Welcome to Scout Troop 1449! We are an active, boys only, scout-led troop with monthly campouts, yearly “Merit Badge Day”, “Scouting for Food” community service, scout summer camp and high-adventure trips.
Founded in 1974, Troop 1449 is committed to providing a “safe place to fail” for boys aged 11-17. Boys have varying reasons for joining the troop – camaraderie and community, to learn certain skills, and/or to obtain the Eagle Scout rank. Whatever a boy’s purpose, our goal, like that of the founder of Boy Scouting, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, is to provide an environment rooted in merit and guided by a moral code of behavior.
Toward this end, Troop 1449 is a “Scout-led” Troop where scouts drive all planning and managing activities, with older Scouts teaching younger scouts the lessons and experiences that were taught to them. When younger boys see older boys that they admire and respect setting a good example, they both benefit.
Troop 1449 has a robust outdoor program. The theme of each monthly campout is chosen by the scouts and generally has a specific activity associated with it such as backpacking, rock climbing, caving, pioneering, cooking, fishing, community service, etc. Some campouts include Friday and Saturday nights, but most are from Saturday to Sunday. The following are some of our yearly favorites:
- Klondike Derby in January: The famous winter campout, where the district troops compete against each other in fun and creative winter games
- Spring Shooting Campout at Camp Sinoquipe PA, which includes rifle, shotgun and archery
- Beach campout in Delaware beach
- White water rafting campout on the Yough river in PA.
Troop 1449 emphasizes the "Patrol Method" which structures the boys into smaller “patrols”, giving more boys the opportunity to take on roles with increasing responsibility and leadership. The boys manage their Patrol’s camping equipment as well as plan and cook their meals on campouts. Each patrol invites parents to dine with them for breakfast and dinner. Boys cooking together and eating together is one of many civilizing influences that enrich our camping experience. Our scouts are quite accomplished cooking in the outdoors and make delicious and creative meals! Following dinner and clean-up, the troop builds a large campfire and the boys entertain the troop with songs, skits, riddles and jokes.
During the summer, most of our troop attend summer camp either at Camp Liberty at Heritage Scout Reservation in Pennsylvania or Goshen Scout Reservation in Goshen, Virginia. In addition, older Scouts often undertake more challenging summer treks such as:
- Backpacking
o Goshen Scout Reservation Virginia (aka Lenhok’sin)
o Philmont Scout Reservation in New Mexico
o Yellowstone National Park
- Canoeing in the Boundary waters as part of BSA’s Northern Tier High Adventure program
- Scuba Diving and/or Sailing in the Florida Keys as part of Seabas
Troop 1449's methods have led most of our scouts to stay active until they are forced out at the age of 18 by BSA policy. This allows us to have a patrol of experienced older boy leaders, who help guide the younger boys and leaders-in-training. When our scouts “age out”, we are honored to have 18-year-old high school seniors remain active in our troop by immediately completing their Youth Protection Training and re-enrolling as adults. They also eagerly return during their college breaks to see and celebrate the accomplishments of the boys they mentored as scouts.
Our primary adult leaders, The Scoutmaster and Committee Chair, serve a single maximum term of three years. This ensures that we are always training our replacements and that the policies and methods we employ are sustainable in the years to come, by parents who have day-jobs. Many of our parents also volunteer as merit badge counselors, providing our scouts opportunities to learn about various careers.
Troop 1449 meets on Wednesday nights at Cold Spring Elementary School, 9201 Falls Chapel Way, Potomac, MD, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. We are happy to welcome new members and encourage anyone interested to come visit us at one of our weekly meetings. We encourage you to contact us before visiting in order to ensure a successful visit in accordance with our upcoming events and plans.
To contact us, please send an email to the webmaster or the scoutmaster. Thank you!