Friday, February 29, 2008

Starting up Two Jambo Troops

It is 2008! In just 29 months we hope to take two troops of 36 scouts and eight adults to the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouts of America in Virginia! We are setting up information/promotion material now. This blog, slideshow, info packet and more to entice the scouting spirit in every scout we can. The troops would consist of scouts and scouters from White Buffalo District in Circle Ten Council and our good friends in Troop 175 in Irving Texas (the Scoutmaster Peter McNabb is an old White Buffalo scout and still has many ties to his old stompin' grounds). Aside from 36 scouts per troop there are four adults, Scoutmaster, and three Assistant Scoutmasters one of whom can be 18-21 years of age. While they are seperate troops attending Jamboree, we would camp together at Jamboree sharing duties and one BIG main gate!

The two troops for 2010 are lead by Harry Bubeck and Brian Bennett.

Harry has served as an Assistant Scoutmaster, and Scoutmaster three times. He has also served on National Jamboree Staff with the Order of the Arrow as a Jamboree Chapter Adviser. Harry is a past Lodge Adviser for Circle Ten's OA Lodge and serves as Section 3 OA Adviser. He has also served as an Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, and Troop Committee Chairman. He is a Vigil Honor Member of the OA and a Silver Beaver receipient. In addition to National Jamboree's he has led the OA lodge contingent to the National OA Conference (NOAC) twice and has staffed on several programs at NOAC. Harry is Wood Badge trained and staffed. He works for the DISD. He is married to Cathy and they have three scouts, Brandon (Eagle), Sam and Nathan.

Brian went to Jamobree as a Scout, on National Jamboree Staff twice, with the Order of the Arrow and a Sub-camp Commissioner. Brian is an Eagle Scout and grew up in Circle Ten Council in North Trail District Troop 78. Brian has served as an Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, and Troop Committee Member. He is Wood Badge trained and staffed. Brian is a Vigil Honor Member of the OA and a Silver Beaver receipient. In addition to the Jamboree Brian led the largest lodge contingent ever to a NOAC with 98 scouts and 32 adults and served on staff three times, including the National Conference Committee in 1987. Brian works for Xerox. He has a daughter Amy who keeps him busy with Hebron High School Band.

In the past the district has pulled togther to send one troop to the National Jamboree. With the 100th anniversary of Scouting in America, we are pulling all the stops to send two troops!

2010 Jamboree Promo Video

Promotional video on the National Jamboree

Jamboree 2005 Story

Jamboree Journal
Circle Ten Council Troop 1708's Journeyto NYC, DC and the 2005 Jamboree


Day One - And We're Off!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Alarm clocks start going off at 2:30 am in Dallas, Irving, Flower Mound, Allen, Ennis, Coppell and Sunnyvale.

By 5 am, the 40 boys and men who comprise Jamboree Troop 1708 are formed up at DFW Airport, Terminal E, Gate 5, Northwest Airlines.

Hugs, kisses and goodbye wishes and we are off to security. Forty Boy Scout belts and 80 shoes removed and scanned through security. No pocketknives, thankfully because we sent them all up by truck 10 days earlier.

Sweaty palms for many of our Scouts -- it is their first flight. We lift off in our Airbus to the south over Arlington before turning around and heading north. By daybreak, we are crossing over Lake Texoma where many of our Scouts had camped at James Ray just a few weeks ago.

Up through Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota before banking right to Minneapolis/Saint Paul. With 47 minutes to get the 40 of us from one end of the giant airport to the other, the boys enjoy the moving sidewalks over the sky bridges.

Our next Northwest Airlines flight, on a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, takes us over four the five Great Lakes, plus Detroit and a bit of Canada before cruising over the tranquil hills of Pennsylvania and onto the Big Apple!

Julie, our tour guide and Bob from World Strides, meet us. All 82 navy blue and red Circle Ten bags we brought arrive safely. Wendell, our bus driver, navigates us through the crazy, jam-packed streets of New York, as Julie explains that New York is really a city of islands spread out over five Burroughs.

Our first stop is Grand Central Terminal. We are used to calling it Grand Central Station, but it's really a Terminal and not a Station. Magnificent arched tile ceilings span the big room then we go downstairs to a terrific food court. Most of the boys go for New York-style pizza by the slice. There's nothing better when you're in Grand Central, with a bottle of root beer to chase it down.

Waiters try to push some sushi samples on us....but most of our group's more of the pizza crowd.

After lunch, it's off to Times Square. We check out the giant news-in-lights Readerboards, diamond-visions and digital TV's. We've all seen them in the movies, on the news, or on New Year's Eve. But there's nothing like walking and reading in Times Square and just being there in your Scout uniform with the crush of thousands of people. Shortly, we start seeing other Scouts, from South Carolina and California, also making their way through the Big Apple on the way to the Jamboree.

We split into Patrols and head into Toys R Us, ESPN Zone, the MTV store and much more.

We re-group on the bus and head for Central Park, site of lots of movies the boys have seen like Stuart Little and Home Alone 2. The Scouts climb on giant statues of Alice in Wonderland characters.

Then it's back on the bus and off to the beautiful, stately Saint Patrick's Cathedral, perhaps the most recognized church in New York City. We have a very religious group of Scouts, with many wanting to pray, kneel at the altar, light candles and leave offerings.

Rockefeller Center is next on our dash through the Big Apple. We see the famous Prometheus gold-winged statue and the Today show's Eye on the World camera and glimpse at the studio from the outside. More Readerboards abound. We also see where the giant Rockefeller Christmas tree is placed each year. The ice rink is, of course, closed for the summer and replaced with a giant outdoor eating area.

