Outdoor Service Guides (OSG) (formerly known as the Baden-Powell Service Association (BPSA)) is an inclusive, co-ed scouting organization in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. OSG accepts scouts without regard to gender, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, economic circumstances, religion (or lack of), or other differentiating factors. OSG seeks to welcome communities who have been traditionally underserved by Scouting, including LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and females.

History

Outdoor Service Guides was formed under its original name with an adult-only component, Rovers, in 2006. Youth sections were introduced in 2008 by David Atchley, an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, who had been asked to leave his local Greater St. Louis Area Council after attempting to create a non-discrimination policy for his Cub Scout pack. Atchley became

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of BPSA the following year. By 2011, the association had a handful of units. BPSA reincorporated in 2012 and added 35 more groups between 2011 and July 2013. In January 2013, a chapter was founded in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with 45 members, while a group in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

with 80 members and 30 registered leaders was founded that same month. In 2014, after a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

United Methodist Church’s Boy Scout troop charter was revoked for having a gay leader, the troop moved to join BPSA. , BPSA had 70 operating groups and a membership of approximately 2,500 scouts. This was an increase from 1,600 in April 2016. On June 28, 2020, BPSA held a large meeting of invested members and leaders, and concluded that the organization needed a change of name to distance itself from the imperialism and cultural superiority perceived in Baden-Powell's legacy. A new name (Outdoor Service Guides or OSG) was chosen and announced officially announced on May 29, 2021.

Program

Outdoor Service Guides is part of the worldwide

Traditional Scouting Traditional Scouting is "old-fashioned" or "back to basics" Scouting in some form, often with an emphasis on woodcraft and scoutcraft activities. As a pluralist movement, there is no one set definition for the term, but most traditionalists share ...

movement designed to return Scouting to the basic principles laid out by Baden-Powell in 1907. An OSG scout group is composed of up to five sections as follows: * Chipmunks (ages 2 to 4) * Otters (ages 5 to 8) * Timberwolves (8 to 11) * Pathfinders (11 to 17) * Rovers (18+) Each section is led by a section leader and assistant section leaders (who are also Rover scouts themselves), and the group is led by a Group Scoutmaster (also a Rover) and supported by an Auxiliary Committee, which assists the group in matters of finance, registrations, acquiring equipment, finding community-service opportunities, publicity, and so on. OSG's highest award for Pathfinders is the Polaris Scout Award. The highest award for Rovers is the

Baden-Powell Award The Baden-Powell Award, also known as the B-P Award or Baden-Powell Scout Award (BPSA), is the highest award achievable to Rover (adult) Scouts. Although it has become a less common award as some Scout Associations no longer offer a Rover progra ...

. OSG Otters and Timberwolves use a two finger salute same as

Cub Scouts Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scouting, Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a gro ...

References

{{Scouting in the United States Youth organizations based in the United States Non-aligned Scouting organizations in the United States