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Never Again Volunteer Yourself
Yes that's what NAVY stands for. But yet I still do.
So I'm on my local BSA's counsel committee for shooting sports. (this I didn't volunteer I was in Scoutmaster training they saw the stickers and asked what was my background and I was told great, thanks for joining the committee
not that I minded)
for I can teach the merit badge and run the range at the summer camps. If I could get out of reg work for 3 months over the summer I would become a program director for one of the camps by me.
Sooo I did help out a week when I was out of work last year and it was the best thing ever and even got a award from camp for jumping in cold to their busiest weeks. Not only did I do good the Troops raved about the old Navy guy that cracked them up.
So the rifle badge is 2 hrs and day for 5 days. Plus there is open time alot of them come to work on the groups they have to shoot. About 80% of the 30 or so kids make it.
So at a meeting a question was asked how many in one weekend?
dummy me
Oh given a range and people to run it 80-100.
no way...oh yes way. I like scouts because as a leader I can lead again. I took care of my guys it cost me promotions but oh well. I can plan large events.
So a month later I had a outline, and detail plan and maps and equip/people breakdown.
Surprising I was told it's going to happen. THEN the fun started.
1st- I had the impression it was for the whole counsel given the size of the event.
no it was one district. One that likes to hold event and not invite the other 2 inc mine.
2nd- where? There are 2 camps one can have 10 shooters at a time other 8.
Got the one with 8. Ok no prob being it's just a district that normally only does 15 scouts at one of these cut it to 80. 5 patrols of 16.
3rd- instructors! Got to have NRA cert inst and in a 3 hr window you need to up the ratio for 8/1 to almost 1/2. Plus min 2 Range safety Officers. for the 2 ranges
Also about 4 other instructors that don't have to be cert but I could be sure that could teach the badge.
4th- ammo. I know the perfect score is 35 shots. yea that never happens. So I thought about it and came up with a nice round # -100. So 100rds per Scout avg. we need about 8000 rounds of .22 ammo. oh also about 2000 targets.
Mind you it's my job to have "the plan" it was the districts job to get "the stuff" .
They didn't want get that much ammo or how to.
easy talk to the camp, give them money and they can add it to the yearly order. (this was Jan) The event was June. I said lets get it now they said no we will get it closer to the event.
So they also wanted to use bb guns to lower the cost. The rifles were free at the camp also the 8 I had to grab from a 2nd camp to fill 2 ranges of 8 at a time, 4 at a cleaning station and a couple spares.
Yea so May rolls around no ammo- ok district ammo targets?
They respond that I was getting it.
No IAW this email I will send back you have it. Again the main guy had no clue how to get mass amounts of ammo of course he never tried to find out. So quick scramble a local store sets us up. I offer to pick it up. I get there they hand me 1 one box of 325 .22. 
Like Bugs bunny as the jester. oh now here is the rest of it. phew what what?
Oh buy this time the event was distilled down to 5 patrols of 8 for a max of 40. So using the formula I sent to 3 people 4 times 100ea thats 4k. Here's just over 6k rds. What did you ask me for a # of you were going to use it?
5th the bb guns, again they were to arrange using the counsels trailer for cub scouts that has the guns and the ropes and stuff to make a range and any safe given field. NOPE (down to 4 weeks) So I do it. Sure you can use it $165 and only 1 day.
Yea ok I am sitting on 2 cases of ammo, forget it here's a novel idea lets go with my plan and for $40 I got ropes stakes and target holders at the orange apron.
(3 weeks to go)
Just have 1 guy to teach/inst/RSO guess who (navy)
One of instructors for the camp comes up from out of state for the summer and offer to help, by inst and offers to give an RSO class.
By this time the course is sold out, and there are 5 different toops coming. I have the word put out I need min of 2 adults to take this 6hr course at cost of $30 not the $250 ranges charge and if no one rogers up it can't happen-. Wait a week one guy in my troop wants to take it and help I get nothing from them.
Now this when I start letting the sailor out. I send a terse email back to the district CC the big wigs that I have worked so hard on this for them and did quit my weekend range job to have the weekend off to do this and found 1 dad in my troop who's son also can't go to this- there is NO reason they couldn't have one guy who would like to get this qual that they could use at future events.
Finally 2 people step up. Still no inst. But I can inst one range while running he whole event and the other guy can do the other and I'll press some people in to helping with inst.
(2 weeks)
I get a email ..aaah yea the camp is not providing targets can I just print some?
no they have to be TQ-1 type not just some random target and are you going to burn down your printer to make 2k?
Plus I sent a link 4 months ago to a place you could of ordered them from for 27 friggen $. Again I got they though I was going to do it and again cue the email from that guy even saying he had it. So here's the link again. get them
One last meeting I do my Alice's Restaurant where I get out my drawings of were stuff should go, out line plans, detail plans, muster sheets so progress can be tracked, schedules both basic and detailed color coded with the maps were and when people should be and the 8x10 color glossys of the tracks.
The event.
Biggest comment is it went just like I said. All the kids had something to do and were engaged all weekend. The adults learned a few things as well. The huge seemly complicated plan was really extremely simple in execution. Nothing was over looked.
In naval air terms I briefed the flight and flew the brief .
SURPRISE it worked.
So in the end only 38 showed up, 36 shot for score (2 just wanted to camp) of them 32 of them got the badge. A better result then at camp.
So even though I
I did like that once again I could use my skills and still get great results. So after a 
or 12 it's time to start planning on the next one. At please the trial run is done. I got some good lessons learned (keep the max at 40) also when did the math the avg was 125 shots per scout. I say I did a good guess.