As the sun sets in New York City, we arrive, along with Troops from many other states, to the base of the Empire State Building. After going through several lines, elevators and security checks, we make it to the top, going out on the very-safe Observation Deck at night, a full moon shining brightly over the Hudson River, and we witness the "City that never sleeps." Lights everywhere, including New York's magnificent second-largest skyscraper, the Chrysler Building, close by.

We bus across the river to New Jersey, where we check in at the Sheraton in East Rutherford, close to Giants Stadium, excited, exhausted and asking ourselves, did we really wake up in Texas this morning?



Day Two - New York: My Kind of Town
Thursday, July 21, 2005

5:20 am and our Troop is the first of Circle Ten Council to start getting our duffel bags downstairs in pack lines at the Sheraton. Soon more than 1,200 colorful duffle bags, color-coded for each of the 15 Troops from Circle Ten Council appear. Our contingency is a strong one, second largest in the nation only behind Salt Lake City. Our contingency is organized by volunteer Charlie Holmes, a veteran of several national and world jamborees, and professional Scouter Scott Ferguson, a 25-year Council executive who attended Wood Badge with Mr. Harry Bubeck in 1980.

We need to check out of our rooms, get a 60-foot bus full of bleary-eyed Texas Boy Scouts through New York City rush hour, and be at breakfast at Planet Hollywood in Manhattan by 8 am. No sweat!

We arrive at Planet Hollywood with about 500 other Scouts. We are treated to a buffet of scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon and (for the adults) coffee. Lots of coffee. We are running on 4 hours sleep, for two nights in a row.

We see and get to play a giant piano keyboard. The same one Tom Hanks played on in the movie Big.

Back on the bus, we arrive at Battery Park and get in line to take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and tour Ellis Island. Suddenly, we get word of an attempted terrorist strike in London. Security is heightened in America as well, particularly at national monuments like Lady Liberty. Belts, shoes, cameras, metal detectors. It's a new age we live in.

A beautiful sunny day with only a little bit of haze, we get great pictures from the top deck of the ferry of the Scouts with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Arriving at Ellis Island, our tour guide, Julie, tells an impassioned story about her great grandfather, a Russian Jew, who escaped Czarist Russia and came to Ellis Island. She tells what it was like for penniless Europeans to come to America with hopes of a better life. Hopes sometimes dashed when they were sent home for fear of spreading disease.

We tour Ellis Island in Patrols and see the spot where Will Smith takes his girl on a date in the movie Hitch.

After the boat ride back to Battery Park, we walk across the street to the Amish Market and eat a delicious lunch with an awesome food bar or pizza.

Ground Zero is a site still fresh in the memories of millions of Americans. First we walk into a church across the street, which held many of the funerals of those who died that terrible, 11th day of September 2001. As we leave the church, we see dozens of police cars and fire trucks. Julie inquires and finds out there's been a bomb scare at Ground Zero and the place is being evacuated. Turns out it was just a benign backpack beneath a van. Still, with the events in London that day it made national news instantly.

Later in the afternoon, we tour the Intrepid, the aircraft carrier that led a victorious U.S. fleet in World War Two and was responsible for shooting down close to 300 Japanese planes and sinking dozens of Japanese ships, subs and aircraft carriers.

We say goodbye to Julie, our passionate, energetic tour guide, part-time stage actress and cruise ship singer and head south for Washington DC.

Half the bus is asleep before we cross the Hudson. The other half by the time we are out of Jersey. We stop for supper at the Delaware Diner where there's a Roy Rogers and also a pizza place.

We cross the Potomac River at sunset, 8:35 pm as we drive by the Pentagon, the other major target of September 11th. We can see the Washington Monument in the distance. We cross into Virginia, arriving at 8:50 pm at the Crystal City Marriott, our home for the next four nights. Man, we are going four-star all the way!

Day Three - The White House
Friday, July 22, 2005

Slept in until 6:15 am!

Breakfast in the Marriott Crystal City with 600 of our closest Scouting friends: the Circle Ten contingent. By 8:30 am, it's off to catch the Metro to the White House.

The Metro Rail is an extremely clean, efficient, almost futuristic system of getting around Washington DC and surrounding areas. No food or drink is allowed in the trains and there is no graffiti. Underground tunnels look like something out of the I, Robot movie with Will Smith. Cost is $6.50 for an all-day pass that includes bus as well as rail. Marc Soto learns the Metro quickly and helps guide us through DC.

Security is very tight at the White House where we meet up with Mr. Bubeck's wife, Cathy, and youngest son, Nathan, plus Cathy's cousin and her husband. No cameras are allowed. We enter through the East Wing and see beautiful oil paintings of first ladies like Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush plus Presidents Jackson, Kennedy, Clinton and others.

We tour the State Dining Room, and the Green Room, Blue Room and Red Room. We even see the coffee pot President John Adams used.

We exit to the site of the familiar columns that face out to Pennsylvania Avenue, which is still closed to all but pedestrian traffic following September 11th. In the shade on the White House grounds, the Scouts talk to a very friendly sniper brandishing an Uzi sub machine gun. He's really a nice guy as long as you're on our side.

Union Station food court for lunch before going to the U.S. Capitol where we take a group photo on the steps with the Capitol dome in the background. Then it's off to the Rayburn Building, where Congressman Pete Sessions of Dallas has scheduled a photo session with us.

