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Barry, yes the ceremonies were only one aspect of it. I did a lot of that heavy lifting. Camporee staff, counclfire building, Trail clearing, bridge building, raking leaves, if it needed to be done we went out and did it. We were the ones who did the hard work, the Dirty Work and we were damn proud of it. You never asked for money, or a patch, we didn't even care if we got a round of applause. It didn't really matter if anyone else knew, we knew. And that was enough for us. That is the attitude and mindset I have striven to instill in the current generation. It is admittedly a lot ha

Well another BSA tradition is tossed onto the altar of political correctness. This directed and influenced by people not involved in the program nor interested in the why. Also those supposedly offended by the usage who are in many cases supportive of the usage and tradition were not consulted. Is Akela still mentioned in Cubs or is that verboten now?

It might only bring the inevitable closer, but OA was already dying from over protection and cultural activism. OA is about Service and Outdoors, not pack ceremonies. The organization lost it's soul when leaders turned it from an honor organization into a first year camping prize. Arrowmen were super scouts back in my day and I'm lucky to always have the memory. I hate to see it go, but to me its just a logical step toward the New Family Scouting program. Barry

So crossover and AoL ceremonies are now written by National, And only class A uniforms are allowed. My team, about 20 of some of the most outstanding scouts in the district, is vacillating between Rebellion and just quitting. I suspect call outs are next, or perhaps Eagle courts of Honor. If they're trying to kill the OA this is a very good way to start.

I mean you know disrespect all Oldscout, but your post represents how OA has been minimalized to irrelevance in the modern scouting program. Used to, Arrowmen were the heavy lifters, not entertainers. Oh sure, they performed ceremonies, but they were also the goto resource for clearing and cleaning up camps, clearing old trails and blazing new trails. They were brought in as experts for council camping activities and leaders of council outdoor activities. If you needed scout activities experts for large gatherings, you called OA. Their outdoor expertise was only marginally less than their repu

In my eyes the biggest losers here are the Cubs. As a scout I did perhaps a hundred Arrow of Light, Cub colors,or crossover ceremonies, and as an advisor I have watched perhaps a thousand. The one thing that was constant was the look of awe and wonder in the Cubs eyes. They just loved it. It was often years later when they were inducted into the order and joined the ceremonies team they would tell me they had wanted to do this since they were 10 years old, since that magical night by the campfire when the chief gave them their Arrow of Light. We have been making jingle dresses so that the

Interesting, I don't see this killing OA IMHO but I do see many disappointed.

Would you cite the source of this announcement please! I was afraid this would happen. When I was discussing this with other Arrowmen, to say they were ticked off would be an understatement. And I know of one WDL who has been planning their den's AOL and Crossover since they became Webelos. She wants the ceremony her older two sons had. EDITED: OK found out the announcement. https://oa-bsa.org/article/official-arrow-light-and-crossover-ceremonies This will kill the OA in the longterm. I see a lot of rogue chapters and lodges.

I'm glad to see the answers in this forum. It's the right answers. Too often advancement overshadows the other methods of scouting. I would like to say though it is a balance. Having fun and being active are the most important key points. But it is good to not fully let advancement sit. Ingraining the habits (earning MBs, doing requirements, asking for sign-offs) of advancement early is important as the scout will know what's expected. Ingraining the habits early is also important so the scout realizes the satisfaction and pride from having accomplished something sig

Update July 24, 2018 The Western Massachusetts Council of the Boy Scouts of America has sold its 186-acre Chesterfield Scout Reservation. The council has owned the property for 10 years. The buyer intends to maintain the property and continue to offer outdoors programs. The funds from the sale will be put toward another council property, the 1,300-acre H.A. Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, to improve maintenance, update buildings, new camper activities and programs, and eliminate the council’s debt. https://www.bankerandtradesman.com/boy-scouts-america-sells-chesterf

Remember that advancement is only one of the methods of scouting. It has a tendency to overshadow the other methods in people's minds. but as long as he is enjoying it and you believe that he is getting something out of the program, I'd say not to worry at this point.

In my troop, it was the responsibility of the Scout to ask the adult leader present to sign off requirements. You need to tell him that it's his job to ask the adults for sign offs. If he's having fun, that's the important thing. Signed, A two year Tenderfoot that never advanced beyond that point.

If it were me, I would give up on getting a better explanation and move on. Someone(s) has an issue with your son. That's just the way it is. Maybe you and/or your son have some idea what the issue is, maybe you don't. I just don't see what can be done about it at this point. Except that you and your son can organize and carry out his court of honor. It sounds like there are people in the troop who would probably agree to participate (such as the SM, who can ceremonially award the Eagle pin, certificate etc. to your son and maybe say a few words) and maybe some who won't. Good luck to y

I'm a former lifeguard and lifeguard instructor. I cannot tell you enough how dangerous ANY type of GO rescue is. And I was an instructor back when they taught you how to make rescues without equipment, something they no longer do today. EVERY TIME YOU GO YOU PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK.

