We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Archives for March 2022

Meet 2022 NOESA Honoree David Scott

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David J. Scott serves as a Deputy Assistant Director in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Division and as Director of the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. In those roles, he has oversight of the FBI’s operational programs targeting sophisticated cyber threats from criminal and nation-state actors.

Mr. Scott entered on duty with the FBI in 2003 and was initially assigned to the Louisville Field Office, working a variety of criminal matters and serving as a member of the SWAT team. In 2006, Mr. Scott transferred to the Washington Field Office, where he investigated organized crime, counterterrorism, public corruption, and white-collar crime matters. Mr. Scott was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent within the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section in 2012, and in 2014 was promoted to Unit Chief of the International Terrorism Operations Section’s CONUS 1, where he provided program management for all International Terrorism investigations in the Northeastern United States. In 2016, Mr. Scott was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

In 2018, Mr. Scott was selected as Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division, overseeing International Terrorism threats to the National Capitol Region. In March 2020, Mr. Scott was promoted to the Senior Executive Service as the Section Chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section, where he was responsible for oversight of the FBI’s Public Corruption, International Corruption, Civil Rights, and International Human Rights programs.

Mr. Scott earned a Bachelor of Business Administration as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master’s in Administration of Justice from the University of Louisville. Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Scott was an Infantry officer in the United States Army and a graduate of the US Army Ranger School. Mr. Scott earned his Eagle Scout in 1990 as a member of Troop 233 in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and served as the Cubmaster of Pack 998 in Leesburg, Virginia.

Congratulations to David and his fellow 2022 NOESA Honorees! Please join us on March 23, 2022 at Army Navy Country Club for a celebration honoring the 2022 NOESA recipients. For more information visit, www.ncacbsa.org/noesa/.

Pack 1540’s Blue & Gold BanQUEST – An adventure 112 years in the making

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Back in the B.S. era (before-Covid), our normal Blue & Gold Banquet included a meal and live entertainment. Our 2020 event was cancelled due to the growing pandemic. In 2021 we held a virtual banquet, encouraging Scouts to cook a meal with their parents and then tune in to a virtual mad scientists show. We haven’t been able to assemble all in one place indoors since the start of the pandemic, that is until last week.

For our 2022 Blue & Gold Banquet, Pack 1540 celebrated the 112th birthday of Scouting in America, Jurassic-style! Our main entertainment was a reptile show with turtles, snakes, and a few amphibians. We decided to not provide a meal – families were encouraged to eat before arriving, which helped ease some concerns about spacing and masking. We replaced eating time with dinosaur-themed activity stations:

  • Visitor Center: sent the Scouts on a scavenger hunt to find dinosaurs on the loose
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex: puppet operated by a volunteer
  • Fossil Dig Site: individual clay eggs with dinosaur toys inside
  • Veterinary Clinic: pin the tail on the dinosaur
  • Feeding Station: bean bag toss into dinosaur mouths
  • Mr. DNA’s Lab: dinosaur-themed activity pages
  • Petting Zoo: provided by a reptile expert

The event included a Jurassic Pack-style entrance gate, a movie-accurate Jeep provided by the Jurassic Park Motor Pool, friendly velociraptor keeping Scouts out of the elevator, and an opening skit performed by the Den Leaders that re-enacting parts of the opening scene of the movie complete with costumes and props (“You did it you crazy Cubmaster, you did it”). The evening ended with a big suprise – a life-size dilophosaurus!

Scouts and families had a “roaring” fun evening. Many, many thanks to our families and Den Leaders. Scouting finds a way!

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Cub Scouts Can Code

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Cub Scouts Can Code is a Nova Award that offers Wolves, Bears, Webelos and AOLs recognition for exploring how people instruct computers.

Specifically, the module entails learning about algorithms or conditionals, and the meat of it – which is to actually become a programmer!

Join the class on March 26! The Coding Space is hosting a class for youth in grades 3-5 to earn their Cub Scouts Can Code Nova Award while gaining guided experience coding.The Coding Space holds a 5:1 student: instructor ratio, and will guide all in at least one hour creating instructions for a computer to execute, then testing and debugging them.

All participants will receive a NCAC STEM patch mailed to them, and provided they complete the requirements, will also receive a digital Nova Award Certificate.