Congressman Sessions presents our Senior Patrol Leader, Dwight Brothers, with an American flag that flew over the Capitol. That same flag will later be used to fly over our Troop's 31-feet-high camp Gateway at the National Boy Scout Jamboree.

We Metro to the Arlington National Cemetery. Sam Bubeck, Kenneth Hughes, John Russell and Roberto Martinez lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in a solemn ceremony that includes a Marine bugler playing Taps. We also pay our respects at the Eternal Flame burning at the tomb of John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, as well as two of their babies who died. Etched in stone at the gathering place near JFK is the speech that includes the inspirational words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." One of our Scouts read those words out loud for the others to hear.

We Metro to the Eastern Market area for the Marine Barracks Drum and Bugle Corps. Supper at Subway. On the green grass outside the barracks, Mr. Mike Milam, a University of Texas graduate, teaches us the words and hand motions to The Eyes of Texas.

The Marine Barracks is the oldest post in the U.S.A. The Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Band is an extremely precise group. For a dozen years in the late 1800s, John Philip Sousa directed the band. They continue today to play his marches, including Stars and Stripes Forever. They perform on a lighted field about the size of a football field in front of the barracks. Thousands fill bleachers to watch. The Commandant's House sits on one end. We sit on the other along with about a dozen other Boy Scout troops.

DC is one historic place to be!



Day Four - Declaration of Independence
Saturday, July 23, 2005

Slept in until 7 am! Most sleep in four nights!

Buffet breakfast downstairs in hotel.

We break up into Patrols with one adult and one senior boy in each group. We can get around much easier in groups of 10 rather than 40. All 4 Patrols, however, started Saturday at the same spot: the National Archives.

Scouts have invaded Washington DC, swamping the Metro and all the tourist sites. Oklahoma, South Carolina, California, and Kentucky are just some of the states we see while waiting in line to see the National Archives, home of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, among other things.

The Declaration of Independence is housed under glass in a large, dimly lit room to protect it from harmful ultra-violet rays. Flash photography is strictly forbidden as the 229-year-old document is fading. Its brown ink handwritten on parchment is getting extremely hard to read. John Hancock's signature is the only truly distinguishable mark. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are somewhat easier to read.

Afterward, some Scouts go to the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. Then it's off to the Old Post Office, which has a large food court. Each Scout gets a voucher and can pick from a variety of restaurant options. Again, Scouts from many states are all over the place. You feel sorry for those unsuspecting non-Scouts who chose to tour Washington on the weekend before the Jamboree.

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is an exciting landmark. From the earliest of planes to the space missions and beyond, you can learn a lot. For fun, our Scouts watch a black-and-white movie on the film Dawn Patrol which was a fictional version of the World War One flying aces. Other rooms show aircraft of World War II, Air and Sea, the Lunar Module, and a satellite imaging of global weather for the last 30 days. It includes movement of two hurricanes that hit Florida in early July.

At the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Scouts see a cute film on evolution, saying we are all related to primates. It espouses the evolution theory, saying that man is the latest and brightest creature on the evolutionary chart. It ends with the question, what's next?

Baseball game Saturday night at RFK Stadium. We take the Metro and meet up with all the 4 Patrols there. This is the same place where the Redskins and Cowboys fought in the glory days. Tonight it's two baseball teams, one from Texas, the Houston Astros, and a new one in DC, the Washington Nationals.

The Astros' Craig Biggio & Co., can't pull it off at the plate, losing, 4-2. It happened one night after the Astros had cleaned the Nationals' plate, 10-1, with Roger Clemens on the mound. But Mr. Harry Bubeck had arranged for a big message on the Readerboard, "Welcome Boy Scout Troop 1708!" So we are happy.

We take the Metro home and a cool, clear night.











Day Five - Church Services in DC
Sunday, July 24, 2005

Off to church!

20 Catholics in our group go to Our Lady of Lourdes, a local church in the neighborhood of Crystal City, close to our Marriott Hotel.

Parishioners there are very friendly and glad to see our group join them. Mr. Josh Jimenez, Dr. Mike Holub and Mr. Mike Milam lead the boys to the church. It takes awhile to get out due to all the well wishers at the small congregation.

20 Protestants in our group take the Metro, making a transfer, and walking 12 blocks to the National Cathedral. Mr. Harry Bubeck and Mr. Peter McNabb lead the group. We get to see the ornate, cavernous main hall encased in a beautiful, European-style castle of a church. It's the same site where President Reagan's funeral was held.

Then we proceed to a contemporary service downstairs led by Rev. Eugene Sutton, a young African-American man with a contagious energy for the Lord. Eucharist with pita bread and real wine (not grape juice) takes some of the boys--and the adults--by surprise.

The two groups meet up at a food court at Pentagon City for lunch, again using food vouchers and giving the Scouts a wide variety for lunch.

We walk to the Washington Monument and then split up into Patrols to see the World War II Memorial---a beautiful new fountain with water flowing in every direction---people are soaking their feet in it. It has an entrance for the Pacific as well as the Atlantic, and lists the major battles fought. Iron wreaths are lifted high, one for each state of the Union.

We then go to the Korean War Memorial (GI's going through a rain storm in a swamp), Lincoln (He's huge! Eyes fixed on something in the distance like one deep in thought and reflection on how his country could get through its darkest night), and the Vietnam Memorial.

As a Troop, we go to the top of the Washington Monument. From the elevator inside, you can see stones carved in honor of each state, which helped build the Monument. Stalled by the Civil War, the Washington Monument took over 35 years to build.

