The Southern Plains Region of Trail Life USA held its fourth annual Night Ops event just outside of Calvert on Nov. 2. All year long, Trail Life troops’ eleven to seventeen- year-old members practice outdoor skills, including fire-building, knot-tying, compass navigation, first aid and much more. This year the event saw record participation with 106 Trailmen divided among 16 patrols of five to six boys from troops ranging from Dallas to Houston.
Individual troops begin arriving Saturday morning to set up their patrol camping areas which are part of the judging process. Once their camps are set up, the Trailmen patrols take part in several hours of additional skills teaching. They are then issued a map of the property that includes the waypoints for each of the nine challenge stations. The patrols return to their campsites to prepare their evening meal and prepare their navigation plan which is submitted to central leadership for approval.
When darkness falls, each patrol is introduced to the crowd with the presentation of their patrol flag and identifying patrol yell. The patrols begin the course at 9 p.m. equipped with red lights, a map, a GPS-enabled tracking phone, a twoway radio and a backpack containing predetermined materials they will need at each of the nine stations.
Upon successful navigation and arrival at each station, the patrol receives instructions for the challenge and is given a time limit to complete it. To add to the challenge, there are several groups of older boys patrolling the event area trying to find patrols not traveling quietly. If the patrol encounters these wandering patrols, points are deducted from their final score.
Once they have completed every challenge, typically between 2-3 am, they radio into central leadership and wait for approval to return to base camp for a brief rest and refueling at the community snack table. Trailmen exchange their stories of fun, excitement, and challenges briefly before heading to their tents for three to four hours of sleep.
At sunrise, the Trailmen converge for the morning presentation of the American flag followed by morning worship presented by the area chaplain. This is followed by a presentation of awards for individual stations and concludes with the announcement of the overall event high-score patrol. Meadowbrook Baptist Church is the Charter Organization for Trail Life USA Troop TX-1516. Troop TX-1516 entered one patrol, The Rattlers, in this year’s Night Ops event. This patrol was down one Trailman due to scheduling conflicts and ran the event with five members. Even at this slight disadvantage, the Rattler Patrol of TX-1516 achieved First Place in the Water Rescue, Geo Caching and Shelter Building events. They scored highly in most other events as well as with the inspection of their patrol campsite. When the time came to present the overall points winners for First Place, it was the Rattler Patrol of TX-1516 that came out on top.
“The adult leaders, parents and supporters of Trail Life USA Troop TX-1516 want to congratulate these young men of the Rattler Patrol on a job very well done,” said Patrick Whalen, Troopmaster. “You guys worked together as a team to complete an incredibly difficult task and came out on top. We are all very proud of you!”
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