GLEN JEAN, W.Va., July 25, 2017 — A soldier described by his peers as an "easy-to-work-with, West Virginia kind of guy" is managing joint interagency operations for the 2017 National Scout Jamboree, which began July 19 and ends July 28 at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in West Virginia.
Army Lt. Col. Larry Boggs, a plans and integrations officer for the West Virginia Army National Guard, knows firsthand the amount of work that goes into planning and executing an event like this.
"I've always been a planner, and then when the event actually begins, I go into operations," Boggs said. "You wonder about the countless hours of planning and all the time that is consumed with making a viable plan just for a Scout jamboree."
Between working in the joint military task force, working as an operations member of the joint interagency task force and his day-to-day job, Boggs somehow has found the time to see the results of his team's planning under his guidance.
"When you get to see that simple Scout jamboree, you see all those Scouts who are simply enjoying themselves," he said. "It's worth it."
Giving Back to the Scouts
Boggs said he's been blessed to be able to be in the right place at the right time to give back to the Boy Scouts of America, because the Scouts have given him so much.
Discipline is one of the most important values he learned from the Scouts, he said, and while serving as an Army company commander he expected a level of discipline that was unheard-of in his unit at the time.
"He put footprints on the floor and a handprint to knock on at the door, and you would have to stand at the footprints before you could enter the office," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Steven P. Queen, operations noncommissioned officer of the 153rd Public Affairs Detachment. "For a National Guard unit, we were like, 'Who's this guy?'"
The answer to that question starts when Boggs was 8 years old and joined the Cub Scouts in his hometown of Logan, West Virginia. Scouting presented him with communication skills and challenging tasks to overcome, he said, and taught him how to enjoy an austere environment.
"In today's world, everyone is tied to their phones or video game consoles and forgets how to communicate," he added. "In the Boy Scouts, it's face to face."
Leadership Fundamentals
Boggs said his time in the Boy Scouts taught him the fundamentals of leadership and instilled core values that have molded him to be the leader he is today. He added that he wonders what would be a better program to teach citizenship and a belief in God, both of which are two values that are important to him.
When he's not planning for the Army, Boggs teaches and mentors as a scoutmaster to a local troop.
"I always think it's just a great opportunity to share with people your experiences so that, in essence, you make those people better," he said. "You're showing them the mistakes you made and hopefully they don't make those mistakes, or you're giving them different experiences that they would not normally get."
He told a story about taking an inner-city child into his troop and teaching him how to build a fire and to set up a simple campsite, skills that he said help to build a strong sense of independence.
Army Brig. Gen. Harrison "H.B." Gilliam, director of the joint staff for the West Virginia National Guard, said Boggs' loyalty and work ethic are pretty much unmatched, noting that he volunteers in his community and is a solid family man.
In his free time, Boggs said, he enjoys fly-fishing with his two sons. His sons also participate in the Boy Scouts, and one of them recently became an Eagle Scout.
Boggs is going to be the 2019 World Jamboree joint task force's lead planner. This event involves similar planning to the current jamboree and more, he said, adding that he and his team will work with the Scouting programs from Canada and Mexico as they plan the event, which will host Scouts from more than 160 countries.