Later, we see the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial---tons of water fountains because his life was touched by water in many ways, good and bad. We also go to the Jefferson Memorial--a huge statue, with some of Jefferson's most famous sayings on Democracy surrounding it.

Mr. Harry Bubeck, Dr. Mike Holub and four Scouts, Dwight Brothers, Geoffrey Zaidle, Aaron Zarraga and Bryan Heard, get a special privilege: a rare peak into the White House's West Wing. Mr. Bubeck through one of his friends whose son, John Gibbs, works in the National Security office, 23 steps from the Oval Office, arranged the behind-the-scenes tour. He brought the group of 6 in on Sunday evening and showed them the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room and the Press Pool (there really was a swimming pool there at one time.) They also got to see original paintings by Norman Rockwell, which have never been shown to the general public.

ESPN Zone caps our last night in DC. The boys get to play video games and air hockey while we wait for tables. When we realize we may never get a table that night, we leave and go back to our hotel for a huge pizza party.

Some Scouts do laundry. Others pack up and go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow: the Jamboree begins, ready or not!

After 5 full days of traveling and tourism, we have a little home sickness, a lot of bleary eyes, and some sore feet from pounding the concrete in New York City and Washington DC. But in just a little over 100 hours, our Scouts have seen and experienced some of the most spectacular and historic sites in our nation's financial center and governmental center:

* The Empire State Building* The Statue of Liberty
* Ellis Island
* Ground Zero
* Times Square
* Grand Central Terminal
* The White House
* Steps of the U.S. Capitol
* Arlington National Cemetery
* Marine Barracks Drum and Bugle Parade
* National Archives
* Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
* Washington Monument
* Lincoln Memorial

We have seen what makes America great and we are better men and boys from having done so.








Day Six - Jamboree, Here we come!
Monday, July 25, 2005

Up at 5:45 am, duffel bags packed and downstairs by 6:45 am.

Being in the same rooms for four nights has prompted some Scouts to really settle in -- now we have to clean up and get out of town. From 4-star hotels to 5-star camping!

We travel by Eyre Bus to Fredericksburg where all 15 buses from Circle Ten Council are to meet at a bus parking lot. We arrive at The Hill at 10:45 am and are greeted by none other than Troop 42 Assistant Scoutmaster and Jamboree Subcamp 17 Commissioner Brian Bennett. He's given a thunderous applause by the boys.

Next onboard the bus is a soldier in camouflage fatigues wearing a Life Scout patch. Turns out his C.O. has given all former Scouts their highest rank they had each earned as a Scout and asked them to wear it for the Jamboree. He boards the bus, asks the adults for I.D. and checks all the Scouts. Then he sends us on our way -- 30 yards!

A female soldier then boards the bus and does basically the same thing. Then she sends us on our way -- another 30 yards!

Another male soldier then boards the bus and asks to see our I.D. At this point, Mr. Harry Bubeck speaks up and tells them we have already done this twice. The soldier says fine and sends us on our way.

As we drive on the asphalt roads of Fort A.P. Hill, we pass one of the Action Centers, which features archery and pioneering. The bus driver takes us to Subcamp 17 and pulls into a field, which would soon be home to Troops 1701-1720, about 800 people, mainly from Circle Ten Council, with some Mississippians, and Georgians mixed in. (In the Southern Region, we had to adjust to hearing a lot of "Yes, suhs." And you thought Texans had accents!)

We unload our duffel bags and go to the med check-in. There we learn Subcamp 17 has actually 45 Troops or 1,800 Scouts plus about 200 support staff.

Roberto Martinez, our Quartermaster, and Dwight Brothers, our Senior Patrol Leader, have worked out a Set-Up plan, assigning jobs to all 35 Scouts and five adults:

Gateway: Mr. Josh Jimenez, Dr. Mike Holub, Mr. Mike Milam, Marc Soto, Anish Tharappel, Dwight Brothers, Rob McMenamy, J.P. Martinez, Geoffrey Zaidle, John Russell, Austin Minter, Uriel Carrasco, Nathan Cusack, Juan Mora, and Joe McDonald.

Cart: Roberto Martinez, Austin McNabb, Ashwin Tharappel, and Josh Tates.

Tents: Mr. Harry Bubeck, Aaron Zarraga, Stefan Hopkins, Patrick Donovan, Joseph Davidson, Bernardino Reyes, Martin Seidel, Kenneth Hughes and Nick Myers.

Fence: Bryan Heard, Alex Tomlinson, Sam Bubeck, Michael Christensen, Robert Blakely, and Ruben Enriquez.

Tables/Tents/Water/Dining Tarps: Mr. Peter McNabb, Joe Sorce, Kobie Baus, Bobby Hartman, Ryan Vandeven and Graeme Scruggs.

In hindsight, we should have put off the Gateway for a day and focused on the dining tarps, water and shade first. It was hot, especially when we unloaded the semi-tractor trailer and began really getting to work.

We cook cheeseburgers, our first dinner at the Jamboree. Just after dinner, we get hit with a pleasant rainstorm.

Mr. Harry Bubeck and Dwight Brothers meet with other Scoutmasters and SPLs and learn of the tragic accident that afternoon that claimed the lives of 4 Scout leaders from Alaska. They were killed when the pole of a large dining tent they were erecting struck a power line. The Scouts would later donate patches in their honor to be given to the Alaska Scouts who went home for the funerals of their leaders and fathers.

Mr. Mike Milam sends an email to Troop 1708 parents that we are all safe.



