Troop 60 News

World Scout Jamboree 2023
Part 2

Date: July 28 - August 12, 2023

Late at night/early in the morning on 4/5 August, we received the following message:

On Friday, August 4, 2023, the US Contingent to the World Scout Jamboree has made the difficult decision that we will be departing the 25th World Scout Jamboree site early because of ongoing extreme weather and resulting conditions at the jamboree site.

While we regret the need for the early departure, the move ensures the safety of our Scouts and alleviates pressure on the jamboree site services and infrastructure.

The US Contingent will have a regular day of jamboree program on August 5, then move to nearby U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys (Camp Humphreys) on August 6 and remain there until August 11. Afterwards, Scouts will resume their planned departure and activities.

The health and safety of our Scouts is our number one priority. On-site leadership has been monitoring weather and site conditions closely and has decided to leave the site early out of safety concerns.

On-site leadership is in continuous communication with the World Organization of the Scout Movement and our South Korean hosts. Our hosts have engaged all levels of their government to support the jamboree and ensure a safe, quality experience for our youth and their leaders. Unfortunately, the extreme heat continues to stress the facilities and infrastructure of this site.

The US contingent had just arrived at Jamboree and it looks like our Jamboree had come to an early end. Having witnessed the concerns voiced by the US and UK, it wasn't a great surprise, but it was a great disappointment. We spent the 5th finishing up our Jamboree experience and departed on the 6th. Some remaining Scouts left in the clinics and hospital at Jamboree later rejoined the their Troops in Camp Humphries, while a group of Adults made the choice to stay behind to support the World Jamboree.

A few days later on the 7th, the World Organization of the Scout Movement would end Jamboree and evacuate all remaining Scouts and support staff. By the 8th, everyone left at the Jamboree site had been evacuated to other locations all over Korea. US support staff who stayed at the Jamboree site were evacuated to Seoul or the airport. www.scout.org/news/statement-25th-jamboree

More information about departure from World Jamboree:

forbes.com "Be Prepared: Boy Scout Innovation In A Time Of Crisis'
apnews.com "Tens of thousands of young scouts to evacuate world jamboree in South Korea as storm Khanun looms"
constantcontact.com Contingent Courier

Saying Farewell

We spent the day saying goodbye to Friends. At the ATAS meeting, we said farewell to Jason McDonald, the medical director for the Rapid Response Team. One of our Scouts was also honored with a ATAS neckerchief and patches.

Bill Daggett is the IST Commissioner and Ryan Yee is from Chief of Seattle. Ryan would join the first wave of US contingent to evac, while Bill would join up with us a little later after closing down camp.

A few ISTs from the US stayed behind and would later be told to leave the Jamboree site as they were evacuated to Seoul and Incheon. UK IST were not given and choice and departed the Jamboree site almost immediately.

The evacuation of UK and US resources left greatly reduced support for those left behind at Jamboree. About 2 days later, WOSM would evacuate the remaining participants of the World Scouting Jamboree.

Staff Jamboree Camp looking out of our bus window.

Camp Humphreys

More time was spent at Camp Humphreys than at the Jamboree site. For the most part, Scouts and Adult Support were housed in Air Conditioned School Gymnasiums. We were fed Army food and guarded by soldiers 24 hours a day. The heat, bugs and sanitation were no longer a concern and the big battle was preventing a huge outbreak of illness since were were all packed together and boredom.

Many Scouts and adults arrived ill. Scouts showing symptoms of Covid were immediately separated from the rest of the contingent and placed in isolation. We had Scouts that tested positive of Covid, for Flu, for neither and for both. These sick Scouts recovered before their flight out and we prevented a potential medical catastrophe by separating them from the rest of the contingent.

US Troop 10 evacuated to the US Army Base, Camp Humphreys.

Standing in front of Middle School before the rains came in. The Boy Troops would spend the remainder of the Jamboree sleeping in the gymnasium of this school.

Patch Trading event at Middle School

Visit with US Army Soldiers

US Army Food

First Aid Drills

Army food - Yum! MREs were sold by our CMT as a special event for our Scouts. In a way, it was. The Army food was better than the Jamboree food cooked by Scouts, but wasn't like the food we get at home either. We were happy to get 3 meals a day.

Assortment of Army Beverages. If you were tired of Jamboree water, the Army base water wasn't bad and there was a selection of other drinks.

A field trip off base exposed Scouts to Korean Culture. Apparently, a lot of Korean Cultural involved girls dancing to music. They were very proud of their K-Pop culture and for the most part, it was pretty fun.

Karate is of course Korean.

Outing to OurHome. Scouts were provided with a feast. Some ate until they were physically sick.

This sorting game, placed different troop into 3 different activities for the day - National Aviation Museum, Botanical Garden and Korean Cooking Classes.

Troop 10 at National Aviation Museum

Korean OurHome staff waving bye. It seemed that many of the local Koreans felt bad about what how the Jamboree was portrayed on international news and tried very hard to make us feel welcomed in Korea. Their smiles and kindness will be remembered.

Back on the bus, this time to Korean Baseball game.

Spectators on this side of field got splached with water each time a team scored a point. A lot of points were scored and they got really wet.

Heading back to Camp Humphreys. We spent more time on the bus than at all the places we visited. That's just the way it was.

Back at Camp Humphreys

Hanging out at school. It's not like we were allowed to go anywhere.

We had a surprise visit from one of our Adult leaders who was taking care of sick Scouts at the Isolation Facility.

Some of the surprise lunch meals at Camp Humphreys were fun. One time it was fried chicken; that was so nice. This time it was a Bento Box.

Some Scouts and Adults didn't get a cot. In fact, cots didn't show up until right before we left Jamboree. When we arrived at Camp Humphries, there was a shortage of our new cots and sleeping pads, so some disappeared. The gym floor was smoother than that pallets Scouts were sleeping on at the Jamboree site, and it was so cold with the AC that we got to use the sleeping bags we packed for the first time.

Plaque award from our fearless leader. Wonder how he'll get that back home?

Troop 10 in Gym, posing infront of inflatables.

Scouts working together to deflaite inflatable

Official Troop 10 photo at Middle School at Camp Humphreys.

Heading to K-Pop Concert, then to resort for staging to airport.

K-Pop Super Live

The 25th World Scout Jamboree ended with a giant K-Pop concert with the biggest stars in Korea. BTS had 3 members of the band conscripted into military service, so weren't part of the K=Pop Super Live, at least in person.

We have videos of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies here.