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Most of the commentary seems to be on the wisdom or stupidity of the extension- but mostly how it affects an individual Scout. Either way, it does provide potentially a strong program gain. The new troops starting up will have a much better chance of success if they have a few "senior" girls in them. Always tough for leadership development when a new troop is formed from a den of Webelos. To get those girls, there would be opportunity particularly with current Venturers. While not every 17 year old girl will want to work towards Eagle, it does make sense that some of them would- and the t

A lot of people don't realize this but if you read the original Hebrew, when Moses received the tablets that God had written the commandments on, there were 11. After Moses broke and then rewrote the commandments he dropped one. First of all, this illustrates that man wrote the 10 commandments and not God. Also, the one that was dropped was "Thou shalt not argue about religion, it just pisseth me off when you get so angry about what should be about love."

Maybe its just local conditions. I'm 25. When former Scouts visit our childhood troop, they say hi to me, and after observing they almost always joke: "Wow, things really haven't changed much." They're both right and wrong. I think the BSA as an organization has changed quite a bit. I feel like that pace of change has accelerated. But I still recognize the BSA from when I joined back in 2005. My Troop hasn't changed much from all these policy changes. Requirements change, uniforms change, membership policies change, but the core activities and methods of Scouting haven't changed in

It seems to me that the extension will only be long enough to give them the amount of time necessary to earn Eagle depending on the date that they join. I'd guess it'd be enough to give them the minimum amount of time needed to earn Eagle from Scout-Eagle. "The actual extension will be based upon the individual’s registration date and age at the time of the request and will provide not more than twenty-four months from the date of initial registration to complete all requirements." My amateur guess is if they join at 17 years old and 11 months, they'll get the full 23/24 months, and it'll sca

The normal rules for time extensions for Eagle Scout rank (G2A 9.0.4.0) do not appear to force a Scout out of a troop and into a crew or ship (although a Scout could certainly choose to do so). A Scout who is age 17 and 11 months on February 1 would need a minimum of 3 months in order to earn First Class rank. If this Scout had to leave the troop on 18th birthday, then the Scout could not continue on the trail to Eagle in a crew or ship, because the Scout had not earned First Class rank in a troop yet. I guess the question is whether joining a crew or ship is optional or mandatory f

Report just came in that we are at 45,856 girls. A DE noted that the majority of them are in southern states as northern states generally start school later. I know several Join scout nights in my area are just starting. Who knows but thought I would pass it on.

Only for the perpetual victimization crowd. The message it sends otherwise is: - Different people value different things. Some scouts value an all-male experience. It's diversity that makes us great - Voluntary association is a hallmark of free societies. - Nobody is invalidating you, you're doing it to yourselves if you let this bother you Besides, if the BSA really believes in the value of single-gender scouting (that's why we have separate gender troops in Scouts BSA), then boys-only and girls-only weeks are logical extensions of that stated goal.

So what is the purpose of the exception if they are not allowed to serve in youth leadership positions after 18th birthday?

So I'll just assume you also ascribe those negative traits to GSUSA which excludes boys at every level. How very unScoutlike of them, right? Or does your door of condemnation swing only one way (against boys)?

I'm saying many theists don't believe other theists have a lock on morality and its origin. It's a divided house.

There was someone on Facebook complaining because their council chose the "crappy" camp for Girls only weeks, and the "better" camp was still boy only. Why should Girls (who are supposed to have full access to the program) be limited in their outings as well. Our local Scout camp did a Venture, Ship, Post, etc week that was Co-ed. They did the merit badges and experiences (not that they could earn them officially, unless they were dual registered as a Scout)

A 16 year old boy who just joined knew how much time he had and if he could or could not earn Eagle in that time. It would be his choice and I don't think more than a few in the country, if any at all. The real point is that National it's allowing those who were not in the program before mostly because they were not allowed, to have 24 months to earn eagle. It is simply giving them the opportunity. There will always be those who just miss a deadline or cutoff date. In my crew there are two girls best friends that do everything together, one turns 18 in January the other mid February.

We talk often about lawsuits being filed, or the fear there of. Can anyone list any significant successful lawsuits against BSA , or a troop, or a CO for its membership or advancement policies that actually resulted in a court ordering a change in either advancement or membership. I play an attorney in my day job, and I can think of almost no grounds for bringing a successful suit that would ever make anyone an eagle scout or force any individual unit to do anything about admitting a particular individual as a member. This is mostly a boogeyman fear, and as scouters we should be goo

The Female leadership for co-ed events requirement has been in the G2SS for years. The YPT bit was new, but, it was never an issue for Cub or Boy Scouts.

Well, I think there is an "additional requirement" of sorts, in that the Scouts who do this will have 24 months (or less) to go from no-rank to Eagle, of which more than 16 months are time requirements, rather than having 7 years. There will be no time for pauses and probably very little or no time for sports, robotics, school plays or any other elective activity. These Scouts will basically be eating, sleeping, going to school (including college), doing homework (hopefully) and doing Scout advancement.

