Boy Scouts hold Spring Camporee at Town of Babylon Cedar Beach

On the weekend of April 18 through the 20th the Sagtikos District of the Boy Scouts of America held its annual Spring Camporee at Cedar Beach in the town of Babylon. The theme of the camporee was Emergency Preparedness, and the scouts participated in a Disaster Drill that was coordinated with the United States Coast Guard, the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club and various local fire departments and ambulance corps.

The scouts camped on the beach overlooking the Ocean and were treated with a beautiful sunrise on both Saturday and Sunday.

During the opening ceremonies of the camporee numerous "mock victims" of an airplane crash positioned themselves around the shoreline by the ocean on Cedar beach. Each mock victim was prepped in advance with their symptoms and how to act when the scouts arrived. Toward the end of the opening activities a flare was set off and an announcement that there was a crash. Since the scouts were on scene they would use their skills to assist until emergency service personal arrived. The scouts responded to the situation using their first aid skills to assess the victims and assist by working side with the first responders to evacuate the victims from the beach front to the parking lot where the ambulances were waiting.

Scouts from Troop 43 of Bay Shore, sponsored by St. Peters by the Sea, were fortunate to have an opportunity to assist two of the mock victims, one with minor injuries and the other with critical injuries. They worked with members of the West Islip fire department to stabilize and transport their victims to the Brentwood Ambulance personal. Along the way the first responders provided feedback on how the scouts responded. This was a very valuable opportunity for the scouts to see how their skills could come into play if this were a real emergency situation.

Once the scouts and first responders cleared the beach the US Coast Guard conducted an air sea rescue close to the shore line so that the scouts could see the drill. The scouts could see a coast guard cutter in the distance off in the ocean and a rescue swimmer being deployed from the helicopter. When the drill was completed the helicopter did a flyover and banked to head back to sea at just the right time and angle for the personal near the side door to wave to the scouts and scouters below.

This action packed day continued after the scouts prepared and cleaned up from lunch. They had the opportunity to go to the Cedar Beach Marina were boats from the West Islip fire department, and the Coast Guard were docked. The West Islip fire department dive team and members of the Brentwood ambulance also had demonstrations and allowed the scouts to access their equipment. The scouts from Troop 43 learned about the fire boat and had the opportunity to use the hose, toured the coast guard rescue boat, learned about the equipment and qualifications of becoming a fire department dive team member, and finally they were able to demonstrate their CPR skills with the Brentwood ambulance CPR practice mannequins.

After dinner the activities continued as a typical scouting camporee. The scouts had the opportunity to attend various religious services and the campfire program. In keeping with the traditions of the Sagtikos District Spring Camporee, the members of the Order of the Arrow (scouting’s honor society) preformed a ceremony where they acknowledged the scouts nominated from their troops. Troop 43 was very proud of their scout Nate P. who was nominated and is looking forward to completing the process. Immediately following the Order of the Arrow ceremony the scouts entertained each other with skits and songs that continued on until light out.

On Sunday morning after breakfast and packing up camp the scouts attending the camporee participated in a beach clean-up in honor of earth day. They combed the beach, playground and parking lot collecting trash and other debris.

All and all this was a very enjoyable and productive weekend. The scouts were all very appreciative to the Town of Babylon for allowing them to rent the area for the camporee, the members of all the volunteer agencies and organizations that gave of their time to assist on Saturday, the US Coast Guard and especially the volunteers of the Sagtikos District that spent many hours planning this wonderful event.

For more information on Boy Scout Troop 43 by the Sea of Bay Shore or if you have a youth interested in joining scouting and participating in exciting activities like his please visit their website: http://troop0043bayshore.scoutlander.com

For more information on the Sagtikos District visit their website:

https://www.sccbsa.org/sagtikos

For more information on Boy Scout Programs in Suffolk County visit their website:
https://www.sccbsa.org