It is not just about looking good!

When you fall in for a flag break or similar, there are set positions for Scouts to stand in. Firstly, you need to be standing in your patrol and secondly, you need to be in the correct position in your patrol. Not only that though, you need to be standing in the correct way.

The reason for all of this comes down to the reason why you are in a patrol in the first place. In Scouting, you are supposed to be fairly self-sufficient and look after yourselves. It is much easier to do this working as a team which we call a patrol. As you probably know, this team has a leader called a PL and an assistant leader called an APL. Teams operate much better with some leadership.

When arranging a patrol, the layout is based upon the rank of its members. The PL stands out in front acting as a representative for the patrol. Someone can then give instructions to a PL who can then pass them on to his patrol.

For the similar reasons, the APL stands at the back. He or she is there to make sure that everything is alright in the patrol as the PL does not have eyes in the back of his/her head! The APL is also there to make sure that members of the patrol carry out the instructions given by the PL, give assistance to the PL and stand in for the PL.

Note: There are no hard and fast rules about where Scouts should stand and this rather comes from tradition. However, this article explains how patrols are laid out at 1st Longham. This might be different at other troops, although the concepts will still be roughly the same.

Where should I stand?

This animation shows where Scouts should stand depending on the number of members present in the patrol:

In this animation, the grey dots show empty standing positions. The numbers show the rank of patrol members which is usually determined by age, but occasionally by experience:

3 - The oldest or more experienced patrol member (non APL or PL)

7 - The youngest or sometimes the newest patrol member (non APL or PL)

There are a number of things you might notice from this animation:

• The patrol tends to adopt a symmetrical triangle shape.
• The APL is always at the back of the patrol and to the left of the direction the patrol is facing.
• The newest members of the patrol will normally stand right in front of the APL and just behind the PL. This is to give them extra help and attention.
• The age of the members generally increases steadily in a clockwise direction from the newest member to the APL. Often this means that after the PL leaves, the APL may take his/her position and the next highest ranking member to the APL may take his/her position.

What happens when the PL is away?

When a PL or APL is away, the patrol needs to adjust its formation accordingly. You should know what to do, organise yourselves and not wait to be instructed. This animation serves to illustrate how the patrol should accomplish this:

PL Away:
You will notice that when the PL is away, the APL takes the PL position, the next highest ranking member to the APL takes the APL position and the rest of the patrol form a layout as if there was one Scout missing.

APL Away:
This works in the same way as if the PL was away. The next highest ranking member takes the APL position and the rest of the patrol adjusts its layout as if there were one less member.

PL & APL Away:
When this happens, the highest ranking member present takes the PL position, the second highest ranking member takes the APL position and the rest of the patrol fall in as if there were two less members.