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Exactly. When paintball is perfectly fine for the church youth group but banned by the Boy Scouts, we have a problem.

Last time I camped out with the troop, sitting round the campfire, some of the older scouts asked for a scout story from the old days. So I told them one or two , then turned to go. They asked for another, then another. Surprised and somewhat pleased they were so interested I never once thought I was getting myself in trouble. But the next PLC it seemed all the scouts demanded to know why they couldn't do fun stuff like Mr Oldscout did. I dont think I'm gonna be allowed to tell stories without supervision anymore. And I had left out all the crazy ones. When I joi

...If the Boy Scouts want to attract a new generation of members, they’ll need to stand for something more than inclusion. Because being inclusive doesn’t make you relevant. If I were calling the shots, I’d take a stand against the safe space movement and everything it embodies. And I’d do it in the most public way possible. But of course, that might also require a level of risk completely inconsistent with current orthodoxy. As we all know, in 1974, a chipped tooth or a black eye didn’t lead to lawsuit, and today, I’m pretty sure a boxing ring and a trip to the shooting range would make

When I teach scouting safety to youth or or adults, I explain we're trying to bring them as close to their Creator as we can without making it a permanent stay.

Rowe is right in some ways. G2SS should be written to actually prevent serious injuries and not to lower insurance rates. My 9 YO son went to a non BSA camp and used power tools. He went on a raft that he and other kids built... on a river. They were in life vests but I’m sure not all would pass the BSA swim test I’m sure it was overloaded, it broke they all fell in and they had a blast. Adults were present and had the situation under control. He probably got a few bumps and bruises but no issues. He asked if we can do this with our Pack...

How about swinging from a rope, from a wobbly tree limb, into a swimming hole, while skinny dipping, as other scouts are trying to pelt you mid-air with water balloons. We did that. (Moderators should feel free to delete this post. I'll understand.)

Survival campout- we held one every summer just before school started. Limited to firstclass and higher. you were allowed a canteen ,a knife (any size) and whatever you could fit in an altoids tin. shelter? make one. food ? go find some blackberries or cattails, or catch a fish in the lake. Fire? bow and drill isnt that hard if you have practiced, or find some quartz and cattail fluff. 3-4 day canoe trip, camping on islands if possible catapults and water balloons! every patrol makes their own. and is issued 40 small and 15 big balloons. Firing to beg

The Girl Scouts have gone down the path from practical uniform to (impractical) dress uniform to (today) no uniform at all. The early uniforms were sturdy cotton, in a color that did not show dirt, and with bloomers to wear under the skirts so that the girls could move freely without worrying about immodesty. (May not sound practical by today's standards, but was much better for active and outdoor activities than the then-fashionable clothes for girls.) The uniforms stayed in sturdy fabric through the 1940s. By the 1960's, they had changed to being dress uniforms. Still unifor

Wonder if they have a dragon patrol.

It is not adventure unless there are surprises. In the past, our scouts have taken a game concept from Monopoly and carried a ? box or envelope on hikes. At time or distance intervals, they would take a ? card and complete the task on card - everyone do 10 pushups, form a human pyramid, switch your socks/check your feet, carry patrol leader to nearest shady spot, what do you see at 60deg True, take a pic and send it, EMERGENCY, your PL broke his leg, simple fracture, administer FIRST AID and when done draw next card (scouts busily splint leg and then draw next card... NO! THE OTHE

One of the older scout’s teaches woods tools safety on the first new scout camp out each year so the new Scouts can use their knife. We require all new adults attend the class as well, mostly so they see boy run in action. I remember one new adult was a little perplexed about how the older scout instructor taught knife sharpening. The technique was different from how he learned when he was a scout. He very politely asked the instructor about it and the instructor responded by giving the adult a page number reference in the scout handbook. You never know how some adults react to these

I think that was a rhetorical question, and that you probably know the answer.

OMG, my son's first troop the troop guides wouldn't let them cook or light the stoves. We switched troops.

What I want to hear "WE DID IT!"

Yep, there is a troop about 5 miles away from me that has banned axes, walking sticks, and only adults are allowed to light stoves. All in the name of " safety" I was very much tempted to buy a giant roll of bubble wrap from Costco and hand it to the SM.

As the outgoing District Vice-Chair of Membership and the incoming District Commissioner, I helped get six new Crews started as we moved into the rechartering season and now am hoping to make sure these new Crews get all the support they need to be successful. This evening I hosted the first Venturing-specific breakout at our District Roundtable and all Crews were represented by at least one volunteer! I think the most important thing was for these folks to meet each other and know there are people they can lean on for help moving forward. I also facilitated a discussion on the ALPS (

Tell that to Son #2 who held a swimming partial for 5 years, then decided to earn Hiking at age 17.9.