Lawsuits would have been filed regardless. Now they can point to a consistent policy for the 2019 new Scouts instead of what some Councils would have done by pushing exemptions under the following reasons. To be clear, I don’t know if Nationals would have granted any due to #1 below; however, there may have been groups pushing for exemptions under #3 below. Now it is clear how to handle the situation. 1. The member joined or rejoined—or became active again after a period of inactivity—in time to complete all requirements before turning 18. That is, the time remaining between joinin

This. Lawsuits will be the least if their problems. Now anybody with the slightest reason to want an extension will be able to point at this decision. If I was the kid we talked about a while back who missed his eagle by a few weeks I'd already have the letter writing campaign started. Standards are brittle things once bent they tend to break.

This is an exceedingly wise decision.

I think what it actually seems to say is that every extension may be a different length. I think it probably suggests that someone who turns 16 on Jan. 31 will get significantly LESS than the full 2 year extension. But we’ll find out.

I think the term “inaugural year” adds unnecessary confusion to the discussion. Females can join ScoutsBSA starting on Feb. 1, 2019. The first females to earn Eagle will earn it in 2020. Those are the facts.

I'm not a fan of this sentence: "It is our hope and expectation that local units will ensure substantial individual recognition of their first female Eagle Scouts in a manner befitting their great accomplishments." It implies that it's not about the journey - it's about getting to Eagle first.

I agree. It seems like the most limited and equitable “transition rule” they could have adopted, if they were going to adopt one at all.

The program isn’t changing. They still have to do all the same work as before. If they are between 16-18 when they join, they can ask for a 24 month extension to finish properly. Also, not sure what you mean by inaugural year, there will be no Female Eagles in 2019.

Sweet! I “win”. Just got to work on my title game!

In statement #3, it states first time joiners.

So much for previous statements that the program would not change. Now they change the rules to make sure there will be a female Eagle Scout in the inaugural year. Where were the adjusted rules when they opened registration to homosexual scouts. Those scouts did not get any benefit to being able to join and obtain their Eagle if they did not have enough time.

This thread is a merger of the one started by Scotteg83 here and the one started by Eagle1993 under Open Discussion. Eagle’s title has been used but Scott’s is the “surviving” thread. If that makes any sense.

Until I got to #3, I thought this was the worst decision in history. But both genders are being treated equally, so I guess it isn’t the worst decision in history. It actually seems like a Solomonic decision. I guess. On a more positive note, I think the decision not to recognize a “first female Eagle Scout”, and the stated reasoning, is perfect. That is what I was hoping they would do.

I remember those days! I gave all my then Bears a wood knife they had to put together. We used this to practice opening and closing the blade and then I gave them all the real thing and we went live. I had 16 in my Den and was lucky no one ever cut themselves. The funny thing is, BSA does not have a rule against fixed blade or sheath knives. I allow sheath knives no longer than 4 inches in my troop. I have not had any scouts cut themselves. Folding knives on the other hand is a different story. It is sad that people are changing the requirements and watering down the program. I ju

Our older scout who is the Instructor for wood tools uses the term circle of death.

Two grandsons new in a cub pack. There are (horrors!) girls. No one seems to notice. They do stuff together. It's almost as if it's not unnatural.

As with any bully, the solution is simple. Ignore her. Do not respond to any of her emails on this subject. If she confronts you in person, simply tell her kindly and calmly "the issue is already decided." Do not offer up any other explanation, do not attempt to satisfy her demands, do not engage with her on this matter at all. She has absolutely no right nor authority nor legitimate reason to make any of these demands on you nor your son, so just let her scream and holler till her voice is hoarse and she collapses in frustration. These people always tend to dig their own graves, so

So you are from the Far East Council, I take it. No, that is certainly not BSA policy, in fact it is directly opposed. Good luck sorting it out.

There are official BSA guidelines in the Guide to Advancement. Unfortunately, it prohibits what you are attempting. First, additional requirements are prohibited. So the Spirit Board as a part of advancement is prohibited. Second, BoR’s are to be conducted by adults (other than direct contact unit leaders). Additionally, I have been involved with OA a various levels and have never heard of such a thing. In fact, I’m not sure how I feel about Arrowman sitting in judgement of another Scouts spirit. If you want a spirit board to recognize great spirit, that’s not a bad id

That seems to be adding a new requirement to receiving rank, which is something you shouldn't be doing. I could also see it getting rather problematic if you end up with scouts on the spirit board that have a dislike of a younger scout.

Here's a question for you: Do you think you are doing your duty to God by rarely attending church? That said, use your parents for that reference. IMHO, at your age, parents are in charge of your religious education, etc.

Update 10/1/18 One scout has died. https://abcnews.go.com/US/driver-charged-dui-plowing-group-boy-scouts-critically/story?id=58197864 https://abc7ny.com/1-dead-man-charged-with-dwi-after-car-plows-into-boy-scouts/4377783/

Typical BSA member insulting an atheist for not being humble when insulted.

SSScout, theists (mostly Christians in the US) are constantly using that exact argument to claim atheists are innately immoral, as people like Eagledad has. I will not interpret it any other way.

I’m not involved in GSUSA, and this thread isn’t in the GSUSA forum. I don’t concern myself with how they run that program. They made a decision that’s best for their organization, and that’s their business. I *am* involved in the BSA, which is adopting a unified program offering what purports to be equal program and opportunities to members who are girls and members who are boys. Allowing one troop or CO to unilaterally block off program opportunities for another troop or CO is just flatly unfair. I would have the same issue if girls’ troops were blocking boys’ troops from attending.