Troop 376 History & Information Page

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The Troop was founded in March 1976 and Troop 5376 was founded in February 2019. Both are chartered by Oak Hills Presbyterian Church. Our Troops aim to support growth in moral strength and character (personal qualities, values and outlook), citizenship participation (obligations to others, community and government) and development of physical, mental, emotional & leadership skills. Typically, the scout's success is not only based on him learning new skills, but also on parent and family participation (which we encourage). We strongly support BSA National policies, regulations and guidelines.

We believe in having fun while learning. Generally we teach a large variety of merit badges and those we don’t teach can be taken at Summer Camp or Merit Badge University. We encourage rank advancement for all scouts. Summer Camp is one of the highlights of the year and we encourage all scouts to attend and to take 3 'age appropriate' merit badges. Other highlights include our Courts of Honor held twice annually (in April & October). We have a very strong adult leadership team with most being trained, many are involved with the Order of the Arrow, and many are Wood Badge trained as well. (Wood Badge is advanced adult leader training from the BSA.)

Our Troops especially enjoy rock climbing & shooting outings. We are blessed to have several Leaders trained as AMGA Certified Climbing Instructors and NRA Rangemasters. This allows our Troop to have climbing outings (to places like Smith Rock in central Oregon) & shooting trips at Douglas Ridge Rifle Club (as well as other Locations). Some of our other special outings have been: Bangor Submarine Base, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (Army and Air Force Bases), the Museum of Flight, touring the San Juan Islands, and a California trip which included backpacking near Sequoia National Park and a visit to Disneyland.

We work hard to be a 'youth led' Troops. We are active in community programs, monthly camps/outings/activities and High Adventure activities (for those scouts typically over 13 years old). We do require camping equipment and understand the strain on the budget and the purchase can be spread out during the year. Our Troop promotes Order of the Arrow (OA) membership through Troop elections. It is an honor to become an OA member. (The OA is the Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America.) Additionally our Troops also promote National Jamboree and generally has a large contingent of both Scouts and Adults participating. (We had 21 scouts and 4 leaders that attended the 2010 National Jamboree.)

Our Troops require a full Field Uniform (we call it a "Class A") at the following times: --all outings that require travel, --community service, --the first Troop Meeting of each month, & --all Courts of Honor. The full "Class A" uniform consists of: --uniform shirt with Troop #'s, --uniform pants or shorts, --green web belt, --uniform socks, --merit badge sash, --troop hat, --a rope segment, --our green neckerchief & --the slide. The troop hat, troop numbers, rope segment, shoulder loops, neckerchief, & slide are provided by the Troop at Crossover. Also, it is recommended that you purchase 2 Troop t-shirts that represent our Activity Uniform (also called a “Class B”).

Youth Led Troops
Troop Meetings held on Monday evenings from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Dues are $80/year ($20 paid quarterly).
2 to 3 major fundraisers are held each year (mostly to help scouts build up their camp account…100% goes to the Scout's account).
Typically have an average of about 2 to 5 scouts achieve the Eagle Rank annually. (We reached our 100th Eagle Scout in April 2015.)
Patrols are typically 5-8 scouts and have an Asst. Scoutmaster as Patrol Adviser / Coach.
Committee meetings are typically held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month @ 7:00 pm.
New Scouts can reach 1st Class Rank in *12 -18 months.
Star Rank in an additional *6 -12 months.
Life Rank in an additional *6 -12 months.
Eagle Rank in an additional *6 -18 months.

* = based on individual abilities (and attendance at meetings & outings).

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to visit a meeting or ask our Committee Chairman, Scoutmaster, or an Assistant Scoutmaster. They will be happy to answer your questions.