Day Seven - Gateway-Raising
Tuesday, July 26, 2005

After waking up in our tents for the first time on the trip, we cook a breakfast of eggs and sausage by Patrol. The neat thing about food preparation out at the Jamboree is that most of the meats are pre-cooked. This creates less splatters and far last food-borne diseases. Also makes clean up a bit easier.

After breakfast, the Troop works on setting up the Gateway. Six months in the planning, it had gotten real frustrating on Monday trying to put it together in the heat. Dr. Mike Holub had threatened to use it to start a bonfire!

Yet with a good night's sleep and everyone working, raising the Troop 1708 Gateway takes on the air of an old-fashioned barn raising, with 35 boys and 5 men, pulling on ropes, inching the structure higher. When it rises to its height, it stretches 31 feet into the Virginia sky, towering above the field of 20 Troops. The structure, composed of eight cedar trees, trimmed and de-barked, bolted and lashed together weighs more than 1,000 pounds. Its banners featured the skyline of Dallas, including Reunion Arena and the Bank of America (green neon) building, and banners of the White Buffalo District, Wacondi Hitcachi Chapter and Mikanakawa lodge.

Banners were designed by the boys and produced by Mr. Joe Kaplor of Troop 42 at his set design shop. They are printed on both sides. Engineering and practice staging had been conducted in large part by Mr. Danny Zaidle. We really wish these two men and several other parents plus an engineer Dr. Mike Holub enlisted could have been there in Virginia to see their finished product. But we have pictures to show, as does the National Jamboree web site.

After setting up the Gateway, the clothesline, the clothes washing station and the hand-washing station, the boys were free to go exploring the Jamboree!

Lunch is on their own at the Kiosks. Scouts and Scouters can eat at any Kiosk by just presenting the meal ticket for the day. Lunches are typically ham, roast beef or turkey sandwiches with cheese, fresh fruit, chips and dessert like pudding or Jell-O and juice. They are cold and we were advised to eat them within one hour to keep them fresh.

Many Scouts hit the Trading Post after lunch and stock up on souvenirs. The adults, at the pre-authorized discretion of the parents, disburse money for the boys. One adult is in charge of each of the four Patrols.




Day Eight - The Death March
Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Kobie Baus' family flies out and visits the Jamboree today. His parents, Jerry and Michelle, and brother Kasey, bring a care package of goodies. Thank you, very much!

This is the day we are supposed to see President Bush at the official opening of the Jamboree.

Security is extremely tight. We are told to not bring anything but 2 clear water bottles. No change, keys, pocketknives. The hike down to the Arena show proves torturous. The heat index hits 119!

We hike 3 miles on the hot July asphalt surface. It is brutal. We leave at 3:45 pm in a line of 1,800 Scouts from Subcamp 17. Soon we combine with thousands of other Scouts, some singing, others chanting songs like "One Ot Chu" along the way in an attempt to take our minds off the heat and build Scout Spirit.

The heat soon becomes severe. We round the corner by QBSA, the Jamboree Radio Station run by Scouts that keeps us informed and entertained. We go past heavily armed MP’s with mounted machine guns.

Finally in the shade of the towering Virginia pines and oaks, we head up a trail guarded by more soldiers with machine guns. Suddenly about 6 pm, after we had been on the trail for more than two hours, one of the MPs asks for all Scoutmasters. Tight-lipped, he says, "The event has been cancelled. Take your Scouts back to their campsites."

No further explanation.

Greatly disappointed, tired, hot and sweaty, we drag over to a shady spot, re-fill our water bottles, plop down and snack on cheese crackers and chips we had brought along, saved from lunch.

As we started on the 3 miles back to camp in the still-scorching heat, we witness something remarkable. Scouts and Scouters from the Central Region (Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan etc.) line the road, literally cheering us and clapping for us ("You're doing great!"). They know we have a long way to go and are already worn out.

Passing out cups of water and bottles of water, they tell us to just throw our empty cups and bottles on the side of the road---that they'll pick up the trash for us. Some hook up garden hoses and started hosing us down.

Only later do we learn that 800 people had required medical attention, some needing to be airlifted out. Dr. Mike Holub takes Mr. Josh Jimenez to the Army Base Hospital for heat exhaustion. Two charter buses with air conditioning are made available on the side of the road and those needing to cool off are invited to board the buses and be refreshed.

These Good Scouts -- Saints, if you will -- acted spontaneously, self-sacrificially. We had missed out on seeing the President, but we had gotten something far better: a heaping helping of Scout Spirit thrown our way.

In Dallas, there's an Italian restaurant with a radio commercial that says, "When you're here.... You’re family." We could adopt it: "When you're a Scout.... You’re family."

No matter where you're from, these Scouts from the Central Region seemed to be saying, if you're a Scout, you're one of us. And we will protect you.

As the walk continues, an adult leader pulls our adults off to the side and whispers: "A severe thunderstorm with lightning is coming within an hour. Go back to camp and get your tents secured and your boys in their tents."

Some of us get back to Subcamp 17 just in time to see tents blowing. Some of our Scouts and Mr. Mike Milam have already taken the initiative to lower our dining flies, stake down our tents and move Scouts out of the two tents next to the 1,000-pound Gateway. Scouts scurry around as winds pick up and lightning illuminates the sky. We later learn this thunderstorm was the primary reason the Opening Arena Show with President Bush had been called off. There was understandable concern of having 75,000 people in an open field with strong lightning and rain in the area. If we had been there, we would have been hit hard. Instead, we weathered the storm in our tents.

