Venturing (BSA) - Definition and Overview

Venturing is a division of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women ages 14-20. It was created on August 1, 1998 to replace Exploring, another division of the BSA, after a major reorganization of that division. It includes the Sea Scouting program. It is the only BSA division which is fully co-ed. Like Boy Scouting, members recite an oath, wear a (crew determined) uniform, and go on unit-planned activities. The advancement scheme for Venturing places an initial emphasis on skills before encouraging the youth to take a major role in planning activites in the unit. In Venturing, Youth are called "venturers", units are referred to as "crews" (or "ships" in Sea Scouting), and adult leaders are called "advisors".

Creed

The Venturing Oath

As a Venturer, I promise to do my duty to God and help strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world.

The Venturing Oath

As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God and in the courage, strength, and traditions of our people. I will, therefore, be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain a personal sense of honor in my own life. I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve and enrich it. I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair play and goodwill in my daily life. I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks truth in all things and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.

The Venturing Sign

A raised right hand with the palm open, upper arm held horizontally and the forearm vertically. The right thumb is held slightly open, creating a "V."

The Venturing Hand Salute

A full-hand salute, with the pointer touching the forehead or hat brim.

Advancement

Venturing advancement is made up of several awards. The three main awards (similar to ranks in traditional Boy Scouting) are Bronze, Gold and Silver, which must be earned in that order. The Bronze award actually consists of five separate awards (Sports, Religious Life, Arts and Hobbies, Outdoor, and Sea Scout). A venturer may earn all five Bronze awards, though only one is required to earn a Gold award.

In addition to these, venturers may also earn the Ranger and Quest awards. The Ranger award requires an Outdoor Bronze award, and generally builds on the requirements for that award. The Quest award requires and builds on the Sports Bronze award. The Sea Scout Bronze award is equivalent to the Ordinary Rank in Sea Scouting, part of the progression to the rank of Quartermaster. Similar "advanced" awards are currently in development for the other two Bronze awards.

A member may earn all of the Sea Scout awards, even if he or she is not a member of a Sea Scout ship. Male members under the age of 18 may also earn the Star, Life, and Eagle ranks from the Boy Scouting program (Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, and 1st Class ranks must be earned in a Boy Scout troop).

Uniform and insignia

The option of having a uniform is left up to each individual crew. As such, there is no official Venturing uniform. BSA does offer a Venturing uniform, which may be used by crews and is often mandatory for camp staff and other council employees who are Venturers. This uniform, worn by venturers and advisors, includes:

• A forest-green, button-up short-sleeved shirt or blouse, with two front pockets.
• Charcoal gray pants or shorts with multiple pockets.
• A cloth, webbed belt with a brass buckle. The end of the belt has a brass tab. When worn the brass tab should be aligned in contact with the brass buckle so that there is no gap between the buckle and end of the belt.
• Gray socks, with the Venturing logo on the outside of the leg, may be worn with either the pants or the shorts.
• An optional gray baseball cap or brimmed hat with Venturing insignia on the forehead are two of the approved forms of headgear. There are many other styles (beret, etc.) that a crew may adopt.

Many patches are worn at specific places on the uniform shirt:

• On the left sleeve, from the top down: a pentagonal patch representing the council to with the venturer belongs, an optional strip listing the age of the troop, the number of the troop, a patch representing any position of responsibility he may hold, and a patch signifying that the Venturer has attended a Venturing Leadership Skills Course. Advisors may instead wear the usual BSA training patch.
• On the right sleeve, from the top down: a U.S. flag, an optional "crew crest" patch, and a "Quality Unit" patch at the bottom, which is awarded annually to troops that meet certain criteria.
• Shoulder loops on buttoned epaulets. Venturers wear green shoulder loops, while at the higher levels of organization, adult employees and representatives of the Council wear silver and national employees and representatives wear gold.
• Above the left pocket, centered between the pocket and the epaulet, any venturer may wear the World Scout Emblem.
• Immediately above the left pocket a venturer may wear any square knots earned, as well as the Bronze, Gold, and Silver award medals.
• On the left pocket flap, the Ranger award bar, if earned.
• On the left pocket, a male venturer who has earned the rank of Eagle Scout may wear that rank insignia until he is 21 years old.
• Above the right pocket some Venturers wear a name badge or pin and sometimes an interpreter strip, signifying the ability to speak another language fluently. The space above that is reserved for a National Jamboree patch.
• On the right pocket flap, a patch signifying membership in the Order of the Arrow.
• On the right pocket, a patch awarded at a summer camp or other activity, the insignia of a high adventure base, or any other temporary insignia.

History

Shortly after Boy Scouting was founded in the United States, its creators encountered a problem with older boys. Some grew bored with the program, while others didn't want to leave their troops after reaching the maximum age of 18. To alleviate this problem, a haphazard group of new programs were created for older boys, including the Sea Scouts, Air Scouts, Rover Scouts, and Explorer Scouts, among others. In 1949, these programs were condensed into Explorer Scouts, Sea Explorers and Air Explorers. In 1956, these were further condensed into a unified Exploring program (though the Sea Scouts remained relatively independent within this group).

When the BSA dropped its outdoors program in the early 1970s, many Explorer posts followed suit. Individual posts had always specialized in certain activites, and many posts chose to run career awareness programs. Some of these programs became affiliated with specific organizations, such as police, fire departments and hospitals. These programs remained even after the outdoors program was reintroduced about 10 years later.

On July 30, 1996, the ACLU issued a statement (http://archive.aclu.org/news/n073096a.html) charging that members of Explorer posts affiliated with public services had a significant advantage over non-members in finding employment with these services. Because the BSA prohibits its members from being openly homosexual or atheist, these public services were discriminating against such people. On April 10, 1997, the ACLU filed a lawsuit (http://archive.aclu.org/news/n041097a.html) against the City of Chicago for allowing these programs.

In August 1998, the BSA moved all offending Explorer posts, and the Exploring program itself, to a subsidiary called Learning for Life. Participants in this program are not members of the BSA. All other Exploring posts were moved to the new Venturing program. This program was hastily designed (it was developed in just 6 weeks, while a change of this scale would take 7 to 10 years under normal circumstances), and as a result, there were many gaps and inconsistancies in the program guides. There was some confusion between Venturing and the pre-existing Venture program. The awards system was incomplete. Many other details were noticeably less developed than their Exploring and Boy Scouting counterparts.