do Achievement 11g (“Discuss the Character Connection for Courage.”) I usually did the Character Connection activities at the beginning of the activities part of the meeting, just because with one of my dens in particular it was difficult to get them to sit and talk after they did anything active. So feel free to move this elsewhere in the meeting if you think it would work better for your group.

Finally, you will do more role play for Achievement 11b (“Tell what to do in case of a water accident.”), Achievement 11c (“Tell what to do in case of a school bus accident.”), and Achievement 11d (“Tell what to do in case of a car accident.”). My dens always enjoyed acting out scenarios like these and it was easy to fill a whole meeting with this material.

If you have extra time at the end, I recommend you make small personal first aid kits. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. We just put some little things like various sized band-aids, alcohol wipes, etc in quart sized freezer bags. Then they each had a personal first aid kit for outings and hikes.

Closing

Close with a prayer, Law of the Pack,  Cub Scout Promise, etc.

After the Meeting

Have everyone help clean up. This is a good chance to remind the parents about what help you need for the next meeting.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting

The Boy Scout Roundtable Planning Guide suggests an Emergency Preparedness troop program feature for Boy Scouts for May 2012. BSA provides the troop program feature guides as a resource for Boy Scout troops. A PLC can use these guides to plan a series of meetings and outings around a single theme. My post Troop Program Features for Meetings and Outings has  more information about these guides.

The plans for the Emergency Preparedness troop program feature can be found in  Volume 1  of Troop Program Features from BSA:

Our Scout motto, “Be Prepared,” is never more important than in dealing with emergency situations. The ability to make correct decisions under pressure really tests a Scout. As Scouts progress through the program, they perfect their skills in leadership, the outdoors, and working with people. Emergency preparedness means being prepared in all of these areas.

The focus of this program feature is on first aid and being ready in emergency situations. Younger Scouts will work on first aid requirements, along with a few other requirements. Experienced Scouts will work on First Aid and Emergency Preparedness merit badges.

The big feature for the program theme is a campout where Scouts encounter simulations of emergency situations and respond to them using the skills they have been practicing.

Copyright Scouter Mom - A resource for adults and youth involved in Scouting