Q. Hello Ray,
My son & I attended the National Jamboree and had a great time. We camped ten days & nine nights. The OA regulations state that we must have " one long-term camp consisting of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping". My question is can we only count five nights from the jamboree trip towards the fifteen nights of camping requirement?
Thanks,
Colt
A. Colt,
Thanks for your question!
Yes, only six days and five nights may be counted for the long term camping experience. The remaining nights must be short term camping opportunities over a two year period of time. It specifically says in the Guide for Officers and Advisers on Page 20, 21 that "the balance of the camping must be overnight, weekend, or other short-term camps." The emphasis is to camp with your troop or team and support those outings over long term experiences. The minimum amount of time that counts as a long term experience is the six days and five nights. Most of us realize that many long term camping experiences in the BSA are often longer than the six days and five nights, like the BSA high adventure programs like Philmont or Northern Tier, but to be an honor camper, asking for a Scout to camp 15 days and nights over 2 years is not asking a lot.
Yours in Cheerful Service,
Ray