Nothing advertises Scouting to the public and keeps Scouts in the community's eye more than scouts in uniform. Otherwise it's just another group of kids. Doing away with the uniform , heck even Going to middle ground with "class b" just makes us like any other youth group. No thanks. "The uniform makes for brotherhood, since when universally adopted it covers up all differences of class and country." - BP "Show me a poorly uniformed troop and I'll show you a poorly uniformed leader" - BP It's an essential part of the game of scouting and quite frankly, the other coun

Nice to see what we Brits have exported around the world. Our Explorers seem to think it's banned, so they play French Poodle, in which everything is exactly the same as British Bulldog but the name.

Heck, when I was a Scout, my brother broke his leg playing a certain game with a football (whose name we can’t say these days). He had to sit out until he healed. Fortunately, we had enough people to play without him.

Mike Rowe mentioned the epic British Bulldog battles at his troop meetings.... Troop 190 at Elmendorf AFB Alaska, we played BB as well. But outside and tackle, vice indoor and lift. Same result though, a heck of a lot of fun. One my troops in Arizona raised Steal the Bacon (always indoors) to a form of warfare. Full contact! We scouts loved these games. Even the non-athletic kids joined in and did the best they could. [Edit: reflecting...I can't recall a single scout that asked not to play.] Sure, scouts got hurt, but not badly. If you just got knocked flat on your back, o

We have shooting sports- but only in a controlled sterile range environment. Don't dare point a Nerf gun, or a paintball gun, anywhere in the direction of another scout! And don't talk about using those guns and bows for hunting, no way! Not permit by the GTSS. It wasn't always that way, common sense had a place. Sadly, Mike is correct it is lacking today.

I think there are too many troops that do not do this, and that's the biggest problem.

Greetings from Omaha, NE. Proud Eagle Scout and father. As of March of this year I am the new Cubmaster for my son’s Pack which also happens to be the pack of my youth (Pack 492 Mid-America Council Omaha). My wife and I bought a house in my old neighborhood. I am an Eagle Scout (class of ‘97, Troop 492) and after a twenty year hiatus it’s great to be back. It didn’t take but one recruiting night last fall to remind me of what I had missed and as timing would have it, the previous Cubmaster was ready to step back as he and his son are crossing over next February. So here I am. It’s great to b

I also heard no more diamond patches on the tan uniforms, so it doesn't make sense...Scout earns his bear badge at the end of 3rd grade, then immediately switches to tan uniform the next year, when does he get to wear his bear rank?

Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Haha. Well in that case, maybe my families can get by without having to worry about the changes after all! I just gotta stock up on the blue patches so that I have enough for any boys who stay in the blue uniform up till the end of next year.

So if you lose one you have to find another?!?!

Actually, I think I would rather hear that one. Someone(s) might be getting kicked out of the troop (or not), but at least everyone is going home in one piece. I have sometimes half-jokingly said that the main role of the adult leaders on a camping trip is to make sure that when we arrive back at the church parking lot on Sunday, we have the same number of kids as when we left.

I feel your pain. Just last night before we started our Pack meeting, a Committee member and I realized we had differing understandings of the forthcoming rules. In spite of having just attended the same Roundtable where the discussion focus was Family Scouting. It's no wonder my District & Council are suggesting not to encourage any sign-ups of girls until August. So does this mean that all boy dens now require at least one male leader too? Or is sexism a one-way street?

I don't think this program is intended to be a replacement for scouting. It looks more like a replacement for the Knight's of Columbus youth program, the Columbian Squires. It is almost an exact duplicate, only parish based. The Catholic Church recently directed the KC's to transfer its scout units over to the parishes, because it wants all youth programs and activities to be parish based.

That's not a troop, it's a daycare.

God will be gone from BSA soon enough, but that won't halt BSA's decline anymore than gays/trans/girls did. With the departure of conservatives/traditionalists, BSA will become the Scouting choice of liberal/progressive families (who have fewer children). That doesn't represent a broad enough membership pool to sustain the movement. Given the huge debt load for The Summit, I honestly don't see a future for BSA. I expect we'll see some sort of bankruptcy reorganization within the next decade, with possible sale of assets.

