captkeating - welcome to the forum

I certainly hear and appreciate your frustration, and I can tell that your frustration is from a commitment to have a thriving, growing, valuable program that works and helps the Scouts get the leadership and life skills that will truly make a difference for them. I think that part of what inherently frustrating (potentially) about a program like this is that we are a volunteer army, and everyone, Scouts and adult leaders alike, are at varying levels of experience and leadership.  I know that when I said yes to being my son's den leader last year when he joined as a Lion, it had been decades since I was involved in the Scouts, and that was my first time as an adult leader.  I believe that Scouts and leaders at all levels are interested in and working on making Scouting the best program it can possibly be.  Personally, I'm excited about upcoming changes to the Cub Scout program to make it simpler, more focused, and more effective.  The acronyms you and others share in your posts make it clear to me that you are well-versed in the program and an expert on what a well-run program should look like. So, far be it from me to offer you advice about how the program should be run.  It sounds like you're very clear about that already!  My suggestion is to try to change your mindset to look for the good in the program, to try to be patient with the areas that aren't working or are still in progress, and to try to be a resource to the other leaders and Scouts, understanding that it does take time, and nothing really changes overnight, but over time, with sustained effort, it absolutely can.  I'm clear I didn't run the Lion den last year or the Tiger den this year perfectly, but we've already had some great moments, and I'm lucky to be in a Cub Scout pack that is incredibly well-run and managed, and everyone has something to offer.  I had the privilege earlier this year to organize an off-site pack night where we toured our local police department, which was fantastic, and in last week's den meeting, where we took a "hike" (basically a walk around our local park), when we walked across a boardwalk over a local creek, we saw a snapping turtle, and it was really cool! I believe that over time, you have the potential to be a serious force for good in your son's troop.  That being said, based on what you shared, certainly no one could blame you for finding another local troop that is better run.  For the sake of the program, I certainly hope you and your son don't give up on Scouting entirely!  Please let us know how it works out, and thank you for sharing!

And, for the history buffs, see page 49 in the attachment, right side, #10.   2007 Printing, BSAGuideToSafeScouting.pdf

Take out point 5, everything else applies when drivers are on their own. Before cell phones, we moved a whole troop of 120 six-hundred-miles and ended up at the destination with in 15-20 minutes. So it works well.  Before cell phones, we used radios that had a range of 50 miles. Our trailer broke an axle in Colorado and all other cars knew within minutes. A plan was set to which car would help and which ones would continue to next stop at a safe place for a bunch of scouts. Much better than stopping a  whole caravan of cars along side a busy two lane highway. Barry

Here’s a great winter Scout hat