An exercise in how JTE is badly designed and you can earn JTEGold and kill a unit all at once.

We need 1050 points in 8 areas which must include #6

#1 hold a planning program with as few people as possible, make a calendar and budget most don't like. Distribute the calendar. Hold an annual family orientation and do a mediocre job 200 points

#2 recruit, setup an event by Oct 31. Update your pin. We got the 10 new Scouts in Lion and Tiger and stopped there 200 points

#3 reregister 75% of Scouts each year, conduct an event for the two new families 100 points

#4 hold two events with any troop, doesn't have to be very good or include very many families 25 points

#5 Have all new Scouts earn Bobcat doing the bare minimum efforts, make sure all Scouts earn six adventures under the same standard. don't worry about annual rank 200 points

#6. Hold three events outside of pack meetings, one outside and one the Pinewood Derby. don't bother the rest of the year 200 points

#7 don't bother to go to the listed activities. no one goes to summer camp

#8 hold a service project for 30 minutes 50 points

#9 have den leaders identified for all dens, even if it's the same person running several, have a succession plan. register the minimum number of needed leader from the new families 200 points

#10 don't bother with training

=1175 points. We did great on paper. We recruited and retained to national standards! We're a bunch of jerks doing a bad job!

National standards are wholly insufficient to maintain a pack. All packs should be able to easily earn Gold which makes the JTE program all but worthless. My chart shows how a lazy group of parents can do a great job and shrink a program to lose 50% of members in two years. The families that bridged didn't necessarily bridge to the charter org's associated troop. I would count on this unit folding or charter org forcing out all leadership at the two or three year mark. Doing the minimum catches up with you but they ran an excellent unit.

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What's the missing piece to JTE? Long term retention. If your pack of 100 bridges 16 to a troop but loses 25 Scouts in a year there's structural problems and you should not be earning Gold.

JTE standards need to be much stricter around retention, 30% losses is devastating. Some standard around maintaining one's size is not a bad place to be at. If you could replace 41 Scouts the next fall pair that with stronger involvement you should get Gold. It makes no sense the BSA is ok with a unit losing almost 30-40% of it's members that didn't age out or bridge and that's award worthy