[Philmont]: RE: Principles and Techniques

Dave Parmly writes -

In Army Ranger School, they have a saying: "There are Principles and then
there are Techniques." There are 4 certain key tactical PRINCIPLES that
your unit must adhere to at all times. Everything else you do on a mission
is a TECHNIQUE. <snip>

and

<snip> We found a key resource at Philmont was TIME. Lots of the techniques
y'all discuss here save that resource so the guys can do other things like
RTB&D, or look at the stars.

Comments -

I found this concept of PRINCIPLES and TECHNIQUES very interesting, and see
how it can be applied generally to most things in life, and particularly in
training both scouts and scouters. Step back, ask yourself "is this a
principle or is it a technique?, and then approach your subject accordingly.

In the case of a Philmont crew, I thought about "what are the PRINCIPLES for
a successful trek?" and came up with:

1. All crew decisions are made by the youth, led by the Crew leader, and
intervention of the adult Advisors is limited to issues of health and safety
of the crew and its members.

2. All actions of individual crew members and the crew will be in
accordance with the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, and Philmont's Wilderness
Pledge.

3. Philmont's Rules and Regulations will be adhered to at all times.

Everything relating to a trek can then be evaluated as techniques to
accomplish the goal of completing the trek.

Some techniques relate directly to principles - smellables up in the bear
bags is both a health and safety issue as well as a Philmont rule.

Some techniques relate indirectly to principles - consuming treated water is
a health and safety issue, but the choice of technique (treated water at a
staff camp, Polar Pure, filtering, boiling) is not important.

And some techniques are just that - one of several acceptable ways to do
something, such as using Phil tents or bringing your own.

Lastly, while I would also agree about a key resource being TIME and
evaluating techniques to conserve it, what is RTB&D?

- Al Thomson, Troop 236, Schooley's Mountain NJ
Advisor '99, '01, and '03
Autumn Adventure '00, '02 and '04

P.S. Three weeks from tonight will be our first night in the backcountry
(probably at Indian Writings) for this year's Autumn Adventure - I can
hardly wait.

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Received on Sun Aug 29 21:45:35 2004