An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Article Display

McGuire Boy Scout Troop earns top marks; seeks more Scouts

  • Published
  • By Capt. Dustin Doyle
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. --  Celebrating its 100th anniversary in February of next year, The Boy Scouts of America boasts a youth membership of more than 2.8 million. Twenty of those scouts can be found right here at McGuire AFB, and they are looking for more. 

Local Boy Scout Troop 18, chartered out of Wrightstown, N.J., is made up solely with scouts from retired and active-duty military families. Led by Scoutmaster Kevin Edwards, a senior master sergeant with the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Troop 18 has one of the more active programs in the area. 

"Scouting may not be as popular now as it once was, but it has a track record for generating great leaders. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn were both Eagle Scouts. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Clinton and Kennedy, and Olympians Dan Jensen and Bruce Jenner were all Scouts, just to name a few," said Sergeant Edwards. 

"We've had three young men earn Eagle Scout in the past two years, and I'm optimistic that we'll see the names of some of our scouts among those of these great leaders in the future." 

Getting more aggressive in their activities and participating more enthusiastically in local programs, the scouts made a collective decision to challenge each other physically and with Scout skills in 2009. Rock climbing, backpacking the New Jersey portion of the Appalachian Trail, hiking both the Monmouth Historical Trail and Gettysburg battlefield, and canoeing Wharton State Forest were just a few of their accomplishments this year.
The only thing left on this year's agenda is to bike through Washington D.C. to see all the monuments and tour one of the Smithsonian complexes. 

"The great thing about Boy Scouting is that it is scout-led," said Jake Steiner, the senior patrol leader for Troop 18. "The adults act as safety advisors and mentors, but we get to do all the planning." 

With a renewed focus on excellence, Troop 18 has been receiving accolades and high marks in scouting events throughout the year. 

In February, the Troop took two teams to the Burlington County Klondike Derby; a competition in which they had not won or even placed since 2003. With events to tests the boy's skills in outdoor events such as orienteering, first aid, leadership challenge courses and the Klondike sled race, the Troop won the overall fastest sled competition and placed 3rd overall against more than 25 other local Scout Troop teams. 

The boys also took top honors in July during a Boy Scout summer camp in Maryland. The camp has two awards for various achievements during the week-long camp: the Honor Troop Award, which is given to the Troop that receives the highest amount of points for camp inspections, attendance at ceremonies, cheerfulness and overall Scout spirit, and the Baden Powell Award, which is given to the Troop that best demonstrates leadership and dedication to the ideals of Scouting. Troop 18 won both awards. 

"The boys kind of just took off this year," said Sergeant Edwards. "They set some pretty high goals and are following their plan. As both the Scoutmaster and a father of one of the boys, I couldn't be more proud." 

"It's exciting to be part of such an awesome Troop," said Steiner. "We're having a great time, and if there is a challenge, we're going to take it." 

Troop 18 meets on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the McGuire Scout Hut and Civil Air Patrol facility in building 3412. If you have a boy, aged 11 to 18, who is interested in scouting, contact Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Edwards at (609) 723-5478, or by e-mail at gotropetroop18@gmail.com.