To sign up for the class: https://scoutingevent.com/082-56366-146633

In recognition for completing his/her Nova Award, a Cub Scout would earn a Nova patch. Then for each subsequent Nova Awards, Cubs earn a pi device.

To read more about the Cub Scout Nova Awards, please see here: www.ncacbsa.org/stem


Who is The Coding Space?

The Coding Space is an enrichment program where students learn to tackle challenges independently through learning to code. In our classrooms, students learn entirely through creating projects, allowing them to work on their critical thinking and problem solving skills while simultaneously picking up the hard skills of coding. By challenging students at their individual level to create projects as unique as they are, we underscore the power of personalized learning. And with our small student-to-teacher ratio and Socratic-based teaching methods, students get the guidance they need to keep moving forward while developing their inner critical voice.

Register Now for Trout-o-Ree 2022!

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Welcome to Trout-O-Ree 2022!

On the weekend of April 1-3, the Scouts of the Prince William and Patriot Districts will head to the Trout-O-Ree. Trout Town, the semi-mythical municipality, will rematerialize to meet all your fishing needs. And then there’s the Mega-Bonus Prize: The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Trout Heritage Day events will be held on Saturday morning at the Rose River pavilions. And don’t forget our own fishing derby, Conservation Merit Badge Midway, and … a climbing wall!? Stay safe, remember the Outdoor Code, and have a troutastic time! https://scoutingevent.com/082-PWDTroutoree2022

Science Fair Project Inspired by Merit Badges – What Keeps Food Cold the Longest?

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My name is Russell and I am a tenth grade student. I’m a Life Scout with Troop 1577 in Herndon. My science fair project this year was inspired by Scouting and my project won second place for my school.

My project was about DIY refrigerants. I tested which materials keep food cold the longest.

I got this idea from working on my Cooking, Hiking and Backpacking merit badges. For those badges, we learn about keeping food safe when you are outside for a long period of time. While the safest option might be dehydrated foods, I like to eat non-dehydrated foods like cheese. I wanted to know which refrigerants might work best for the longest period of time.

For the experiment, I bought a wireless thermometer and put it in a Styrofoam cooler. I put different refrigerants in the cooler with the thermometer and monitored the temperature. It was important to use a wireless thermometer so I would not open the cooler and impact the temperature.

The refrigerants that I tested were:

  • 330 mL of water, 170 mL of rubbing alcohol, 125 mL of salt (the salt dissolved and did not increase the volume)
  • 500 mL of dish soap
  • Two plastic sponges in water with 500 mL of water
  • Commercial ice packs
  • Control = 500 mL water

I got the ideas for these refrigerants by reading blog articles by backpackers. I also researched the concept of “phase change,” meaning materials that release or absorb energy and provide useful heat or cooling.

What were the results? The frozen sponge refrigerant maintained the lowest temperature for the longest time, although the control (water) and commercial ice packs performed similarly.

However, for my next hiking trip, I won’t freeze sponges. I will just use frozen water. Then I can drink it and not have to carry sponges. But I definitely won’t bring commercial ice packs which add a lot of weight to my pack.

So when you work on these badges, you can show your merit badge counselors this information, and use frozen water to keep your food cold as well.

Meet 2022 NOESA Honoree Michael Huston

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Michael Huston is an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he represents the federal government before the Supreme Court of the United States. He has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court, and has prepared briefs in hundreds more. He is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court—Washington D.C.’s preeminent honor society of appellate attorneys.

Michael previously practiced appellate and administrative law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, and to the Honorable Raymond M. Kethledge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Michael graduated first in his class from the University of Michigan Law School, where he received the Henry M. Bates Memorial Scholarship Award—the law school’s highest honor. He served as an editor on the Michigan Law Review, where he published a note, and was the first runner-up in the 86th Campbell Moot Court Competition. He was elected to the Order of the Coif.

Michael graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy. He was elected Phi Beta Kappa.

Michael earned his Eagle Scout award in 2004 as a member of Troop 648 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He now lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Joelle and three sons, all of whom are cub scouts. He serves as the Committee Chair for Pack 614 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Congratulations to Michael and his fellow 2022 NOESA Honorees! Please join us on March 23, 2022 at Army Navy Country Club for a celebration honoring the 2022 NOESA recipients. For more information visit, www.ncacbsa.org/noesa/.