Troop 1346 has been part of the Fairfax County, VA community for 30 years. We are chartered by Burke Presbyterian Church in Burke Centre, and serve Scouts from throughout Burke, Fairfax Station, Fairfax, and West Springfield. During the school year, the Troop meets every non-holiday Monday evening from 7:30 to 8:45 PM at Terra Centre Elementary School, 6000 Burke Centre Parkway. During the summer and for special events we meet at Burke Presbyterian Church. Scouts and adult leaders often begin arriving at 7:00 PM to work on merit badges and advancement.
Troop 1346 has a strong tradition of outdoor activities, and camps 12 months a year throughout the Middle Atlantic Region, from the Appalachian mountains to the Atlantic beaches. We participate in most available District and Council events, and regularly take advantage of the special activity opportunities available to Scouts throughout the greater Washington, D.C. area. With our December 2011 rechartering, we will receive BSA "Journey To Excellence" gold-level award, the highest recognition for Troop quality. We are especially proud of the fact that nearly 90 young men have reached Eagle Scout Rank with Troop 1346 since our founding.
Like all good Scout Troops, we are "boy led" - our youth members choose our annual activities program, and run the meetings and campouts. Older Scouts are primarily responsible for instructing and mentoring younger Scouts as they learn and advance in the program. Our Scouts learn leadership by actually practicing leadership!
We have a dedicated corps of adult leaders serving our Scouts, including well over a dozen fully-trained Assistant Scoutmasters with over a century of collective Scouting experience, and over 30 Troop Committee members. Our Scoutmaster, Ken Gaul, has been a Scout leader for over 15 years at all levels of BSA's unit programs, and has completed Wood Badge (BSA's most advanced leader training). He is also a member of the Patriot District Committee (currently on the District membership team), has served as a District Unit Commissioner, and has been recognized with the BSA District Award of Merit and Distingished Patriot Scouter Award among other Scouting honors. Our new Troop Committee Chair, John Rickards, is an experienced Scout leader who is also both an Eagle Scout and Vigil Member of the Order of the Arrow, the highest member/leadership level of BSA's camping honor society.
Burke Presbyterian Church also sponsors our affiliated Venture Crew, Crew 1346. Venture Crew 1346 concentrates on high-adventure activities for high-school aged youth, including annual treks to at least one regional high adventure camp or one of BSA's National High Adventure Bases: Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, BSA Sea Base in the Florida Keys, and Northern Tier High Adventure Base in Minnesota. In 2010 we sent three crews to Sea Base programs. In 2011 we sent two trail crews to Philmont for wilderness backpacking adventures, and in 2012 we will be sending three crews to Northern Tier for canoe treks in the boundary waters of Minnesota and Canada. Our Venture Crew Advisor is Bob Brese, Ken's predecessor as Scoutmaster, who has over 20 years of Scout leadership experience and has completed Wood Badge, among other advanced training. Bob has attended all National High Adventure Bases and several regional programs. He is also currently serving as a District Unit Commissioner, and has received several Scout leader honors, including the Distinguished Patriot Scouter Award and the National Eagle Scout Association's Scoutmaster Award of Merit.
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For more information, please see the documents available for download below.