As a Scout in Troop 388, you will:

• Take part in high-adventure activities throughout North Carolina, the United States, and the World.
• Learn valuable skills as you advance toward the rank of Eagle Scout:
  • Camping
  • Cooking
  • Swimming, diving, and lifesaving
  • First aid
  • Orienteering
  • Citizenship
  • Personal finance
  • ... and more!
• Practice specialized skills as you earn Merit Badges to fulfill rank requirements:
  • Photography
  • Computers
  • Archery
  • Wilderness survival
  • Fishing
  • Chemistry
  • Shotgun and rifle shooting
  • Radio
  • Oceanography
  • ... and many more!

During the Summer Season (Feb - Oct), the Troop meets every Monday night, except holidays, from 6:45pm to 8:15pm in the youth classroom of Greystone Baptist Church. During the Winter Season (Nov - Jan), the Troop meets from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

On special occasions, Troop 388 or your patrol may meet at a different time and location. You will, however, be notified well in advance of these changes.

For our latest calendar of events, please refer to our home page calendar.

Remember the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared. Though you may not use everything you bring to the meeting, it's important that you bring everything you might need, just in case. Items you'll want to bring include:

• Boy Scout Handbook
• Pencil, pen, colored pencils, and markers
• Paper, ruled and blank
• Practice ropes
• Compass
• Poncho
• Personal first aid kit
• Boy Scout pocket knife, if you are Totin' Chip certified

We recommend you use an old book bag or satchel to store all your meeting gear. Then, you'll always be prepared and won't have to hunt to find what you need.

You will want to come dressed in your Class A uniform, unless you will be participating in physical fitness activities, in which case, you should dress appropriately.

You should also wear the appropriate dress for the weather: long sleeves in the winter and shorts in the summer.

We define "Class A" uniforming as:

1. An official Boy Scout shirt, with all insignia properly adorned
2. Official Boy Scout pants OR forest green utility pants
3. Official Boy Scout socks
4. Hiking boots (brown, black, tan, or olive colored)
5. Troop 388 neckerchief (Scouts only)
6. Pencil or pen, and pad of paper

We define "Class B" uniforming as:

1. A Troop 388 T-shirt OR a tan or brown "beefy" T-shirt
2. Official Boy Scout pants or shorts OR forest green utility pants
3. Official Boy Scout socks OR appropriate socks for activity (hiking, running, etc.)
4. Hiking boots OR camp sneakers

You will discover that the Boy Scouts use standard outdoors terminology as well as a rich, Scouting specific vocabulary. Though you will pick up specialized Scouting vocabulary as you advance, it's important to understand the basics:

Scout

A young man (before his 18th birthday) in the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouter

An adult leader, either male or female, in the Boy Scouts of America.

Patrol

The smallest unit of organization in Boy Scouting, a patrol is a collection of Scouts who operate as an independent part of the Troop. Patrols have their own leaders, their own meetings, and their own flags and calls. Each patrol has a name, which is decided upon by the patrol members. Typically patrols are named after animals, but any unique name will do. For example: the Ravens, the Otters, the Werewolves, the Vultures, the Stones, etc.

Troop

A collection of Patrols, led by Scouters who facilitate Patrol activities. Each Troop is led by a Scoutmaster, one or more Assistant Scoutmasters, and a committee. Troops are identified by unique numbers, in our case 388.

District

A collection of Troops in a fixed geographic location. Troop 388 is in Falls district.

Council

A collection of Districts in a fixed geographic location. Troop 388 is in Falls District, Occoneechee Council.

Region

A collection of Councils in a fixed geographic location. Troop 388 is in Falls District, Occoneechee Council, Southeast Region 7.

There are two ways to access your Troop 388 e-mail:

• From a web browser, such as FireFox, Internet Explorer, Konqueror, or lynx.
• From a separate e-mail client, such as Outlook, Eudora, or PINE.

Using a web browser is the easiest way to access your Troop 388 e-mail. Follow these steps:

1. Open your browser.
2. Go to the Troop 388 e-mail log in page.
3. Type your e-mail address in the "E-mail Address" field.
4. Type your password in the "Password" field.
5. Click "Log In".

Using a separate e-mail client is more difficult, because you will need to configure it to connect to the Troop 388 e-mail server.

The exact steps to accomplish this vary widely, but the general procedure is as follows:

1. Open the "account" management portion of your e-mail client. This will be located in the same place where you first configured your e-mail client with your e-mail address and password.
2. Enter the following 6 crucial pieces of information into the appropriate fields. Values that never change, regardless of who is following these instructions, are in bold. Values that change depending upon who you are and your particular settings are in italics.

