Boy Scouts of America

Wood Badge

Wood Badge is an advanced, national leadership course open only to Scouting volunteers and professionals.

Scouters from Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts, and Explorers, and district and council Scouters all are welcome and belong here.

What do we see on course?

We do many things on course, like:

  • Listening
  • Managing conflict
  • Leading change
  • Stages of team development
  • Coaching & Mentoring
  • Leadership for different stages
  • Servant leadership
  • Project planning
  • And more!

These come to you in presentations, games, discussions, activities, and other methods.

Why do you want to go?

You want to participate in a Wood Badge course because of things you will learn and do. Here are some of the benefits:

  • Stronger units. You will make your Scouting unit — and your sons’ and daughters’ units — stronger.
  • What and why of Scouting. You will have a deeper understanding of what Scouting is and why we do it.
  • Experience. You will learn and experience things that will stay with you in Scouting and the rest of your life.
  • Fun. You will have fun and you will meet interesting people.
  • Other groups. You will make your other groups, like work, church, even family, stronger.

Here’s another summary of why to go. This was originally aimed particularly at Scouters in the Cub Scout program, but it applies equally to all of us.

This course will help you better understand how all the Scouting programs tie together. It will provide you with many useful leadership tools to help enable our youth to have the best possible Scouting experience. There is no better time to attend a Wood Badge course and make a difference in your unit than when you are a Cub Scout Leader.

Purpose of Wood Badge

The purpose of Wood Badge is to develop skilled leaders who can strengthen Scouting units in achieving the mission of the Boy Scouts of America.

When we accomplish the mission of Scouting, we do it in the units. Therefore, the short form of the purpose is, the purpose of Wood Badge is to strengthen units.

Although the course is different today, what Baden-Powell said in 1919 still applies:

One of the purposes of Wood Badge training is to get Scouters to think about the practice of Scouting, to meet together, to exchange experiences, and to live together in the spirit of the Scout Oath.

More information

For more information, talk with your district or council training chair.

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.