The Tribe of Lone Bear is designed to retain older boys in Scouting by getting them involved and excited about attending summer camp and helping in their troops and on camp staff. It also builds anticipation and excitement in younger Scouts as they watch older Scouts become more involved and active in the Tribe of Lone Bear.

The Tribe of Lone Bear helps to retain older boys through avenues such as:

Family involvement - The tribe teaches Scouts that they have a duty to their families and their homes, reminds each Scout of his obligation to his family, and asks him to find ways to serve his mother and father and other family members.

Religious involvement - The tribe reminds each Scout that he pledged on his honor to do his best to do his duty to God, and asks him to promise to involve himself in a religious aspect of his life, to develop good character and to make ethical choices that are pleasing to God.

Community Involvement - The tribe encourages each Scout to be involved in his community, through his troop or other community organizations, discusses how he can be a better citizen, and asks him to come up with ways that he can be involved in his community, state and nation.

Helping Others - The tribe helps to retain older Scouts who will be role models and troop leaders by instilling each Scout with a calling to help younger Scouts advance and stay in Scouting, by asking him to pledge to help others, and by recognizing older Scouts with paint responsibility elevations for work on the unit level and camp staff.

The Tribe of Lone Bear's leaders hope each of these areas is evident in a Tribesman as he advances through the program, and hope unit leaders can see a difference in Scouts who are members. We also hope older Scouts will become more active in troops, posts and teams as a result of these areas being reinforced in their daily lives.