   Account Type:	Mail (or "E-mail", but not "News," "Directory," or any others)
   Server Type:	IMAP (do not choose POP)
   Server Address:	webmail.troop388.org
   Username:	your e-mail address
   Password:	the same password you use to check your Troop 388 e-mail on the web
   SMTP Server:	the same server used by your other accounts

3. Save this new account information, and notice that a new icon or label will appear where your normal list of mailboxes is.
4. Click on the new icon or label and notice that your Troop 388 e-mail appears in this new "inbox".

Scouting has, for the last 100 years, devoted its program to enriching youth through confidence and character building activities. Using outdoors-focused activities such as camping, swimming, and hiking, Scouts learn how to manage and overcome challenges, develop self-reliance as well as team work skills, and to recognize the importance of self, community, and world awareness.

Troop 388 is an inclusive troop, welcoming youth from all walks of life. Our Troop fosters a climate of respect, understanding, and communication, while developing skills and having fun.

Troop 388 is led by a dedicated group of Scouters who believe in the effectiveness of the Boy Scout program, having themselves been Scouts and having seen Scouting's impact on their lives. Troop 388's Scoutmasters are entrepreneurs, college professors, former law enforcement, and U.S. Army veterans, many of whom have earned Eagle Scout. All of our Scoutmasters are BSA-trained in youth protection, safe swimming and boating, first-aid and life-saving.

Troop 388 is governed by a committee composed of business men, dentists, and engineers, all of whom work together to ensure our program helps Scouts learn new skills and earn ranks.

At our meetings, you'll see a dynamic group of young men learning new skills, improving old skills, and having fun the whole time!

Though the details vary between weeks, our typical meeting agenda comprises:

1. Pre-meeting game or exercise
2. An opening Troop-wide recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scout Oath
3. Review of skills presented at the last meeting
4. Introduction and practice of new skills
5. Proficiency demonstrations with adult leaders to fulfill rank requirements
6. Scoutmaster's minute
7. A closing Troop-wide recitation of the Scout Law

During the Summer Season (Feb - Oct), the Troop meets every Monday night, except holidays, from 6:45pm to 8:15pm in the youth classroom of Greystone Baptist Church (map). During the Winter Season (Nov - Jan), the Troop meets from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

On special occasions, we may meet at a different time or location. We will notify youth well in advance of these changes.

For our latest calendar of events, please refer to our home page calendar.

Scouting requires commitments from both the boys in the Troop and their parents or guardians.

Boys will need to make time commitments for official Troop activities (meetings and outings), as well as time commitments outside of official Troop activities to study and practice skills.

Parents or guardians will need to make time and financial commitments. First, your boy(s) will need your help getting to and from meetings and outings, they will often ask for your help when studying new materials, and they'll want to just talk about the exciting time they're having! Second, Scouting requires the purchase of personal camping gear, Scouting uniforms and patches, Scouting manuals and paperwork, activity fees, and membership dues.

There are four major expenses in Scouting:

1. Membership dues (annually, $60)
2. Activity fees (approximately monthly, average $20-$40)
3. Scouting paraphernalia (approximately annually, $50-$100)
4. Outing gear (one-time, $50-$400; approximately annually, $25-$75)

Each boy's needs are different, and so costs will vary. In a year, you might expect to pay $375-$715 for each of your boys to be a member of Troop 388. That works out to be about $1-$2 dollars a day, or about the same cost as a cup of coffee and a muffin each day.

Membership dues, recorded annually, go directly to the Troop Committee Treasurer for deposit into the Troop fund. The Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmasters draw from this fund to:

1. purchase Troop equipment such as tents, stoves and stove fuel, tools, teaching materials, and so on.
2. defray the cost of activities.

Additionally required activity fees cover the deficit between the Troop funded portion and the expected cost of the activity. Activity costs generally include transportation costs (gasoline, emergency fluid needs, etc.), campsite fees, campsite equipment rental (boats, rappelling towers, etc), and patches and T-shirts.

A detailed fee disbursement breakdown is available from the Troop committee at any time, upon request.

Troop 388 follows the BSA-standard troop structure.

The Troop Committee is at the top, which acts much like a Board of Directors: setting Troop policies, raising Troop funds, ensuring logistical and financial support, etc. Parents, alumni, and facilities representatives comprise the Troop committee.

The Scoutmaster, an adult volunteer with considerable Scout experience, executes the direction set by the Troop Committee. The Assistant Scoutmasters (adult volunteers with Scouting experience) and Junior Assistant Scoutmasters (older youth, usually Eagle Scouts) support the Scoutmaster in his duties.

For current, specific information about our leaders, please visit our About Us page.