Many younger Scouts are sent to their tents first while the Leadership Corps and the adults finalize storm preparation. Then the adults send the Leadership Corps to their tents, followed by the adults, and finally Mr. Harry Bubeck, the Scoutmaster. The storm hits with a passion, winds knocking our tents sideways. Scouts huddled in the middle of their tents, many praying and singing spiritual songs.

It lasts 30 minutes, drenching our campsite, but most of the interior of the tents stays dry. When the rain stops, we emerge to see all 20 tents still standing. And the Gateway had not budged an inch! Thank you, Mr. Josh Jimenez, Dr. Mike Holub, Mr. Joe Kaplor and Mr. Danny Zaidle for all your design and execution.

QBSA Radio comes on almost immediately after the storm blaring the Gloria Gaynor hit, I Will Survive.

We did.







Day Nine - Making the Scout Oath and Law Way Cool!
Thursday, July 28, 2005

Scrambled eggs, sausage links and pancakes for breakfast and off we go to the big stage show called 12 Cubed. Put on by the Order of the Arrow and sponsored by the National Eagle Scout Association, it features fireworks, multi-media skits and Cubits (Mime-type court jesters.) We learn the power of 12 Cubed (the 12 points of the Scout Law multiplied by the 3 principles of the Scout Oath: Duty to God, Duty to Others and Duty to Self.)

It is an exciting way to package the character-shaping of Scouting in a modern way -- complete with video game references, cell-phone cheating on school tests and the burdens of over-spending and over-commitment. Scouts are taught to:

* Keep Your Word
* Be Fair
* Be Consistent
* Own your mistakes

A great message delivered in an air-conditioned auditorium, filled with Scout Spirit. Cooled off, refreshed and heading into a cooler climate with the rains the night before, we scatter to the four winds of the giant camp for patch-trading, scuba, snorkeling and the Hometown News tent where Austin McNabb gets to attend a press conference with Survivor contestant and Eagle Scout Ian Rosenberger. Austin Minter gets his credentials as our hometown correspondent for Coppell, Dallas and Lakewood.

Several of our members, Aaron Zarraga, Dwight Brothers, John Russell, Mr. Josh Jimenez, Alex Tomlinson and Geoffrey Zaidle, take part in a Mikanakawa Lodge Brotherhood ceremony that night. They had sent regalia up on the semi-tractor trailer just for the occasion.



Day Ten -- Picture Day
Friday, July 29, 2005

Picture Day in front of the Gateway! A leisure day of washing clothes and checking out activities. Mr. Peter McNabb runs the 5K. Some Scouts shoot shotguns or go rappelling or patch-trading. Bryan Heard studies Ham radio and also plays the drum for the Order of the Arrow Call Out ceremony that includes Dwight Brothers, Aaron Zarraga, and Mr. Josh Jimenez. The Call Out Ceremony is a first for Mikanakawa at a Jamboree.

We celebrate Ruben Enriquez' 15th birthday. He gets a care package from home that he shares. We celebrated the birthday of Marc Soto earlier in Washington.

Patrols are really working together now at meals. Even though they do not have leadership positions, Scouts like Uriel Carrasco, Ryan Vandeven, Graeme Scruggs, Bernardino Reyes, Kobie Baus, Michael Christensen, Martin Seidel, Nick Myers, and Robert Blakely prove to be very invaluable at making their Patrols run effectively with a can-do spirit.

Patrick Donovan's Dad came to pick him up and take him to a family reunion in Alabama, so we all say goodbye to him.

Nathan Cusack, who has become quite the patch-trader, discovers he has friends from school and Young Life in a neighboring camp.

At night, Chaplain Bruce Stefanik comes to meet with the boys and help them earn their Duty to God rocker segment patch. He's from the Salvation Army in Clarksville, Tennessee. Joshua Tates lead a devotional on cooperation. Then we go to bed.



Day Eleven -- BMX and Merit Badge Midway
Saturday, July 30, 2005

A heavy downpour hits about 9 am, just after our Troop 1708 flag ceremony. We huddle beneath our dining tarps until it slows to a sprinkle, then we head out.

About 10 of us, including Mr. Harry Bubeck, Mr. Peter McNabb and Mr. Brian Bennett, catch the buses and take the Scouts to the BMX bicycle riding course over a muddy dirt track. Rob McMenamy and Austin McNabb both wipe out, getting a little taste of the dirt. We then go to Merit Badge Midway and the National Exhibits, including the Order of the Arrow exhibit, the Religious Relationships exhibit and the National Eagle Scout Association.

Along the way, we stop at the Great Salt Lake Council campsite to visit with Mr. Dave Halliday, an OA Adviser and friend of Mr. Harry Bubeck's. Their contingent is on a 21-day Jamboree trip, including stops before and after the Jamboree.

Chili and beans for dinner. Then Monsignor Brady, one of our Subcamp 17 Chaplains, pays us a visit on Saturday night. He tells us that Joseph Davidson and Joshua Tates are the two most faithful attendees at his 6:30 am Mass this week. He asks if they can take part in the Sunday Mass before the entire Jamboree. Joseph and Joshua also lead us that night in our devotional about living in harmony, especially at the Jamboree.





Day Twelve -- Church and Arena Show
Sunday, July 31, 2005

We rise at 6 am for church. Half our group goes with the Catholics, the other half with the Methodists. Each have about a 3-mile walk each way. About 10,000 Catholics gather for Mass. About 5,000 Methodists gather for service. Both celebrate communion. The Methodist service is lead by Rev. Joseph Harris who is stepping down as head of the United Methodist Men. He speaks about trusting God for the outcomes in whatever we do. The service is given as we sit on a hillside nestled in 40-foot tall Virginia pine, oak and maple trees.