Sorry for the long rant. Hopefully you could make sense of my mad tpyeing skills.
So I'm on my local BSA's counsel committee for shooting sports. (this I didn't volunteer I was in Scoutmaster training they saw the stickers and asked what was my background and I was told great, thanks for joining the committee
not that I minded) for I can teach the merit badge and run the range at the summer camps. If I could get out of reg work for 3 months over the summer I would become a program director for one of the camps by me.
Sooo I did help out a week when I was out of work last year and it was the best thing ever and even got a award from camp for jumping in cold to their busiest weeks. Not only did I do good the Troops raved about the old Navy guy that cracked them up.
So the rifle badge is 2 hrs and day for 5 days. Plus there is open time alot of them come to work on the groups they have to shoot. About 80% of the 30 or so kids make it.
So at a meeting a question was asked how many in one weekend?
dummy me
Oh given a range and people to run it 80-100. no way...oh yes way. I like scouts because as a leader I can lead again. I took care of my guys it cost me promotions but oh well. I can plan large events.So a month later I had a outline, and detail plan and maps and equip/people breakdown.
Surprising I was told it's going to happen. THEN the fun started.
1st- I had the impression it was for the whole counsel given the size of the event.
no it was one district. One that likes to hold event and not invite the other 2 inc mine.
2nd- where? There are 2 camps one can have 10 shooters at a time other 8.
Got the one with 8. Ok no prob being it's just a district that normally only does 15 scouts at one of these cut it to 80. 5 patrols of 16.
3rd- instructors! Got to have NRA cert inst and in a 3 hr window you need to up the ratio for 8/1 to almost 1/2. Plus min 2 Range safety Officers. for the 2 ranges
Also about 4 other instructors that don't have to be cert but I could be sure that could teach the badge.
4th- ammo. I know the perfect score is 35 shots. yea that never happens. So I thought about it and came up with a nice round # -100. So 100rds per Scout avg. we need about 8000 rounds of .22 ammo.
oh also about 2000 targets. Mind you it's my job to have "the plan" it was the districts job to get "the stuff" .
They didn't want get that much ammo or how to.
easy talk to the camp, give them money and they can add it to the yearly order. (this was Jan) The event was June. I said lets get it now they said no we will get it closer to the event.So they also wanted to use bb guns to lower the cost. The rifles were free at the camp also the 8 I had to grab from a 2nd camp to fill 2 ranges of 8 at a time, 4 at a cleaning station and a couple spares.
Yea so May rolls around no ammo- ok district ammo targets?
They respond that I was getting it.
No IAW this email I will send back you have it. Again the main guy had no clue how to get mass amounts of ammo of course he never tried to find out. So quick scramble a local store sets us up. I offer to pick it up. I get there they hand me 1 one box of 325 .22. Like Bugs bunny as the jester. oh now here is the rest of it. phew what what? Oh buy this time the event was distilled down to 5 patrols of 8 for a max of 40. So using the formula I sent to 3 people 4 times 100ea thats 4k. Here's just over 6k rds.
What did you ask me for a # of you were going to use it? 5th the bb guns, again they were to arrange using the counsels trailer for cub scouts that has the guns and the ropes and stuff to make a range and any safe given field. NOPE (down to 4 weeks) So I do it. Sure you can use it $165 and only 1 day.
Yea ok I am sitting on 2 cases of ammo, forget it here's a novel idea lets go with my plan and for $40 I got ropes stakes and target holders at the orange apron.(3 weeks to go)
Just have 1 guy to teach/inst/RSO guess who
(navy)One of instructors for the camp comes up from out of state for the summer and offer to help, by inst and offers to give an RSO class.
By this time the course is sold out, and there are 5 different toops coming. I have the word put out I need min of 2 adults to take this 6hr course at cost of $30 not the $250 ranges charge and if no one rogers up it can't happen-. Wait a week one guy in my troop wants to take it and help I get nothing from them.
Now this when I start letting the sailor out. I send a terse email back to the district CC the big wigs that I have worked so hard on this for them and did quit my weekend range job to have the weekend off to do this and found 1 dad in my troop who's son also can't go to this- there is NO reason they couldn't have one guy who would like to get this qual that they could use at future events.
Finally 2 people step up. Still no inst. But I can inst one range while running he whole event and the other guy can do the other and I'll press some people in to helping with inst.
(2 weeks)
I get a email ..aaah yea the camp is not providing targets can I just print some?
no they have to be TQ-1 type not just some random target and are you going to burn down your printer to make 2k? Plus I sent a link 4 months ago to a place you could of ordered them from for 27 friggen $. Again I got they though I was going to do it and again cue the email from that guy even saying he had it. So here's the link again. get them
One last meeting I do my Alice's Restaurant where I get out my drawings of were stuff should go, out line plans, detail plans, muster sheets so progress can be tracked, schedules both basic and detailed color coded with the maps were and when people should be and the 8x10 color glossys of the tracks.
The event.
Biggest comment is it went just like I said. All the kids had something to do and were engaged all weekend. The adults learned a few things as well. The huge seemly complicated plan was really extremely simple in execution. Nothing was over looked.
In naval air terms I briefed the flight and flew the brief .
SURPRISE it worked.
So in the end only 38 showed up, 36 shot for score (2 just wanted to camp) of them 32 of them got the badge. A better result then at camp.
So even though I
I did like that once again I could use my skills and still get great results. So after a or 12 it's time to start planning on the next one. At please the trial run is done. I got some good lessons learned (keep the max at 40) also when did the math the avg was 125 shots per scout. I say I did a good guess. Sorry for the long rant. Hopefully you could make sense of my mad tpyeing skills.
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