Wood Badge in the United States is an advanced leadership training course available to adult leaders of Scouting America. The first Wood Badge course was presented in England by the founder of Scouting, Baden-Powell, and he introduced the program into the United States during a visit in 1936. The first course was held at the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, but Americans did not fully adopt Wood Badge until 1948. The National Council of Scouting America provided direct leadership to the program through 1958, when the increased demand encouraged them to permit local councils to deliver the training.
The program originally focused almost exclusively on Scoutcraft skills, some elements of the Patrol Method, and First Class Scout requirements. In a major cultural shift during the 1970s, Wood Badge was modified to train Scouters in eleven specific leadership competencies. The National Council has updated it several times since then, and during 2001–2002 implemented an overhaul that emphasized a prototypical troop as a method for teaching team leadership and problem-solving skills. The training is delivered through a lecture classroom environment and a short outdoor camping experience. It is a key element of the overall leadership training program.
Slow adoptions Francis Gidney, the first camp chief of Gilwell Park, came to the United States in 1922 at the instigation of Walter W. Head, a member of the Boy Scouts of America National Board, and later its President. While Gidney demonstrated some of the Scoutcraft tricks from Gilwell, his ideas did not arouse interest, but were treated as entertainment by the American audience. A number of American Scouters later traveled to England and took the British Wood Badge course. These included assistant director of Volunteer Training Gunnar Berg and assistant director of camping William C. Wessel. Though the national training department approved a "Gillwill Training Camp" to be held at Camp Parsons in 1929 (conducted by John A. Stiles, the Chief Scout Executive of Canada), the prevailing attitude of the Boy Scouts of America was that American men would not set aside eight days from their busy lives to attend the course.
Shift away from the British course In 1935, BSA President Walter W. Head attended the eighth International Boy Scout Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. He met with James E. West, Scouting's founder Baden Powell, and his aide, Gilwell Park's second camp chief John Skinner Wilson. Wilson was persuaded to visit the United States during 1936 and spend three months teaching others about Wood Badge. During May 1936, he conducted two Wood Badge courses at Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation. Wilson had been told to "follow the book" as it was done in England, which he faithfully did, including the English menu with dishes like boiled leg of lamb and boiled ham. Wilson had a reputation as a "dour Scot" and he brooked no discussion during his course. William Hillcourt was a participant in that first course and four days later, he was the senior patrol leader for the second course. He received his Wood Badge beads in 1939 and was appointed as the deputy camp director for Wood Badge.
Some American Scouters chafed under Wilson's authoritarian attitude. They found the course much too restrictive, demanding, and altogether too "British." They felt the course would not work in the United States and recommended to the National Council that the program should not be adopted, which was followed. Before further experimentation could be implemented, World War II interrupted any ideas of men taking time off for Scouting.
Adapted for American training After the war ended, new Gilwell Park camp chief John Thurman was interested in persuading the Boy Scouts of America to adapt Wood Badge. The new Chief Scout Executive Elbert K. Fretwell was an educator and training enthusiast. He was convinced to allow a few members of the Program Division and Volunteer Training Service to try a new National Wood Badge Course. Four national staff members were given the responsibility: Frank W. Braden (assistant director of the Program Division and national coordinator of Training), William E. Lawrence (director of the Boy Scouting Service), Joseph M Thomas (assistant director of Volunteer Training), and William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt (national director of Scoutcraft).
Hillcourt had received his Wood Badge beads in 1939, making him the only national staff member eligible to serve as course Scoutmaster. He was appointed "Deputy Camp Chief of the United States." The four men elected to include in the course all of the recently updated basic Boy Scout requirements for Tenderfoot to First Class, along with information on patrol work covered in the Handbook for Patrol Leaders (authored by Hillcourt) and troop organization and activities described in the Handbook for Scoutmasters (also written by Hillcourt).
They added American touches to the course. They used the names of American birds for patrol names; challenged patrols to make their own flags instead of using store-bought flags; introduced patrol totems and signatures; and added singing Back to Gilwell when each patrol's name was mentioned. Each member took turns as the patrol leader, and they met daily as the Patrol Leaders Council to conduct daily inspections. The staff taught course attendees basic Scout requirements and how to handle the U.S. flag. The patrols took an unsupervised patrol hike and overnight camp. Other American features included a program and a service patrol, a cracker barrel after each evening's event, a feast, and other ceremonies. The first course, begun on July 31, 1948, was attended by 29 men from 12 states. Although it rained on four of the nine days, the Scouters were excited by the experience and enthusiastic about sharing it with others.
