Re: Looking for the Uniform Police
(no name) ((no email))
Wed, 29 Nov 1995 10:47:50 -0600
Steve from Newark wrote:
>I've always been amused by discussions about correct uniform wear in
>BSA. First, it is not the military so lets not play the game.
No. The BSA is NOT the military, but it DOES have a "rhyme and reason" for
it's uniform usage and insignia location...so much so, that it has a separate
publication, called the BSA Insignia (Control) Guide, which has been published
since 1972 to assist Scouts and Scouters in wearing their uniforms the
"right way".
Commissioners like me also give guidance as to how local implementation of the
Insignia Guide will be done in our Councils.
So, unfortunately for you and others, Steve, we HAVE to "play the
game"...it's a
part of the "rules of playing "Scouting" ".
>Second, if you give me any group of 100 scouts or scout leaders and I
>can virtually guarantee you that ALL will be out of uniform if we want
>to play the letter of the law game. Look around at any campout,
>Pow-Wow, roundtable, jamboree etc and tell me about 'uniform'
>uniforms.
I would take that bet, Steve. What do we bet on? CSPs?
The BSA has found that if uniform "guidance" is given at the *local level* that
the majority (50 percent or more) of Scouters attending ANY District or
Council event will attend in as complete a uniform as they can personally
afford, with all insignia
correctly in place at the proper locations. Now, if you are going to go
around with
a small centimeter ruler and measure how far from the pocket center a patch
is, or
how much from the edge of the pocket top the square knot is placed, or how
far down
from the bottom edge of the CSP to the position patch someone has on,
yes...you will
have some discrepancies.
But the majority of those Scouters wearing the Scouting uniforms attempt to
and do a good job in wearing it with pride, which means finding out where
the various badges, pins, and devices go and how it should and should not be
worn.
>Again, what do I know about uniforms? Earned a living in one form
>more than two decades. So, lighten up, this is not the military. If a
>person has pride, it will show in how he wears his uniform. Want to
>use the military as an example? Even they can't do it in a uniform
>manner. If it turns you on to play nitpicker, look in the mirror and
>have a good time. In the meantime the rest of us will go camping.
As someone else whom have been making a living wearing a uniform of some
kind, I agree with you in principle but not in fact, Steve. The BSA's
uniforms are designed to not only serve as another set of "playclothes"
(yeah, I know...some expensive playclothes!), but also as a way that others
can identify with and identify the "players" from the "coaches" and the
"referees". The Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment,
the "Old Guard", prides itself that no matter the size of the soldier, or
the sex,
that EVERYTHING is there in an uniform place, that EVERYTHING there has a
reason and
purpose and that EVERY PERSON wears the insignia in EXACTING detail.
There's a big difference between "exacting detail" and "identification".
>Until the BSA comes up with a formal regulation, ala military, and
>open ranks inspection, we will head on down the trail. By the way,
>should the holes in the buttons on the BSA shirt be horizontal or
>vertical in alignment? As the kids would say, 'Get a life!'.
The BSA DOES have that "formal regulation", Steve...it's called the Insignia
Guide, and it's available from your local Council office or from the nearest
Scout Shop {tm} for a couple of bucks. It's updated every year, at around
March or so, to add
new insignia and to take out older stuff (ten years old and older).
The holes in the buttons, of course, Steve, depends on whether you are
wearing the
cotton-poly shirts or the wool-poly shirts. On the cotton-poly shirts, the
buttons are horizontal; on the wool-polys, they are vertical. Of course, if
you've changed the buttons like I did to some older ones, you don't have to
worry about that question at all... *broad grinning, looking at Scout shirt*
Seriously, Steve, whether you like it or not, the BSA is a uniformed
organization and wearing the uniform is a great part of the program. It
serves as the "billboard" to promote our program, as the "frame" in which a
Scout or Scouter's achievement and status within the program is placed upon,
and most importantly, it serves as the "great equalizer" between all that
participate in our "great game of Scouting".
Settummanque!
>Steve in Newark
>
>
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
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