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Unit, District, and Council General and Contingency Planning Guide for Boy Scouts of America©

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Doctorial Project for Completion of the Degree Doctorate, Commissioner’s Science Boy Scouts of America University of Scouting Commissioner’s College Unit, District, and Council General and Contingency Planning Guide for Boy Scouts of America© Version 0.99b 4 February 2010 By Larry D. Hahn, Lt Col, USAF Ret Unit Commissioner Chesapeake Bay District Colonial Virginia Council 2010 - BSA General n Contingency Planning Guide - L. Hahn.docx Approval Letter Advisor Memorandum for Record To: Larry D. Hahn, Unit Commissioner (Doctorial Candidate) From: Ronald Davis, District Commissioner (Candidate’s Advisor) CC: Lloyd Dunnavant, Dean, Commissioners College Date: January 10, 2019 Re: Approval of BSA Scout University Doctorial Project After careful review of the submitted project from Larry D. Hahn for completion of his Commissioner’s College doctorial degree, I grant my approved and acceptance for the degree of Doctorate (PhD) in Commissioner’s Science through the Boy Scouts of America, University of Scouting. As of this date, and as his advisor, I submit this signed letter as official documentation of approval. Ronald Davis Advisor Chesapeake Bay District Commissioner Approval Letter Council Commissioner Memorandum for Record To: Larry D. Hahn, Unit Commissioner (Doctorial Candidate) From: Mike Fry, Council Commissioner CC: Ronald Davis, District Commissioner (Candidate’s Advisor) Date: January 10, 2019 Re: Approval of BSA Scout University Doctorial Project After careful review of the submitted project from Larry D. Hahn for completion of his Commissioner’s College doctorial degree, I grant my approved and acceptance for the degree of Doctorate (PhD) in Commissioner’s Science through the Boy Scouts of America, University of Scouting. As of this date, and as Council Commissioner, I submit this signed letter as official documentation of approval. Mike Fry Colonial Virginia Council Commissioner Approval Letter Dean of the Commissioner’s Collage Memorandum for Record To: Larry D. Hahn, Unit Commissioner (Doctorial Candidate) From: Lloyd Dunnavant, Dean, Commissioner’s College CC: Ronald Davis, District Commissioner (Candidate’s Advisor) Date: January 10, 2019 Re: Approval of BSA Scout University Doctorial Project After careful review of the submitted project from Larry D. Hahn for completion of his Commissioner’s College doctorial degree, I grant my approval and acceptance for the degree of Doctorate (PhD) in Commissioner’s Science through the Boy Scouts of America, University of Scouting. As Dean of the Commissioners College, I declare, as of this date, that Larry D Hahn has completed the project requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Commissioner’s Science (PhD); I submit this signed letter as official documentation of completion. Lloyd Dunnavant Dean, Commissioners College © Copy Right 2010 Explicit and Implied BSA Use of this Material Per the requirements for submission of a doctorial thesis or project within the University of Scouting, Commissioner’s College process, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) receives both implied and explicit rights for the use of the material found within this document, titled “Unit, District, and Council General and Contingency Planning Guide for Boy Scouts of America.” This intellectual property is proprietary; it is for the use of the Boy Scouts of America and the author, exclusively. Boy Scouts of America is defined as the national council, headquarters in Irving Texas, and any and all of its subordinate organizations, subsidiaries, and personnel to include any duly registered members who are in good standing that are acting on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America. The author retains original proprietary and all other rights and privileges of this work. Authorization to copy or use this information in any manner or for any purpose otherwise stated must do so with the sole and expressed permission of the author by any individuals, corporations, organizations, or any other entity, other than the Boy Scouts of America. i CONTENTS Preface……………………………………...………….………………….………………........ iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….…… iv 1.0 Emergency Preparedness in the BSA..….….….….……..…..…....……...........….….….... 1 2.0 What is an Emergency or Contingency…………………………..…….…………….….... 2 3.0 Emergency & Contingency Types.………………………………….….….……………… 3 3.1 Environmental Effects & Natural Disasters 3.2 Manmade Accidents & Disasters 3.3 Search and Rescue 4.0 How Planning Will Help in Managing an Emergency or Contingency..…………..….…...7 5.0 Guide General Description…….….….….….….……………………………………..…... 8 6.0 General Planning Explained…..………………………………………….……..….….….. 9 6.1 The Planning Process 6.2 Military & Business Examples 6.3 The General Planning Guide 7.0 Contingency Planning Explained…..………………………………………….…………... 12 7.1 The “What If” Factor in Contingency Planning 7.2 The Contingency Planning Guide 7.3 Supporting Information & Detailed Descriptions for the Guide 7.4 The Quick Reference Guide (QRG) 7.5 Crisis Action Planning 8.0 Summary………………………………………………………………….