The Change of Command Ceremony is the final event of the annual Birthday before the concluding award ceremony. During the ceremony, a symbolic exercise is performed in which that year's Senior Patrol Leader hands off his authority to his newly appointed successor. This tradition was started in 2007 and is performed to commemorate the exchange of authority from one Senior Patrol Leader to another.
Pictured to the right, the Change of Command Ceremony at the 104th Birthday in 2015.
The Ceremony[]
The Change of Command Ceremony begins following the last event of the Birthday Competition. The five patrols are assembled on the Parade Field in four man fronts with the Patrol Leader at the front of his formation, a scout carrying the patrol colors at his side, and the APL at the rear of the formation. The Staff Patrol is formed behind the five patrols, with one of the ASPLs in front of the entire Troop.
Located off to the side of the field by the Bell Tower and Trek Cart Path is a formation of four individuals. First in the formation typically a younger scout. He leads the four and carries the SPL Guidon. This scout is followed by the Scoutmaster and both the outgoing SPL and the incomming SPL for that new year.
The ceremony commences with narration by the Troop Scribe describing what the audience is witnessing. The four man detail will then march onto the field to the front of the Troop, following a soft cadence and rim clicks.
Upon reaching the center of the formation, the members of the detail will take their respective positions. The outgoing SPL will have a brief exchange with the ASPL at the head of the Troop. He will then give a short speech to the scouts, typically one of thanks and optimism for future years. Upon finishing his remarks, the SPL will turn back around and the ceremony will commence.
As the scribe continues his narration, the SPL guidon is passed throughout the assembled four. It is first passed from the young scout to the outgoing SPL, who proceeds to pass the guidon to the Scoutmaster. This action symbolizes the end of the SPL's command tour and the return of authority to the adult leadership of the Troop. The Scoutmaster will then turn and hand the guidon to the incoming SPL, signifying the transition of authority for the next year. The incoming SPL will then return the guidon to the young scout.
Following the completion of this brief ceremony, the guidon bearer, Scoutmaster, and outgoing SPL will quietly march to the other end of the parade field in a similar manner to how they marched in. The new SPL will remain behind at the head of the Troop. He will then have an opportunity to give a brief speech of his own before dismissing the Troop as their new leader.
As a token of their year in command, the outgoing SPL will receive the pennant used on the ceremonial guidon during the award ceremony at the conclusion of the Birthday.
History[]
Changing of various tours of duty has occurred at the Birthday for many years. All scouts go into the Birthday with the positions they held for the entire previous year. At the conclusion of the Birthday, all tours of duty are officially over. However, until recently none of these positions (including that of the the Senior Patrol Leader) had a ceremonial exchange. In 2007 the Troop created the Change of Command Ceremony to formally recognize the exchange of the Senior Patrol Leader. For the first Change of Command Ceremony, the outgoing SPL, Matt Kravitz, passed the guidon to the then incoming SPL, Mike Kiniry. Since then, all former SPLs have participated in the ceremony, both as the incoming and outgoing leader.