I ran Cub Scouts as Cubmaster before my son crossed over into Scouts BSA, so I figured I already understood how a troop worked. I didn't. Everything from my first Board of Review to my first campout as the adult in charge taught me that watching a program from the outside and running it are two different jobs.
RankReviewReady started as the checklists, question lists, and planning docs I built for my own troop after getting enough of those first attempts wrong. Sharing them with other Scoutmasters and committee members turned into this site — practical, plain-English guides for the parts of running a troop that nobody hands you a manual for.
I'm not on staff anywhere in Scouting — I'm a parent and volunteer who ended up in this role the way most of us do, and I'm building this site solo, in the time I have between troop meetings and everything else. It's not affiliated with or endorsed by Scouting America; it's just what I wish someone had handed me on day one.
I'm John Orr, Scoutmaster of Troop 141 in the Occoneechee Council. I've served as Scoutmaster since 2022, joined the Order of the Arrow in 2023, and earned my Brotherhood honor in 2024.