Plan to draft Scout leaders from Barbados Defence Force
IN a desperate move to get more men to assume leadership roles in the Barbados Boy Scouts Association, the Association is currently having talks with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) regarding drafting soldiers to become scout leaders.
President and Chief Scout, Chief Justice of Barbados, Sir Marston Gibson spoke about plans for the future partnership between the Association and the BDF, as he highlighted the need for the missing men to return to the Association which for many years, has played a major role in shaping future leaders of the nation.
Sir Marston was speaking at the Scouts Founder’s Day Service, themed, “Rebranding Scouting in Barbados A Call to Men”, held at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex Wildey Gymnasium, on Sunday.
The Chief Scout said that the plan had been approved by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, Patron of the Boy Scouts Association, at a meeting she held with Sir Marston, Chief Commissioner Dr Nigel Taylor, and Chief of Staff of the BDF Lieutenant Colonel Glyne Grannum.
The Governor General was in attendance at the service.
The Chief Justice said while he is aware that there are those who believe that members of the military joining the Association would make it “too militaristic”, that is the thought process of those who know nothing about the foundation of the Boy Scouts Association internationally.
He reminded that Scouting was founded by Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell who served in the British Army in India and Africa from 1876 until 1910.
“In our discussions with Colonel Grannum, we have proposed, and he has agreed, that we will have further talks about the drafting of men from the Barbados Defence Force into scouting to provide both leadership and discipline to the boys. That is where our organisation started, it started with the military,” he said.
The Chief Scout also issued a call to men’s organisations, including church groups to join the Association. He said his suggested rebranding is about reaching back into the past to find ideas which have worked in getting men to be leaders.
“Our trainers stand ready, willing and able to train new scout leaders. And don’t expect us to wait until you come knocking, we will make the first move, as we believe the present situation is dire, it will not be easy, but as Her Excellency reminded the Chief Commissioner, Colonel Grannum and me at our meeting with her, the longest journey begins with that first step,” he said.
Sir Marston also made a pivotal point that there is the need to keep scouting interesting for boys. He recommended that paring of scout troops in Barbados and foreign countries, through the use of social media, may be an interesting way to go.
“Scouting is an international organisation and the things that we can learn are endless and enumerable. But you can’t learn scouting on the block,” he said. (AH)