True, but its better than " Hold mah beer"

We replaced 'dodge ball' with 'red white and blue ball'

It matters of dispute, you are correct. I am very familiar with the Cathechism. Francis in no way contradicted the authority he has as primary bishop, he simply saw that mercy and kindness is more to the mission of Christ than hate and scourn. The Catholic church is clear that homosexual acts are not acceptable to God, but then neither is premarital sex, adultery, etc. I know plenty of Christians that have regularly engaged in those acts as well.

First aid campout- send an adult victim into the woods, full on fake blood, "bones" protruding from the leg, scouts need to diagnose and assess. Have some scout victims as well, where they need to transport them out for evac (I cannot tell you how much it angers me when units only teach first aid "from the book" at scout meetings). We used to do campout that involved kayaking to one of the islands in Boston Harbor, bringing anything we needed had to fit in the kayak with us.

Variations of orienteering - find the clues, the food, canoe orienteering are popular. Our PLC was brainstorming about a night-only orienteering. During the day they would set up solar panels to charge flashlight and phone batteries, "like The Martian". Oh forgot, they would only eat potatoes.

We need parents to unplug as much as we need the youth to. I have tried for 3 years to get any type of adventure Campout on our calendar (3 day canoe trek, two night backpacking trip, etc.) and I get nothing but pushback from the adults. Kids say they re all for it. For the adults, it is either not their cup of tea (it's so much easier to just sit on your but at a fire, or "big activity" would be to go cast some lines), or they don't want to have to give up their whole weekend (they cannot fathom getting home later than noon on Sunday). So, program devolves to become family oriented. Yes, we'l

Just a song and a haircut, lol.

I do agree that a rite of passage would be a good idea for Eagles. Maybe plan a 50 mile trek (or unpowered movement voyage), that involves at least two nights under a tent. I would also change Camping MB to require 50 nights of camping, but allow adirondack (three sided shelter), and non-Scout related camping as part of those nights. I agree with the one Citizenship MB. I would also combine Personal Management and Family Life into "Personal and Family Management." I would also keep Enviro Science (and kill Sustainability, which is an expansion of the worst parts of enviro scien

I think it's a variety of things. Top of the list is top-down risk avoidance, which results in some policies that provide the basis of the "scouts are going soft" narrative. I'm thinking of things like rules against water balloons, wheelbarrows during service projects, Lazer tag, etc. Every time there's another "you can't do that anymore" we take a hit. You can be safe and be adventurous and challenging at the same time. You just have to accept some level of risk. Perhaps a good start would be to accept the same level of risk as a high school football team.

It's not that being safe is a problem. The problem is that, any program that promises adventure is going to have have some associated risk. And, given the current state of risk management is now devolved into complete risk avoidance, you wind up with the "watered down" program that is not as popular/marketable/whatever you want to call it. So, rather then building independence, you wind up promoting hand-holding. BSA's not there yet, but I can see how the public perception is that we're headed in that direction.

If you prefer, you can replace safe with mollycoddled.

Well, once upon a time, long long ago, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides did use the patrol system. Some of us remember it and value it. (Of course, the troop that I was in that implemented it best had two leaders who had both grown up in the Girl Guides (UK), not in GSUSA.)

Absolutely agree. There were (and are) things in place to handle most if not all of the various membership issues as the local CO has the say as to who can and cannot be a member. National BSA sort of muddied the waters, kind of like they are doing now. With the addition of girls, and there will not be enough units or units will go COED or something in the middle. BSA National hopes to be all things to all people but also falls back when convenient on "local unit control". I have never seen a company, organization, or group that spends as much time and energy hoping to placate and ap

Lief Ericson explorer, Boy Scout*, Coffee achiever. *post humus, honorary

We get a failing organization with drastically declining membership and morally bankrupt leadership. We should pay extra for this?

Part of the challenge is salaries It is basically these 5 items Financial drain for the Summit - the losses there are staggering BSA National overhead costs not adjusted in relation to membership - seriously doubt the overhead has been reduced 10% in last 4 years Many years of underfunded pension payments Exploded liability insurance premiums - thus the 38% membership increase Reduced membership and thus less revenue - This has accounted for close to $30MM less income in the last 4 yearts

Is it just me or are those shirts really just the same shirt, they appear to just have additional pockets on top of pockets. I want to see the shirts with the typical display of patches in the correct proposed locations. Put some bling on them and then use an anatomical manikin so we can see what they will actually look like on a Scout. Or better yet, make a National Executive SEW the badges on and then get some Venture girls to model them and give feed back. Also I spoke with some friends that have strict religious / moral standards and the skorts do not make the cut.

"Good afternoon, sir, My name is Russell and I am a Wilderness Explorer in Tribe 54. . May I be of any service to you? "