Re: Alaska (long, part 1/2)
(no name) ((no email))
Sat, 17 Feb 1996 01:02:59 -0600
>I wrote the responses... in regards to Ted's comments:
>
>On Fri, 16 Feb 1996, Settummanque, the blackeagle (MAJ) Mike Walton wrote:
>
>>> The current Transatlantic Council serves youth in the entire
>>> European continent, along with youth in the Near East...a >>larger area
than 75 percent of the continental United States.
>
>>Alaska might be an independent minded sate, but IT
>>IS NOT A FOREGIN COUNTRY. WE HAVE BEEN A STATE FOR OVER 30 >YEARS.
REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NO LONGER A TERRITORY. Now, >Transatlantic council
ONLY SERVES MILLITARY INSTITUTIONS.
>
>Not true. TAC serves AMERICANS living abroad. THEY DO NOT HAVE
>TO BE CONNECTED TO THE MILITARY!!! While yes, there's a lot of
>Scouts and Scouters whose families are "military families", there's a lot
of international firms (like IBM, XEROX, HP,
>John Deere, Werehouser (sp), Siemens (which is a German firm),
>GE and others....that have AMERICANS on their staffs and whose
>families live "on the economy" in Germany or other countries in
>Europe, the Near East or the Med.
>
>..where >americans are living abroad for various reasons. TAC does not go
>out in the towns and establishtroops as do all other councils in BSA aside
from Far East.....
>
>Yes, they do.
>
>In addition to units around military bases, there's also Scouting
>units in Paris, London, Geneva, Lucerne, Basel, Athens, Berlin,
>St. Petersburg, The Hague, and fifteen other cities and towns.
>Anywhere with a significant American prescence, is where you will
>find a TAC unit or a Lone Scout/Lone Cub Scout.
>
>Note the Lone Scout and Lone Cub Scout. There's many places just
>like in Alaska whereby the only family is there for miles around.
>Scouting comes to them by mail and there's a LOT of Lone Scouts
>and Lone Cubs residing in the territories served by TAC.
>
>>> They do it with a staff of nine, and two "paraprofessionals".
>
>>Well, there are 3 staffers for Midnight Sun (fairbanks) Council,
>>and I believe Western Alaska has somewhere around 4 or 5, and >southeast
has two. 3+4+3=10. So no savings of people there, we >would still need
that many anyhow......
>
>Southeast is supposed to have three, and Western Alaska is
>supposed to have six (three districts, one Exploring division, and
>a Assistant SE and the SE). So that makes it 12.
>
>That's about right. TAC is supposed to have 12.
>
>>> Getting to the Council office in Germany from Turkey or from >>Iceland
may take a couple of days and a couple of aircraft >>trips, but the
professional staff does it with relative ease and >>not too much concern or
argument.
>
>> Yup-getting around our councils to rural areas are the same, >cept you
don't have some big ol jumbo jet takin you there, nor do >you have a
millitary air lift, rather, you are usually on a >cessna....not quite as
luxerious as you flights are:).
>
>You haven't been on the backside of a C5A, have you? It's like
>traveling in a boxcar with wings. You literally strap yourself
>into the "harness seat" when you go that way, because there's
>not a lot of seats!
>
>I traveled on a C5A with my newborn daughter and her mother
>in the middle of spring....believe me when I say that a CARGO
>PLANE is just that....and not even "cut-rate airlines"!!
>
>>> While the language within the TAC is all the same, all of the
>>> professional staffs must interact and work with the host
>>> nations of their Districts. For instance, Walt Steffen, the >>District
Director of the North Star District, has to speak >>Norweigen (sp), German,
English, Polish and French to interact >>with the host nations' Scouting
leadership in his District.
>
>
>> Yes-this may be so, BUT Alaskan Natives are much more >different
than the white man in general-you have much more in >common with europeans
than any of us generally do with alaskan >natives. Living in a village is
radically different than moving >from millatary base/post to baste/post with
nice, standard >accomadations.
>
>Again, while the vast MAJORITY of the units in TAC are associated
>with military or embassy organizations (about a 60/40 split),
>MANY of what the TAC's pros have to do is to visit small communities
whereby an American "enclave" is present, and to
>interact with the host nation's Scouting "leaders" to insure
>cooperation. I can agree that they don't have to go from one
>village to another, and also can agree that they have much more
>in commonity with members of the EC community (I guess except for those in
Morrocco, Turkey, Crete or Algeria).
>
>>Usually, when you travel to the
>>villages, you either stay in the town hall, the chapel, or the
>>school...sorry, no hotels or guest housing here!
>
>When TAC's professionals visit, they stay usaually in the home
>of Scouters of that community, or at the local hotel. They get
>an additional allowance for such things.
>
>>> This will require professionals that are VERY flexible, and >>volunteers
which will reflect the geographic and racial makeup >>of the District (the
youth) they serve.
>>Indeed so do our DE's...with such remote villages, the natives
>>are not even used to outside ideas, are less accepting....
>
>
>>> >When I was in present-day Western Alaska Council we had one DE >whose turf
>>> extended from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor, over a >thousand miles, and
>>> reachable only by air. Talk about service to >the units ...?
>>>
>>> The same can be said for those professionals serving youth from
>>> Hawaii over the Pacific Ocean, from Japan, or from Europe.
>
>>Hmm-it looks like this is common for Americans living in foreign
>>countries. Maybe I need to remind you that alaska is a >state.....not
just another territory, commonwealth or foreign >country with key millatry
posts (though we have about 6 key >millitry establishments in the state, not
including every little >base, which did such things as house the first top
secret nuclear >reactor).
(continued on part two)
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
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