It is about a year, since I returned to Eagles, after a very brief visit to the Falcons, to become A.P.L. I already had a bit of experience as being A.P.L with Eagles, as I had been acting A.P.L at Spring and Summer camps 1996. I also held the Patrol Activity Award. It was great to become A.P.L and especially of Eagles, because I had spent all my time in Scouts so far in Eagles apart from a few months in the Falcons.
For me, being A.P.L meant, and still does mean, standing in as Patrol Leader a lot, as my P.L was quite often absent. This meant inspecting other patrols and making sure my own was good enough to be inspected! So I have had rather a big taste of leadership. This has been very good in a way because it prepares me for the responsibilities of running a patrol of my own.
Another thing that changed when I became an A.P.L was going to P.L.C’s. My first was in January, so I have now been to approximately 10 P.L.C’s. They are good because I now get a say in what the troop does and how the scout nights are run. As far as I can remember, I have been the highest ranked Eagle at all the P.L.C’s I have attended so far. This means that I have reported to the rest of the P.L’s and A.P.L’s about how the Eagle patrol is getting on, this allows me to see how Eagles compare to the other patrols, and to review how well, or badly, the patrol is going at the time.
Since November 1996, hiking has been quite a strength and quite an enjoyment for me. The first competition hike I took part in since becoming an A.P.L was the Sussex Scouts Overland Hike. I was not team leader or second in command but I certainly saw what it would be like to lead a team on such a challenging event. On the sunday afternoon when the hike was over, I became one quarter of the first 42nd team to complete the event for several years, we also finished 23rd out of 66 teams.
Something that helped me very much with leadership, and will one day come in useful for me as a Patrol Leader was Dave Jackson’s (ADC Scouts) "Up The P.L.C" course. That helped me to learn a lot about the function of the P.L.C and what it is to be a Patrol Leader. It was very fortunate, because this course took place two weeks before I ran my very first Patrol Camp!
That is what I will go onto next. Running the Spring Patrol camp 1997 was probably the most challenging and responsible thing I have had to do within the Eagles patrol. My patrol leader was unable to attend the camp, so I had to take over, and organise the camp within about four days. In that time, the patrol had two meetings, and went shopping for food. I also had to charge round Saltdean on my bike to get signatures for the Permission to Camp forms. But it was all worth it, because the camp was a success. The main item on the programme was the eight mile hike to Bramber Castle and the work we did there for the Heritage badge. We also constructed some camp gadgets, and visited Parkwood’s assault course. I think that this camp put me into practice for being a P.L at Summer Camp.
Soon after that, came the Bakers Dozen Hike, where my leadership was put into practice even more. I organised the practices, and meetings. This included a complete full practice. There was a hike, then we pitched the tents, and then spent the night at Parkwood. The actual Bakers Dozen was a great success. I think that we worked well together, and hiked well. This payed off because we eventually won the Bakers Dozen by 83 points. This was a great achievement and I think it improved my leadership, and navigation. The practices and meetings strengthened my organisation skills.
This year, I was A.P.L at Summer Camp for the second time. This year, because I had had more experience of leadership, I was able to be more useful and lead more. The Klingons Patrol, better known as the Eagles, came very close to winning, that was brilliant compared to last years last place, quite a way behind!
My most recent taste of leadership was at Ferny Crofts, where I was a team leader on the hiking weekend. This made my route planning better, as I also had to plan the route, and once again, strengthened my leadership skills. Our hike turned out extremely well and we arrived back ahead of time, with everyone doing very well, and no one feeling all that exhausted.
That weekend put my total of camping nights up to 50. And at the recent A.G.M, I received a woggle to show that I had achieved this. I was also very pleased to gain the "Brian Agate Award for Effort".
So, being an APL has been very enjoyable for me so far, and the things I have done, have put me in great training for one day being a Patrol leader.
Since Andrew
wrote this, he has been promoted to Patrol Leader of the Eagles
Congratulations to Andrew!
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