Each Veteran’s Day scouts from around the George Mason District place flags on Veteran’s graves at the National Memorial Park/King David Memorial Gardens in Falls Church, VA. This year the event drew over 300 people (Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Sea Scouts, Girl Scouts and Heritage Girls) who placed ~2,700 flags. Our thanks to Dignity Memorial for supporting this effort and proving food, drink and the flags.
SPACE STILL AVAILABLE FOR YOUTH CONTINGENT MEMBERS!
2023 National Jamboree Registration is on-going!
Sign up today for the 2023 Jamboree scheduled for July 19-28, 2023.
Registration is open on the National website at https://jamboree.scouting.org. The National Capital Area Council is sending up to 10 contingent units to Jamboree. Adult registration to attend as part of the Council contingent is now closed.
The early-bird pricing has ended, but registration has not. NCAC cost for Jamboree is $2125 per person and includes the Jamboree, transportation to and from Summit, patches, and more! Camperships are available for youth participants. The campership application is available on NCAC’s website.
Youth must be at least 12 years of age to attend; participants age 18-21 will attend as youth for this Jamboree. Participants will be assigned to a contingent unit the end of 2022. There will be a mandatory overnight event scheduled at Camp Snyder in June 2023. Contingent units will also meet prior to departing for Jamboree; details will be distributed by selected Scoutmasters.
Check out this video (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i8AErWKYa0sSnG0g5dEyrkZgHzs44A3H/view?usp=sharing) to see what Jamboree has in store for you.
More information, including payment schedule, and campership applications are available on the Council’s website at http://ncacbsa.org/jamboree. If you have any questions, please reach out to Alex Keenan at ADLKeenan@gmail.com or Bob MacKichan at robert.mackichan@hklaw.com. We look forward to seeing you at Jamboree next year!
Arlington Troop 111 from Chain Bridge District won the troop championship at the 46th Annual Maryland Scout Orienteering Day on October 22, 2022 at Broad Creek Scout Reservation in northern Maryland. It was their 7th title, breaking the event record. Kensington Troop 439 from Potomac District was 2nd amongst 40 units for the 2nd straight year.
John Corso of Troop 111 edged out troop-mate Hayden Burnside to win the advanced category. Zack Sheehey from Arlington’s Troop 647 was 3rd and Max Wang from McLean’s Troop 652 was fourth.
Luke Zamoyta and Potter Hopfensperger from Troop 111 topped the 154-scout older category ahead of Troop 647’s Connor Jones/ Jack Wall and 3rd place Jimmy Mazel/ Liam Merrigan from Troop 164 in Arlington. In the 172-scout younger class, Troop 111’s Brendan Kent/ Ryan Parks won by a wide margin over a 2nd place team from near Annapolis.
Troop 439’s team effort was led by SPL Alex Johnson who, with Mike Mueller, were 5th in the older category and excelled in the fun “free-for-all” afternoon Score Orienteering when 340 youth and nearly 100 adults raced around the forest seeking as many of the 56 different markers scattered over five square miles as they could. The morning included several instructional courses on a brand new color map.
The top 23 in the younger category were from 18 different troops. Each scout and participating adult received three
special color maps and everyone got answer keys, instructional tips, and patches. Over 100 awards were presented, many to girls, including Kendall Kovarik from the Girl Scout Camp Tuckerman staff outdoor adventure program, the first girl to complete the advanced course in its 36-year history of 525 boys, nabbing 7th place.
In 2023 Jim Chaplin’s popular 17th Annual NCAC Scout Orienteering Day will be on May 6 at Kings Landing Park in Calvert County (jhchaplin@comcast.net). The 47th Annual MD Scout Orienteering Day will be at Patuxent River Park near Upper Marlboro on Oct. 28, 2023. Look for more details (and full results from 2022) at BaltimoreBSA.org/orienteering, plus information via qocweb.org for good DC-area orienteering events suitable for scouts.
Photos: NCAC’s 1st & 2nd place champions. Photo by Stan Turk.
Finding a marker. Photo by Bill Zerfas.
NCAC Scout Day at the Washington Commanders is on Sunday, November 6, 2022 with a game time of 1pm at FedExField.
Each ticket purchased through the special link includes an exclusive Washington Commanders inaugural season shoulder patch.
Scouting families who want to meet up for a pre-game tailgate can purchase tickets in Lot F. NCAC will receive a $10 donation for each ticket purchased.
Registration is now open for the 32nd Annual V3 (originally named for Venturing, Varsity, and Venture) Hike-o-ree to be held October 28-30, 2022, at the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center, Front Royal, VA. The Hike-o-ree is open to all Venturing Crews, Sea Scout Ships, and Scouts BSA Troops. The minimum age to participate is 13.
