Troop 13

The official Boy Scout uniform can be purchased at any Houston area Scout Shop. They have locations on Loop 610, Stafford, and the Champions area.

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The Troop also has a uniform and hiking boot recycle program (see details in the attachments). A short sleeved shirt is most practical but always get one at least a size larger than necessary so you will not have to move all those patches more than once a year. The official field (Class A) uniform consists of a scout shirt, shorts or pants, socks, belt and brown leather shoes or boots.

 

The scout should also purchase a merit badge sash after he has received 5-6 merit badges. The scout shirt should have red shoulder loops, council strip, World Crest emblem, Troop 13 numerals, patrol patch, and rank patches as appropriate. The only patches from Cub Scouts that are allowed on the Boy Scout uniform are religious knots and Arrow of Light patch.

 

The merit badge sash should be worn to all Scoutmaster Conferences, Boards of Review and Courts of Honor as well as other special scouting occasions. Hiking boots are to be worn at all scout functions. Scouts wear their hiking boots to break them in prior to attending a campout.

 

The Troop also issues a Troop cap and two gray Troop t-shirts. Those will be worn when Class B uniforms are appropriate. Please help us make the scout understand that no part of the scout uniform, including the cap, should ever be defaced or altered. Replacement caps can be purchased at a cost of $10. Scouts are expected to wear the gray t-shirts and caps to all campouts and activities when the full uniform is not required.

 

Each scout is expected to have his own copy of the Scout Handbook that is his own personal record of his Scouting history. The Scout's name should be clear and legible on the inside and with a Sharpie on the outside edges. You may want to put it in a cover, which can be purchased at the Scout Shop, and enclose it in a baggie on camp outs to protect it from the weather. Personal camping equipment is discussed in an attachment to this handbook.

 

The following are the Troop 13 uniform requirements-

 

Class A Field Uniform:
Boy Scout slacks or short pants
Boy Scout green socks
Boy Scout belt
Hiking boots
Boy Scout shirt with proper rank and other insignias properly displayed
Boy Scout merit badge sash (Court of Honor, Scoutmaster Conference and Board of Review)

 

Class B Activity Uniform:
Boy Scout slacks or short pants
Grey Troop 13 t-shirt
Boy Scout green socks
Hiking boots
Boy Scout belt
Troop 13 cap

 

Why Do We Wear Uniforms?

 

Click here to download a pdf document illustrating proper scout uniform insignia placement.

 

The Boy Scouts of America has always been a uniformed body. There are many reasons for this. One reason stands out above all the rest. We wear the uniform because it is a means of identifying ourselves openly with the principles to which we are committed-character development, citizenship training, and physical and mental fitness.

 

The fact that youth and adult members of Scouting wear a uniform doesn't mean that we're all alike. We come from different ethnic and racial backgrounds. We have our own religious beliefs and political views. We are each individuals with our own family traditions and loyalties. So the uniform is not intended to hide our individuality. But it is a way we give each other strength and support. It is a bond that ties us together in spite of our differences. It is a way of making visible our commitment to a belief in God, loyalty to country, and to helping other people.

 

The Scouting movement is built on positive values. As we wear the uniform, we are openly identifying ourselves with those values where everyone can see us. We stand together, not alone, in encouraging others to live by those same principles. Boys and adults alike should take pride in belonging to such a movement and wear the uniform as it is intended.

 

The Scouting program in America has always included uniforms for its members and volunteers to identify members and show they are part of the Boy Scouts of America. Scouts and leaders should wear their uniforms to all patrol meetings, Troop meetings, and scout outings.

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The tan and green Boy Scout uniform is a well-known symbol of American scouting. All Scouts in the program wear the same uniform with the major differences being the badges each scout has earned. Scouts in uniform are conscious of their rank and make a greater effort to advance. Only the uniform provides a place to display badges - important symbols of achievement.

 

Scouts have more fun, stay longer, feel greater pride in advancement. It is not the purpose of the Scout uniform to hide the differences between the boys or make them feel that they are all the same. There is one way in which all Scouts are alike. Whenever a Scout sees another person in a Scout uniform he knows he is like that person because both have committed themselves principles of the Scout Oath and Law. The Scout Oath and Law bind all Scouts of the world together in a common purpose.

By wearing the uniform, Scouts give each other strength and support. Beyond accenting the common bond between Scouts, by wearing the uniform, Scouts are declaring their faith and commitment to some important beliefs that bind them to all people. It is a way of making visible their belief in God, their loyalty to our country and their commitment to helping other people who need them.

 

How the uniform can help the Troop:

1. When smartly worn, the uniform can help build good Troop spirit.

2. By investing in a uniform, a scout and his parents are really making a kind of a commitment to take Scouting seriously.

3. The uniform makes the Troop visible as a force for good in the community.

4. When properly worn on the correct occasions, it can attract new members.

5. Scouts in uniform create a strong, positive, youth image in the neighborhood, thus helping to counteract the negative feeling some adults have about youth.