[Reflections on Night Ops 2015]
One observation that I made at this event is the difference between the boys whose goal was to win and the boys whose goal was to do the best they could. By the end of the night, you could tell which boys enjoyed themselves the most and which didn’t; the common factor was team spirit and teamwork.
TrailLife Troop 9212, patrol B, is a shining example of this (they earned the Team Spirit/ Teamwork ribbon). There are two instances that I would like to highlight.
The first was when one of their youngest members was injured at a station. They took care of him and brought him back to the Command Tent to be evaluated. He choose to ‘tap out’; and he stayed at the rest station for the duration of the event. Throughout the night, when his patrol came by, they would stop and check in to see how he was doing. At the end of the event, two of the patrol members gentle woke him up; one carried his bag; the other helped guide him back to camp.
The second instance was at the Knots & Lashing station. The station leader reported that he saw the group work together without argument; the older patrol members helped the younger members complete the task and used it to help instruction them.
The character shown by this group was evident to all the leaders and has been greatly praised by all. I challenge every Trailman and AHG girl to ask yourself this as you get ready for next year:
Which is more important to me – winning the ribbons or building my own character and the character of my group?
Character: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.