An interesting reflection on the diversity of our group. Troop 1708 is perhaps one of the most diverse Troops in our Subcamp. In our 35 Scouts, we have:

* 9 who are Hispanic
* 2 who are African-American
* 2 who are of Indian descent* 1 who is in a wheelchair.

Yet we are one Troop, one unit, striving for the same goals and working together. Our differences unite us and make us stronger.

The much-feared "Death March 2" is not nearly as bad as the one on Wednesday. The weather is much cooler on Sunday afternoon. We leave about an hour later for this Arena show, around 4:45 pm. We do not line up in our Subcamp this time but just go straight down the road. There is more water along the way. We make the journey in about 1 hour, 45 minutes, rather than 2 hours and 15 minutes that it had taken on Wednesday. Plus, by now are very used to the long walks, physically, psychologically and logistically.

We go through security and enter through the main gate this time, to see a giant sloped meadow leading up to a huge sound stage. On the left are 3 hot-air balloons: a blue one for the National Eagle Scout Association, a red one for the Order of the Arrow and a black one for the Army.

Counting visitors, 75,000 of us will crowd onto the field. Space on the ground is at a premium. We snack on the Gardettos we had saved from lunch and break out our water bottles.

President Bush arrives by Suburban in a motorcade pretty much on time, about 7:15 pm to a cheering multitude. He's introduced by Daniel Valella, an Eagle Scout from Jamboree Troop 1707, our next-door neighbors in Subcamp 17.

President Bush is dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt, he appears relaxed and awed by the opportunity to address America's future leaders. He tells the boys:

* He sees Scouts all over the White House every day. First, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, then VP Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, an Eagle Scout.

* He was a Cub Scout in Midland. His Mom was a Den Mother -- about the time her hair turned white!

* Scouts are on the front line in the fight for freedom and he gives several examples of service projects Scouts have conducted across the U.S.A.

* He challenges us to make a difference, to not be swayed by "relative morality" but hold fast to the principles of the Scout Oath and Law.

Scouts give President Bush a rousing, lengthy standing ovation, he comes out and shakes hands with many of the 160 Scouts on stage with him and the hundreds more who are seated up close. Then he and his motorcade leave. A few minutes later, he buzzes the field in Marine One, the presidential helicopter. We all wave goodbye as he heads back to pressing tasks in Washington.

Later that night, thousands of Scouts in attendance light candles, creating a sea of lights for a darkened world, almost like Christmas Eve in church right as Silent Night is sung---only many, many times larger and outdoors. At that time, an African-American Scout from Fort Worth leads us in re-dedicating our lives to Scouting by repeating the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Just as we do when we cross over into Scouting or at a Court of Honor, we re-commit to living the Scout Oath and Law, only this time in the presence of thousands of our brother Scouts from all 50 states and many foreign nations. It was a very inspiring moment and one all who attended will ever forget. We sing Lee Greenwood's song, I'm Proud to be an American.

Explorers Club President Richard Weise Junior introduces us to the 20 members of the Explorers Club who have Sub camps named after them. Among them is his Dad, the first pilot to cross the Pacific non-stop from California to Australia. Other explorers include balloonist Stephen Fossett and astronaut Jim Lovell, the Eagle Scout who was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the Apollo 13 movie.

The biggest fireworks show we've ever seen, complete with and a green laser light show caps the evening. After midnight, we walk back three miles with our flashlights, inspired that we are part of the greatest youth movement in the world.



Day Thirteen -- Church and Arena Show
Monday, August 1, 2005

We sleep in until 7 am following the late-night march back from seeing President Bush and the Arena show. English muffins, ham, eggs and cheese for breakfast.

A leisurely day of working on rockers (the Jamboree achievement badge segments), hitting the trading post, washing uniforms, throwing footballs and zingers. On the rockers, Ashwin and Anish Tharappel and Bobby Hartman went rafting and tiki canoeing. Bobby had been "caught" doing something good: picking up trash along the road. A Scout leader presented him with a VIP pass, good for getting him and his buddies to the front of the line of all activities.

Sam Bubeck and Graeme Scruggs earn the Railroad Merit Badge this day. All 34 Scouts are awarded the 5K run patch. We had passed on the 5K run on Fri. July 29 due to rain. But on Sun. July 31, we each put in 20K (12 miles or more in our two trips down Thomas Road, first to church and second to the closing ceremony with President Bush.

Imitation ribs in BBQ sauce, similar to the McRib from McDonalds, top the main course for dinner. We also have green peas and rice and salad with French dressing, along with apple pie for dessert.

After supper, we take down the Gateway. The 1,000-pound structure has towered 31 feet in the air over our campsite and half of Subcamp 17. We share a meadow with 20 Troops east of the road. The Gateway came down with safety and grace, a fitting retirement to its 9 days of service.

Troop 42 at the 1985 Jamboree first used the poles for the Gateway, which were later carefully stored by Mr. Steve Jung at Golden Gate Foods, before any of our Scouts were born! Mr. Josh Jimenez, Mr. Danny Zaidle and Dr. Mike Holub, who had actually contracted an engineer to go over the plans to ensure safety, worked out the construction plans.