…….….…….... 23 APPENDICES A. General & Contingency Planning Guide for BSA Units B. Reference Data, Tables, & Charts C. Youth Permission Forms D. Acronym & Abbreviation List E. Glossary F. Bibliography ii PREFACE Over time, I have observed instances where reasonable questions asking about alternate plans did not receive a reasonable answer in return; answers like “we did not think of that” were usually the responses given. No reasonable person can expect an individual, or committee, to think of everything, especially when their time is so precious. However, if planers were to simply ask some basic “what if” type questions and consider the answers to them, it would far better prepare them for when things do not go as planned. This problem really defined itself for me while attending an outdoor Cub Scout event. I saw first hand how the lack of a contingency plan might negatively affect a Scouting activity. Thunderstorms were moving in with lightning, while the event site remained clear. However, conditions were soon about to deteriorate, as the lightning was within 5 to 10 miles. Yet activities continued along as planned, in particular, one of the adults began to conduct the water bottle rocket launching activity in a nearby field. I asked what their plan was for canceling or adjusting their activities, the answer, there was no plan. When I suggested that shooting water bottle rockets into the air, in an open field, with lightning in the area was not a good idea, I got the statement that “it was fine, it was not raining yet.” I was stunned. Not only did the adults not understand the weather but also lacked any understanding of the importance in developing a contingency plan. If they had considered these possibilities, even at the most rudimentary level, they would have been prepared to avoid what was becoming a serious and dangerous situation. For one of my Wood Badge ticket items, I chose to develop a guide for units to use in helping them plan, but more importantly develop contingency plans for when their well thought out event did not go as intended. The Military has a saying that no plan survives first contact. The same is true for any plan, the moment you begin executing your plan it begins to change. Having an alternate or contingency plan or plans will never cover every variation, but it will go a good ways in helping you transition through those changes. Possibly to the point where you can keep a fun event on track, and completely transparent to the ones it matters most, the Scouts. Because Boy Scouting High Adventure activities have a higher level of risk than units might experience on an average type outing, a basic contingency plan may not cover every possibility specific to a more challenging excursion. Because of this, planning for challenging type activities are beyond the scope of this guide. Rather, the guide attempts to provide an excellent comprehensive foundation for use in preparing for contingencies and emergencies under multiple conditions and circumstances. Therefore, it is dependant on unit leadership to exercise good judgment when planning for a particularly adventurous activity and to ensure thorough planning occurs to try to anticipate the potential dangers particular to that activity/event. While conducting research for this guide I found many BSA documents, manuals, and books on the subject of unit planning to include for emergencies and contingencies. However, most of them would only explain what to look for or what you might do rather than provide a guide for the process. In addition, the information is found in multiple places and documents; there is no one-stop-shop for conducting a full set of comprehensive plans from a to z. This guide attempts to provide that one-stop-shop for unit planning and contingency considerations. Larry D. Hahn, Lt Col, USAFR Unit Commissioner, Chesapeake Bay District Colonial Virginia Council iii Acknowledgements The Lord my God For granting me the wisdom and ability to do all I do, it is because of him! Ronald Davis, Chesapeake Bay District Commissioner My Commissioner mentor, his quite leadership and guidance are inspiring and helpful Sandy Foster My Wood Badge Ticket Counselor, his patience and support helped make this happen The Fox Patrol To the guys for their levity and support in urging each other on toward completing our goals My Beautiful Wife For her patience and understanding, allowing me the time necessary to complete this project iv 1.0 Emergency Preparedness in the BSA Sir Baden Powell started the Scouting movement in 1907, and a significant portion of its teachings then as they are now circled around the importance of being prepared, for anything at anytime. As the hero of Mafeking, Baden Powell understood full well the importance of being prepared as he went about developing the plans necessary to defend the town of Mafeking during the Boer Wars in Africa1. He developed and executed all manner of plans during the siege, from feeding the town folk to delivering the mail, along with a range of contingency plans for reacting to enemy actions, and he was mentally prepared to manage and deal with all the situations he did not anticipate.
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