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No, it was a summer model without a wood stove, but all the combined body heat also did help on chilly spring, summer, and fall nights. We did lie right next to each other (resulting in quite a bit of trying not to step on your patrolmates when you needed to pee in the middle of the night), helping hold on to our warmth. But backpacking with a cast iron wood stove and fuel for it would have been a bit much 😄

Did you winter backpack? We always used our “circus tent” (actually a donation from the national guard) for winter campouts. It was the best way to keep an eye on younger scouts for hypothermia and frostbite. General health and safety might have also been your leaders’ concern.

It wasn’t a mandate. It’s been a matter of course for decades. And, it would even be in place if international youth events were all-male. Public health officials’ deployed this strategy to forestall death. Prior to the 90s, the occasional newborn was always possible but didn’t mandate preventative measures.

Of course we did backpacking. And our leaders made us divide up that whole heavy monstrosity to carry with us. At the time I thought it was ridiculous, but now as a leader I think it was in part for budget reasons (the reason given) but also in part to prevent miscellaneous interpersonal problems by keeping the whole patrol together.

So you never did any backpacking? I don't know of any BSA troops that use giant tents. Maybe things are different today, but we had 2-man tents.

We slept in big circular canvas tents. If you're looking to prevent sexual activity at scouting events, it's perfect. Only the most daring exhibitionists are going to have sex with an audience of people you personally know and will eat breakfast with the next morning. For the same reason it's hard to get away with CSA when the entire patrol is present at night.

Not saying nobody ever got together withing scouting, or that relationship drama can't cause problems, but again, scouting doesn't automatically turn into a meat market just because girls and boys are doing the same things. That's all I'm saying.

I would say my troop is pretty outdoorsy. We camp 10/12 months, with a lock in IF possible in December and 2 weekends of Scouting For Food in February, being the 2 months we do not camp. Even during COVID, we continued to meet, virtually and outside, had monthly day trips in the outdoors, and even did our own summer camp. Yes we car camp, but we also backpack, cycle, and do canoeing and whitewater activities. And the Scouts pick Summer Camps with the program they want, with the only caveat being it has to be within an 8 hour drive. The last 2 batches of Webelos that visited, the activitie

"Sexual activity is prohibited in Scouting." https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Understanding-and-Preventing-Youth-on-Youth-Abuse-Training-for-Camp-Directors-facilitators-Guide-2024.pdf https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Understanding-and-Preventing-Youth-on-Youth-Abuse-Training-for-Camp-Staff-and-NYLT-Facilitators-Guide-2024.pdf

Well, I’m not sure about programs, but I am pretty sure my daughter (and other Scouts) in our troop wouldn’t have stepped up and spoken up with boys in their troop.

Well, I just resigned my commissioner position. Could no longer justify spending the time I'm in that area to myself. I can't get motivated to do the things I need to do for Cub Scout Day Camp at this point. Tossing a 114 year old name on the trash heap has really destroyed my dedication.

At one European camp I was at, the couple were not responding to anyone, and folks pulled the tent pegs out to have the tent collapse to get their attention.

With respect, I was in a coed Sea Scout Ship, adviser in several coed Explorer Posts/Venturing Crews, and also did several international Scouting activities, including a WSJ. I saw a lot of couples, and I have seen a lot of problems.

You had 1 male and 1 female in a tent together and never had any contact of a sexual nature occur?

Scouting is local. While scouting is marketed as outdoor, there is room for local leaders to push the gray area that fits more to their level of comfort. A lot of adults are living their scouting dream through their youths’ program and don’t even realize it. Even Woodbadge can suffer from different interpretations of the syllabus. Barry

As long as it's consensual, I don't care. My point was more that scouting isn't automatically going to turn into a meat market just because you have girls and boys scouting together. I see a lot of FUD about this and since it's so far all scared speculation as opposed to lived experience I figure sharing would be helpful.

Times do change. Didn't WOSM mandate that condoms be available at the 2019 World Scout Jamboree? Yes, they did.

All I can say is keep up the good work. What do you and your scouts want to get out of the program? Awards? Ranks? Badges? Or is it about learning life skills? Encourage them to pursue Wilderness Survival in addition to Eagle requirements (7 MBs are elective). If your scouts don't like your district Klondike stop going. Find another one. Keep building skills, ranks and awards will come.

18 Eagle required MBs can be done fully/nearly fully indoor while 4 (cooking, camping, hiking and cycling) have substantial outdoor requirements. BSA lost me on "scouting is outdoors" when they added Citizenship in Society merit badge. Most of my Eagle Scouts have said Wilderness Survival should be Eagle Required but yet BSA went with another discuss/research/report type badge. In addition, my Troop was the only one to camp outdoors during our recent district's Klondike. In the past the Patrols camping outdoors would be awarded more points...not this year. In fact, the Patrols who did

So will there only be one handbook for coed troops?

You must be doing it wrong. 75% of scouting is outing.

I remember boys hiking the 3+ miles from the Boy Scout summer camp to the nearby Girl Scout summer camp in the evenings in the late 1970s. As was said earlier, "where there's a will, there's a way" -- but we don't have to make it easier for them. I personally felt there was a place for -- nay, a need for -- single-sex instruction in some things. The vast majority of teenage boys I knew -- from the time when I was a teenager myself until present -- don't focus well when there's a teenage girl nearby. Or rather, they focus well but not necessarily on what I need them to focus on. Having

What's in a name? That which we call a Scout after the camp by any other name would smell as sweet....

Everyone here uses the normalcy of family, schools and churches as a justification to normalize scouting. Scouting was always intended to be different to give ethical and moral growth a chance for males. Nobody today wants to admit males and females are different and different programs give both genders the chance for the best growth. A scout is brave is the first trait to go in this culture. Barry

Scouts Canada and Scouts UK, they are just called Scouts. Scouts BSA felt redundant to me anyway. I'm not concerned with a name change, nor any administrative hoopla fixes as to whether a girl unit is a troop or if it is just a patrol (or even if mixed patrols are allowed). I am concerned with long-term viability of program, and none of these changes to me are going to solve this. I'd love to share the optimism others are expressing here, but to be quite blunt, we heard all of that when girls were allowed to all programs, and what are the results? My council follows what national has dire