New course tested Later in 1948, six courses were led by members of the national BSA staff, with one at Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation and another at Philmont Scout Ranch. Scouters were enthusiastic about the new course. "Perhaps the finest experience we have had in 35 years of Scouting was attending the Wood Badge course in New Mexico... Any man who lived nine days in a Gilwell Troop would know how a troop is operated." The new Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America, Arthur A. Schuck, was a training enthusiast. He felt Wood Badge would be a great opportunity to train selected men who could return to their local councils and train others.
National council presents program From 1948 through 1958, Wood Badge was presented exclusively by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In 1955, John Thurman, the Camp Chief of Gilwell, toured a number of U.S. Wood Badge courses. His assessment and comments helped to continue to improve the program on both the national and local council levels. Attendees from local councils were carefully screened, needing the "unqualified endorsement of the Council's Leadership Training Committee and the Scout Executive." The first Cub Scout Wood Badge beads awarded to a woman were given to Rebekeh T. Weir in 1957. Her husband, Rev. Thomas E. Weir, had already received his beads, which made them the first American couple to both receive Wood Badge beads.
Through 1958, over 6000 individuals took Wood Badge and its popularity continued to expand. Local councils agitated for the opportunity to run their own Wood Badge courses. In 1953, the first council-run program was hosted by the Cincinnati Area (later Dan Beard) Council. Qualified local councils continued to provide advanced leadership training to Scoutmasters and other Scout leaders using Wood Badge. Two or more councils are allowed to join together to present Wood Badge with regional approval.
In the 1970s, the National Council moved its headquarters from North Brunswick, New Jersey to Irving, Texas, and the national training center from Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation to the Philmont Training Center. However, the majority of Wood Badge courses are held throughout the country at local council camps under the auspices of each BSA region.
Change from camping to leadership The Wood Badge program originally focused exclusively on teaching Scoutcraft skills, the Patrol Method and First Class Scouting requirements.
White Stag program draws national attention Beginning in the 1950s, Béla H. Bánáthy, Chairman of the Leadership Training Committee of the Monterey Bay Area Council, formulated the idea of an experimental leadership training program. He named it White Stag Leadership Development after the white stag of Hungarian mythology, the emblem of the Fourth World Scout Jamboree, which Bela had attended when he was 14 years old. With the active interest and support of the Monterey Bay Area Council executive staff and board, Bela continually improved his experimental program. In 1963 Maury Tripp and Fran Peterson were working closely with Bela. They also served on the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America and brought the White Stag program to their attention. In November 1963, Dr. John W. Larson, a staff researcher for the National Council, observed the program's annual Indaba at the Presidio of Monterey. Impressed with what he witnessed, he recommended that the national office conduct a detailed analysis of the White Stag program.
During a thorough study, the national BSA staff interviewed participants, parents, and leaders. They distributed questionnaires to program participants, reviewed the White Stag literature, and observed the program in action. They also conducted a statistical analysis of troops taking part in White Stag and compared them to non-participating units. In December 1965, Chief Scout Executive Joseph Brunton received the White Stag Report. It stated that offering leadership development to youth was a unique opportunity for Scouting to provide a practical benefit to youth and would add substantial support to Scouting's character development goals. It recommended that Wood Badge should be used to experiment with the leadership development principles of White Stag. The program had until this time taught the adults the same Scoutcraft skills a boy was required to learn to become a First Class Scout along with concepts of the patrol method.
Focus shifts to leadership skills In February 1966, Brunton appointed seven men to a National task force to lead the effort: Robert L. Calvert, head of the BSA Education Division, was chair of the committee composed of A. Warren Holm, John Larson, William E. Lawrence, Ben H. Love, Kenneth Wells, and Joseph W. Wyckoff. Their plan identified Wood Badge and senior patrol leader training as the best opportunities for providing leadership education within the BSA. Their report recommended that the National Council develop an experimental Wood Badge program as soon as possible to be tested at Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, to be followed by further testing in selected local councils.
In January 1967, John Larson, along with Bob Perin, Assistant National Director of Volunteer Training, were tasked with working with Dr. Bánáthy to write a new Wood Badge staff guide focusing on the White Stag leadership competencies.
Resistance to change Shifting from teaching primarily camping skills to leadership competencies was a paradigm shift. It required rethinking the underlying assumptions, concepts, practices, and values guiding how adults were trained as Scout leaders. Some individuals on the national staff and many volunteers across the nation resisted the idea of changing the focus of Wood Badge from training leaders in Scout craft to leadership skills. Among them was Bill Hillcourt, who had been the first United States Wood Badge Course Director in 1948. He remained loyal to the idea that Wood Badge should teach Scoutcraft skills. Although he had officially retired on August 1, 1965, his opinion was still sought after and respected.