Registration is now open for the next Linked Troop Wood Badge course, set for Jan. 20-24, 2025, at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.
Wood Badge is an advanced leadership training course open to Scouting volunteers, participants and commissioned professionals ages 18 and older. Leaders from Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts and Explorers all have something to gain from Wood Badge.
The linked troop course gives participants a chance to experience the linked troop model used by many Scouts BSA troops.
With a linked troop in Scouts BSA, two troops — one for boys and one for girls — share a single chartered organization and troop committee. At the 2025 Linked Troop Wood Badge course — known as SBR-25-1 — participants will be split into a gray troop and orange troop that operate separately but share staff members, facilities and many of the troop presentations.
What previous participants are saying about the linked troop course
In its fifth year of operation, the Linked Troop Wood Badge course has developed quite the following. Participants have raved about how educational, memorable and fun the course is.
Take, for example, the words of Brad Tilden, BSA-22-1 participant and current Scouting America National Chair:
“I attended the linked Wood Badge course at the Summit in January of 2022, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best experiences of my life. The leadership training was on par or better than any I have experienced in my professional career, and it was a positive and emotional reminder of the importance of what we do. I came away with some new friends, with my tanks and walls full, and with much better skills to be a Scout leader, but also better skills as a parent, grandparent and friend.”
And here’s what National Venturing Officers’ Association President Andrea Marron Leycegui, an SBR-24-1 participant (and SBR-25-1 staffer) had to say:
“Wood Badge was truly such a life-changing experience — a turning point — filled with new friendships, experiences and valuable lessons. The course was empowering, pushing me to define my place, potential and impact as a young adult leader. It prepared me for the service I intend to continue giving as I move on into an adult position in the next year. Beyond Scouting, it helped me develop skills that have already proved vital in my role as a student. The uniqueness of this course and the passion, experience and diversity brought to the table by the staff and participants certainly kept the Scouting spirit burning brightly as we all sought to change lives.”
An opportunity to learn
Though SBR-25-1 uses the linked troop model, you don’t have to be associated with a linked troop to participate. It is, in fact, a great opportunity to learn about the different ways troops can form and operate.
“During this course, you get to learn about and experience the full range of models Scouting America has to offer for a Scouts BSA troop,” says National Scouts BSA Committee Chair Angelique Minett, a staff member for SBR-25-1. “You’ll practice both what it’s like to be a single-gender troop operating independently and a troop that operates closely with its linked troop.
“We’ll also have an educational session exploring how the new combined troop pilot works and what that might look like as an option for troops in the future.”
No prior knowledge is required to participate in the Linked Troop Wood Badge course. This is not a course only for those with decades of Scouting experience.
“This is a great opportunity to interact with and hear from high-level volunteers with different backgrounds who will share different perspectives of the program as they administer it from around the country,” says National Scouts BSA Director Garfield Murden, who staffed the SBR-24-1 course. “Key outcomes to look forward to are learning something new, meeting someone new and feeling better about your competencies afterward. This course was created to explore one’s capabilities and to improve, along with feeling confident about yourself.”
Click here to register for the 2025 Linked Troop Wood Badge Course.
How can I learn more about Linked Troop Wood Badge?
The directors of this year’s Wood Badge course have scheduled a virtual seminar via Zoom for Oct. 20, 2024, at 5 p.m. Eastern. Click here or scan the QR code in the image below to register!
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