The banners were designed by the Scouts led by Juan Mora and Mr. Josh Jimenez with the aid of Mr. Joe Kaplor who printed them. The top banner resembles a Texas flag with Troop 1708, Dallas, Texas printed on it. The two vertical side banners showed pictures of the Dallas skyline along with logos from the Dallas-area sports teams, the Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks and Rangers. Also cactus, bluebonnets and praying hands are on the banners. The corner banners show the White Buffalo District and the Wacondi Hitachi patch. The Mikanakawa Lodge Order of the Arrow flap was suspended over the middle.

We flew the American Flag and our Troop 1708 Jamboree flags every day of the Jamboree. Other flags we flew sometimes came from Troop 42 Jamboree trips in 1993, 1985 and 1950. The 1950 one is made of cloth. Leaders who brought it, including Mr. J. Cook Evans, have now all gone to be with the Lord, but their spirit remains.


Day Fourteen -- Packing Day
Tuesday, August 2, 2005

No flag ceremony today because the flagpoles were on the Gateway and the Gateway has been taken down. Still we had an assembly. Many Scouts received their Rocker awards for Duty to God, Activities and Outback. Sausage, eggs and cheese for breakfast.

It's our Troop's day to clean the Latrine, showers and sinks for Subcamp 17. Four Dragons led by Stefan Hopkins and four Tigers led by Joe Sorce do a fine job. Later all eight Scouts receive hats thanking them for their service.

We pack up personal belongings and move out of our tents. The 53-feet white trailer pulled by a purple tractor-truck pulls into our Subcamp at 2:45 pm, fortunately only 40 yards from what was left of Troop 1708's campsite. We share in getting our Gateway materials, tents, tool boxes, chuck boxes, and Mr. Harry Bubeck's steamer trunk "Big Mama" loaded aboard along with equipment from the other 19 Troops.

The semi-trailer is completely loaded by 6:15 pm -- only 3 1/2 hours, compared to 4 1/2 hours when we originally loaded it at Camp Wisdom on July 9. Could be that we are just getting better at it by now. And the fact that several Troops have thrown their Gateways in the dumpster helps.

Once packed, our Scouts start a football game in the shade of the truck and the trees. Kenneth Hughes proves to be quite the receiver and running back.

With our five dining tarps, we set up low-rise shelters for each Patrol to sleep under. Although rain is not in the forecast, we lower the roofs to limit the dew getting on our Scouts and their sleeping bags. All are in bed and quiet at 10 pm, our last night in camp. Duffel bags are covered with plastic on a 25-foot long plastic sheet.


Day Fifteen -- Homecoming!
Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Heading home today! Everyone is up at 5 am -- in the dark with flashlights trying to pack up sleeping bags and gear. By daybreak, everything is packed and the wet dining tarps have been brought down. Scouts are all in uniform and ready to leave.

Only there's no bus. Other buses for other Troops who are due to leave later than us arrive. But not ours.

By 7:20 am, Troop 1707, our neighbors, make an incredible gesture. Scoutmaster Randy Baldwin, a true man of God throughout the Jamboree, offers to pull his boys and their gear off his bus and give it to us. That's just what we needed. What a saint!

We unload Troop 1707's tan duffel bags, replacing them with our navy blue duffel bags and hop aboard the bus. We thank Mr. Baldwin and his Troop. We are on the road out of camp by 7:45 am, saying goodbye to our home for the last 9 days, Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

We arrive at Reagan National Airport and learn that our flight has been delayed for an hour because they have no crew. So we leave at noon Eastern Time instead of 11 am.

We fly on the same plane with Circle Ten Chief Scout Executive Gene Stone who explains that the Army really appreciates the opportunity to put on the Jamboree because it provides excellent training in setting up temporary refugee camps for 42,000 people. The experience could be very helpful in the event of war or natural disasters like the typhoon that hit the Indian Ocean coastlines last Christmas.

The exposure to the military also has been eye-opening to J.P. Martinez who now talks about wanting to go into Special Ops Forces.

Also flying home on our plane is Troop 1701 from Dallas (basically Troop 70 from Highland Park) and Jamboree Troop 612 from San Jose, California, which has mainly Asian-American Scouts. From the airport, we can see the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and the U.S. Capitol. As we take off, we can see the gigantic Pentagon.

On the flight home, we watch Spiderman 2. It's a smooth flight, a fitting wrapper on a wonderful 2-week experience. We land at 2 pm Central Time at DFW.

We gather our 34 Scouts and 5 leaders, walk through the revolving doors to baggage and -- SURPRISE!!!

Cheering Moms, Dads, even brothers and sisters, banners, balloons, welcoming us home along with the blaring lights of TV cameras from WB 33 and NBC Channel 5.

We had caught wind there might be a bit of a welcome home party--but nothing like this! Mr. Dan Hopkins, Mrs. Vickie Minter and many others had cooked us up a real celebration.

The Bible says, "Without vision, the people perish." Four years ago, Mr. Harry Bubeck and Dr. Mike Holub caught a vision. A vision that would cost nearly $100,000: to bring together 40 Scouts and Scouters to make an incredible trip.

The vision spread. Soon many, many people: parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family members, generous sponsors, everyone who made a donation or bought a spaghetti dinner or pancake breakfast ticket, caught the same vision. If we all pitch in, we can make this vision a reality.

Troop leaders from 42, 175, 245, 325 and 709, Scouters on the Council and National level went to work. We attended meetings, made preparations, held practice campouts and pulled together. With God's help, we made the 2005 Jamboree truly the Trip of our Scouting lives.

It's great to be home! And great to be a part of the Boy Scouts of America.

---Written by Peter McNabb, August 6, 2005