Skipper (Boy Scouts of America)

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In Boy Scouts of America (BSA) , the Skipper in a Sea Scout ship is the adult leader in "charge" of the Sea Scout program, although actual leadership is vested in the Ship's "quarterdeck" lead by the Ship's Boatswain. The skipper, who is at least 21 years of age, and selected by the ship's adult committee, ensures that the program the Sea Scouts have selected fits within the program (depending upon age and knowledge of Sea Scouting skills), as well as its legality, as some activities are prohibited by the Boy Scouts of America due to insurance and liability issues.

The skipper wears a special insignia - the Sea Scout emblem (the Boy Scout emblem superimposed on an unfouled anchor), with a single star and horizontal bar attached to the emblem. The adult assistants to the skipper, called mates, wear the Sea Scout emblem with a single star. Unlike Venturing advisors, they attend both Venturing and Sea Scout basic leader training, and any boating safety course offered through either the US Coast Guard Auxiliary or the US Power Squadron. In addition to attending Wood Badge, the highest leadership training course of the Boy Scouts, Powder Horn, a supplemental high adventure resource course, Sea Scout leader have Sea Badge, a special leadership/management course.

Sea Scouts also form part of the Scout movement elsewhere in the world including Great Britain and in these cases there are signicant differences in the way the troops are organised and the uniform and insignia that they wear.