Sea Scouts Complete Projects at Washington Soldiers Home

We are the Sea Scout Ship 110, Charles N Curtis of Tacoma, Washington.  Sea Scouts is part of the Boy Scouts of America.  A teenager can join us at age 14 to 21 years of age.  They have four rank levels similar to that of the military.  They are Apprentice, Ordinary, Able, and Quartermaster.  Quartermaster is comparable to Eagle in Boy Scouts.

As a Quartermaster candidate one of the requirements is to do a project for the community, school, or religious organization.

My name is Debbie Moore.  I have been an adult volunteer with SSS 110, Charles N Curtis, since 2012.  I am a veteran of the US Army and currently a Deck Officer with the US Merchant Marines.  We have several US Merchant Marine Deck Officers, as well as non-licensed adults, who mentor our youth in various areas such as Navigation, Engineering, Deck Handling, and General Maritime Industry.  We are a commercial inspected Coast Guard passenger vessel, which requires licensed officers.   We train to a higher level than most of the Sea Scout Ships in scouting.  We do many community events and our charter partner is the Propeller Club of Tacoma, Washington.

Quartermaster projects are an important part of achieving the highest rank possible in Sea Scouts.  It needs to be rewarding and leave a lasting impression on our community.

Some of our youth wanted something different for their project.  I have been a dreamer of doing something that could help our veterans for a very long time.  Once I started my career as a Veteran Service Officer with AmVets I began to see a realization for my dreams.

Why couldn’t the Sea Scouts put their talents into helping our disabled veterans?  Why not bring the future (our youth) with experience (our veterans) and build a relationship that helps the less fortunate veterans (disabled and/or homeless veterans).  Hence, the meeting with Dennis Brown and Mark Atkins to bring the Sea Scouts to the improving of the soldiers homes to benefit veterans and accomplish the requirements for their Quartermaster.

The youth had a perfect opportunity to experience a real life emergent situation.  They had less than a day to put together their crew to accomplish four projects at the Washington State Soldiers Home in Orting, Washington.  I put the proposal to the candidates and they had their crews together in just a few hours.  They showed up to the project Sunday morning and within six hours the project had been completed to satisfaction.  The veterans are now closer to having a roof over their heads and a safe environment to thrive.  The Quartermaster candidates have their requirements for achieving their final destination with Sea Scouts and move on to their next adventure.

"Some of our youth wanted something different for their project.  I have been a dreamer of doing something that could help our veterans for a very long time.  Once I started my career as a Veteran Service Officer with AmVets I began to see a realization for my dreams.

Why couldn’t the Sea Scouts put their talents into helping our disabled veterans?  Why not bring the future (our youth) with experience (our veterans) and build a relationship that helps the less fortunate veterans (disabled and/or homeless veterans).  Hence, the meeting with Dennis Brown and Mark Atkins to bring the Sea Scouts to the improving of the soldiers homes to benefit veterans and accomplish the requirements for their Quartermaster.

The youth had a perfect opportunity to experience a real life emergent situation.  They had less than a day to put together their crew to accomplish four projects at the Washington State Soldiers Home in Orting, Washington.  I put the proposal to the candidates and they had their crews together in just a few hours.  They showed up to the project Sunday morning and within six hours the project had been completed to satisfaction.  The veterans are now closer to having a roof over their heads and a safe environment to thrive.  The Quartermaster candidates have their requirements for achieving their final destination with Sea Scouts and move on to their next adventure."