Oh! When the life-jackets were tied to a rope, the kids weren't wearing them! That would make them too hard to throw! However, first class rank requires knowing how to perform a line rescue, where a scout swims out with a line around his body to rescue a victim. (One of the many forms of "go, with support".) Personally, I am very nervous about this one. Attempting to rescue anybody without support is extremely dangerous - no matter how trained the guard. Doing so with just a rope and your buddies at the other end is a huge step of faith. Unless your patrol is real tight and practices it re

Matt_theLife_Scout02, Are you a scout or an adult ? A few generic comments. No troop is perfect or can stay always close to perfect. The idea is to keep moving toward an "ideal", but while doing that provide great scouting experiences. Elections are key. Keeping them simple, open and fair is important. All positions including SPL are mainly about learning how to become a better leader. We adult leaders are spoiled when we have scouts in positions that they can naturally perform without help. It makes us look good. But in reality, we won't always have perfect s

You think that’s great. Just wait until a three year old girl starts asking you every night at bedtime, “I can be a Cub Scout when I be bigger?” And you can smile and say “Yes.” This is my happy reality. And being able to pass that Bear Cub scarf down at Crossover that used to belong to my now-adult boys... priceless.

I can't believe I just read all eight pages of this thread. It seems clear that some members of the troop committee do not believe your son was qualified for Eagle even though he passed his EBOR. It was mentioned that a member of the EBOR panel also had reservations but passed him anyway (or did I get that wrong). Perhaps these reservations are related to the physical limitations of your son or other factors that affected his participation. Perhaps quality was missing from efforts made at the last minute. From the bullying comments, it seems some resentment toward your son and/or your fam

Well the final hole is: If you reported the YP violation to Council, and got no results, WHY did you keep subjecting your son (and yourself) to the bully for years? Tell the SM...and the SE in a firm letter exactly why you are leaving and find a new Troop that follows the Scout Oath, Law and YP requirements. I dunno...something doesn't smell right.

If you need advice on how to write a letter, you can find that any number of places online. There is no official Scout letter template. Is it a ceremony? A party? It can be either, whatever the Scout wants. I apologized in advance if my questions seemed aggressive. I’m pretty close to walking that back. What you describe sounds like a toxic troop situation, but your language and approach are not helping things. Consider the way you have presented things here; if someone brought these complaints to you in this manner, claiming discrimination and insulting various people you volunteer with,

Well, no, it doesn’t answer all my questions. But that’s OK. In your answer you’ve insulted a committee member, made excuses for your son (he’s too thin to do physical activity???), brushed off someones battle with cancer, and said you had to take over his Eagle workbook. It sounds like your son and his Troop had come to a mutually toxic relationship. Better to do an ECOH on your own and move on to the next chapter. I can’t imagine how this could end in a way that satisfies all parties.

So I have to ask this. Apologies in advance if it comes across as overly aggressive. Is this your CoH? Or is it your son’s? What does your son want? Why is your son not taking the lead in organizing it, if a CoH is what he wants? What is your motivation in pursuing this and seeking to force the troop to do something? Are you driven by what your son truly wants, or by your own desire to avenge a perceived insult to your child and family by the troop? Why does your son not reach out to his friends and former patrolmates for their addresses and contacts for the invit

Success!!!!!

It's hard to pick just one, but here are a few that stand out. My boy scout troop was camping at the Pinnacles and visited the Bear Gulch Cave. This cave is a large talus cave (made by large boulders) that climbs up following a water course. The cave was partly flooded in that it had water running in it, and the only way through was to go wading (in about thigh high water at it's deepest). But it was a hot day (the Pinnacles can get really hot), so we didn't care that we were getting wet. The upper two thirds of the cave is completely dark (I mean pitch black, no light at all), so we were

I've always carried my own umbrella policy.

Absolutely. As I understand it; BSA, my CO, and I will all be named in the lawsuit if something unfortunate were to occur. National Council's team of lawyers first reaction will be to comb through the details looking for some G2SS infraction that disqualifies our event from being a "BSA Activity." I have no confidence in Irving stepping in to protect me or my CO. My church (CO) provides insurance for all church activities and scouting. This is primarily to protect the church but, as it has been described to me, it won't let you lose your house in a lawsuit. YMMV. The difficulty is th

I was the first Eagle in my Troop. I inched out a Scout, much younger, who had announced "publicly", that he would be Eagle in so many months (he did the math, so many months required in each rank), which would have made him the first Eagle. Us older Scouts (who had been having fun camping and hiking , not so much worrying about ranks), got together and said "we can't let this happen". So we cooperated with Merit Badge classes, service projects, activity planning. The young Scout was good, but "life happens", and he had family issues and did not meet his schedule. He became the third Eag