Dusseldorf Scouts, from left, Cameron Stewart, 11, Nikolas Baron, 14, Scout master Lt. Col. Mark Burtner, Chris Burtner, Intercamp chief Gayle Brown and Arthur Bondarev, 14, barbecue chicken at Vilseck Army Airfield on Sunday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Dusseldorf Scouts, from left, Cameron Stewart, 11, Nikolas Baron, 14, Scout master Lt. Col. Mark Burtner, Chris Burtner, Intercamp chief Gayle Brown and Arthur Bondarev, 14, barbecue chicken at Vilseck Army Airfield on Sunday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Girl Scouts participating in Intercamp 2006 enjoy an outdoor meal at Vilseck Army Airfield on Sunday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
German Scouts participating in Intercamp 2006 enjoy an outdoor meal at Vilseck Army Airfield on Sunday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
VILSECK, Germany — Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts hiked through Grafenwöhr Training Area and fell asleep to the rattle of helicopters and machine guns during Intercamp 2006 — one of the largest Scout jamborees in Europe.
Some 2,000 Scouts, aged 11 to 17, camped out at Vilseck Army Airfield from Friday to Monday during the jamboree, which involved troops from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.
“Intercamp started in 1967 and it is hosted by a different nation in Europe each year. This year, the U.S. was the host,” Intercamp 2006 chief Gayle Brown said.
About 500 U.S. Scouts participated, mostly from military communities in Germany.
Vilseck was an excellent venue for the camp, Brown said, adding that the Scouts were excited to see and hear tanks and helicopters moving about in the training area nearby. The Scouts also got to hike in the training area during an event that required them to use land navigation skills and complete various tasks along the way, she said.
The jamboree had a “back to basics pioneer theme” that involved Scouts making things that we take for granted nowadays, Brown said.
The airfield was split into three areas during the camp. At Buffalo Town, Scouts made dream catchers and clay pots and cooked in Dutch ovens. At Pioneer Village, they engaged in Survivor-style games such as racing to hoist the tallest flagpole. And at Sport Fort, there was climbing wall, archery and Ultimate Frisbee tossing, she said.
There was also entertainment that included a lasso-twirling cowboy and two bands.
One of the Scouts at the jamboree, Chris Burtner, 14, of Troop 162 out of Dusseldorf was busy cooking teriyaki barbecue chicken on Sunday night. Chris rated the food at Buffalo Village as the best part of the jamboree.
“We made buffalo jerky, cobbler and beef stew,” he said.
The young outdoorsman said he had not spotted any tanks during the jamboree but that he had heard plenty of machine guns firing in the evening.
Chris’s dad, Troop 162 Scout Master, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Burtner of NATO’s 1st German Netherlands Corps, said the U.S. military supported scouting in Europe and there were plenty servicemembers willing to help out.
“My son took his aviation merit badge at Spangdahlem Air Force Base with an Air Force colonel, and they took all the boys in an F-16 simulator,” he said.
The Vilseck jamboree was well worth the 9-hour drive from Dusseldorf, he said.