The Hike-o-ree is intended to be an introduction to and/or a shakedown for your unit’s backpacking adventures. Bring ONLY what you can carry in your backpack and come prepared to cook outdoors.
Your unit can choose one of 15 great hikes in or near Shenandoah NP. All hikes are approximately ten miles in length and range in difficulty from moderate (about 1500 ft elevation change) to super strenuous (about 2600 ft elevation change). Other Hike-o-ree activities include a Friday night opening rally and a Saturday night High Adventure Rally.
The cost of the Hike-o-ree is $30.00 per participant and covers the 4-H Center camping fee and our famous Hike-o-ree t-shirts. Go to https://scoutingevent.com/082-60967 for more information and to register.
Six Sea Scouts, Three Adventures, One Ship = SEAL
“A rising tide lifts all boats,” isn’t just an aphorism in Ship 1942 SS Dragonlady. The legacy of Ship 1942 with Skipper Tom Ballew at the helm has a long-standing tradition of sending Sea Scouts to Sea Scout Advanced Leadership Training (SEAL). Sea Scouts across the country in a variety of Sea Scout Ships apply to attend the 9-day intensive leadership on-the-water training held in locations such as New York, Tampa, Colorado, Tennessee, Galveston, San Francisco, and Seattle to name a few. Sea Scouts can apply for this advanced leadership training in a variety of Sea Scout disciplines from white water, paddle craft, sailing to living aboard motorized vessels.
The unique opportunity to have six Sea Scouts attend came to fruition because SEAL applications were opened to Scouts BSA. Any Scout who has reached the rank of First Class and age 14, and any Sea Scout who has reached Ordinary, can apply to attend SEAL. Three Eagle Scouts from Ship 1942 who are dual registered in a Troop took advantage of this opportunity to join their fellow Sea Scouts from Ship 1942.
When the information that SEAL was open to Scouts BSA was released, the Ship 1942 training chair took advantage of this unique opportunity and broadcasted it widely across the National Capital Area Council (NCAC). This led to a total of seven youth to attend four different SEAL Courses. All of the scouts earned their SEAL Certificate and coveted SEAL Pin including the 6 scouts from Ship 1942 and Life Scout Austin Snip from Troop 447. Each SEAL course follows a national curriculum but focuses on different vessels based upon their demographic location.
Eagle Scouts Aiden Maupin, Colin Maupin, and Liam Maupin from Troop 413 and Ship 1942 all selected SEAL Colorado White Water Rafting as their first choice. They were joined by Ship 1942 Boatswain Sebastian Morales-Talero for this 9-day camping and white-water rafting experience. Where the three brothers were placed in different crews by design, Liam Maupin and Boatswain Sebastian had the opportunity to be in the same crew, as SEAL Colorado had three separate crews and the Ship had four participants.
Quartermaster Candidate and Eagle Scout Quinn Laffey did not receive his first choice which was Tampa, Florida. Quinn was placed in SEAL Tennessee, which is a paddle craft course, but Quinn embraced this opportunity like a champion and had an awesome experience! Quinn utilized his prior skills from Northern Tier and relied upon a more recent certification he received while obtaining his USPS Pilot “P” rating to prepare for SEAL Tennessee. Ship 1942 is a sailing ship, but Quinn’s diversified Scouting and Sea Scouting experiences more than prepared him for the challenges of the Tennessee rivers.
William Kennedy, the current National Service Territory 12 (NST12) Boatswain who is also an Eagle Scout and Able Sea Scout joined SEAL Seattle and had the experience he had dreamed of aboard the SSS Propeller located in Seattle, Washington. William thrived in the SEAL intensive environment and hopes to return for more adventures on the SSS Propeller, a 1952 65’ U.S. Army T-Boat. SEAL Seattle participants navigated the San Juan Islands throughout the 10-day course. SEAL Seattle participants had the option to join the SSS Propeller crew for an extended stay to support Seattle’s Seafair Weekend Festival. To prepare for SEAL Seattle, NST12 Boatswain obtained multiple certifications including NASBLA Boaters Safety Education Course, USPS Boat Handling, USPS Marine Navigation, Pilot “P” rating, and a 16-hour hands-on US Power Boating Certification.
Quinn, Aiden, Liam, Colin, and Sebastian all earned the 50-Miler Award for paddling over 50 miles during their adventure. The SEAL Colorado participants also earned the BSA White Water Award. To prepare for SEAL Colorado, the Maupins completed an NASBLA Boaters Safety Course, and Boatswain Sebastian attended an in-person Marine Navigation Course offered through Ship 1942 and had completed Northern Tier. These accomplished Sea Scouts have shared their enthusiasm for the course and look forward to applying the leadership skills gained.
