The Boy Scouts of America Troop 31 is located on Fort Monroe in the beautiful Hampton Roads area of Virginia. The Troop was established in 1918 and is one of the oldest Boy Scout Troops with continuous service in the commonwealth of Virginia. In June of 2018 the Troop will celebrate its 100th birthday.
BSA Troop 31, nicknamed the "Moat Monsters", traces its origins to Virginia's BSA Troop 1. As one of the oldest continuously chartered troops in the Colonial Virginia Council, Troop 31 has served Fort Monroe and the Hampton Roads community for over nine decades.
Legends abound regarding when Troop 31 actually appeared on the scene, but unfortunately BSA historical files offer little clarity. Originally chartered in June 1918 as Troop 1, in 1925 or 1926 the troop either generated three additional troops (11, 21, & 31), split into three new troops, or was redesignated as Troop 31.
As of March 2008, out of 1,116 Boy Scout Troops in Virginia, only four—including Troop 31—have been continuously chartered for 90 years or more. Nationwide, only 282 of nearly 8,000 troops have achieved the same distinction.
As Fort Monroe transitioned to Fort Eustis under the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) decision on 15 September 2011, the troop remained in place as an active and vibrant member of the local Fort Monroe/Phoebus community.
Today, the Troop 31 continues its active service on Fort Monroe at the Chapel of the Centurion Chapel Annex, 54 Bernard Road, Fort Monroe, VA 23651. The Chapel of the Centurion is located inside the walls of Fortress Monroe and graciously serves as Troop 31's new Chartering Organization
MEETINGS
Meetings are every Thursday evening from 7:00pm-8:30pm. Meetings are held in the Chapel of the Centurion Chapel Annex inside the Fortress Monroe. Address is 54 Bernard Road, Fort Monroe, VA 23651 (see attached map below).
The Troop has had its annual planning conference and the events are up on the Troop Calendar. Please start looking at the calendar and your schedules. We have a lot of great events scheduled for SY 16-17 and the more Scouts and Scouters that can participate in the events the more exciting and fun those events will be for everyone. Please check out the calendar page for all the dates and detailed information about the upcoming events.
Our first meeting of the new year will be September 8th where we will have Troop elections and recognize our scout’s accomplishments at summer camp. At that meeting I will also have a scouter and parent information / Q&A session. This will give the scouters and parents a chance to ask me questions about Troop status, upcoming events and general operations of the Troop. Please be in attendance if you are a scouter or parent of a scout of Troop 31.
One of the events the scouts put on the calendar is a rafting trip in May. For scouts to go on this trip they must have passed a BSA swim test within a year of the trip, this also includes adults. We have two times during the year on the calendar for these test. The first opportunity for this will be September 17th. The 2nd time will be in February. Hayden Hendricks is a qualified lifeguard and can administer the test with adult supervision. I highly recommend scouts that have never passed a BSA attendance they come to the September 17th session so if they don’t pass the know what they need to work on before the make-up test in February.
Our first campout will be to Loft Mountain September 30th-Oct 2nd and promises to be a great campout. Loft Mountain is in the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. I have been looking forward to this trip since the last time the Troop was in the Shenandoah at Mathews Arm Last Year. Please check out the pictures of the Matthews Arm from the last year and you will see why I was look forward to going to Shenandoah National Park.
This Year will be the Year of Citizenship for Troop 31. During the year Mr Blyth, Mr, Clark and Myself will be giving instruction in the three Citizenship merit badges which are all Eagle Required. Information regarding dates for class instruction is on the calendar page. Scouts, please take advantage of this instruction, this will be a great way for you to earn three Eagle Required merit badges during the year.
SY 16-17 Marks the beginning of my 5th year as Troop 31 Scoutmaster. Each year I see all the young scouts grow into the leaders of tomorrow. Each year I see why scouting is so important to young boys to mold them into the leaders of tomorrow. Each year I see why scouting is so important to the future of our country. I would like to thank all the dedicated scouters that have helped keep Troop 31 going strong. Also I would like to thank our Charting Organization the Chapel of the Centurion for their continued support. I look forward to continue to serve Troop 31 as Scoutmaster during SY 16-17 & looking forward to SY 17-18. In 2018 the Troop will celebrate its 100th birthday. Planning has already begun for this big event. This is going to be an exciting time for scouts and scouters of Troop 31. Please help me to continue to keep the Troop going strong into our Centennial Year.
Yours in Scouting! Mr. William Woods Scoutmaster, Troop 31 757-846-7558 (c) E-mail: troop31sm@gmail.com