Leaderboard

As I was browsing the scout shop on line today looking to uniform my new Tiger granddaughter, it came to me what goofed up Cub Scout uniforms we have. Each Cub rank specific hat is $15, rank specific belt buckles are $7, specific slides are $6, and socks are $6. Why the heck are Cubs getting a new batch of uniform items each year? How about just changing the neckerchief and letting it go with that. That item is only $10. Early 90s, all Tigers wore were the orange tiger shirt with earned paw prints, as they were just trying out scouts. We nickel and dime (really $5 and $10) our adults eac

As our District’s (maybe even the Council’s) resident history buff/uniform nerd, I thought I’d share a source for those of you interested in creating a reproduction 1910s-era uniform. WhatPriceGlory.com sells an olive drab US Army M1912 Summer Cotton tunic and breeches that are nearly identical to what early scouters wore. They also have the puttees and leggings, as well as campaign hats and wool version of the M1912 and M1917 uniforms. The button holes on the cotton tunic are designed for metal ring backed buttons, so it’s no big deal to swap out the supplied USA buttons for metal BSA

I found that most boys aren't willing to do the kind of backpacking that will get them in shape. The altitude alone will slow them down no matter their shape. But, I've never had a scout dropout because he was out of shape. They can handle most trails. It's their feet that cause most of the physical problems on the trail. I recommend at least one, and two if you can, 5 mile hikes with full gear. That will give everyone enough miles to respect the weight of the pack and learn about foot (feet?) comfort. One of our younger scouts after one such hike decided the large jar of hair jell wasn't a go

The Chinese knock off is what I am worried about. I am willing to wait and save up for good equipment. I don't like to keep buying something over and over. One reason why I am upset abut the stove. This will #3. Normal backpacking. I am not familiar with that brand, but worth looking into with 84% 4+ stars Yes I know that liquid alcohol fuels are not recommended, and "Equipment that is handcrafted, homemade....Examples include alcohol-burning “can” stoves...." are prohibited. That is why I bought one alcohol stove and received a 2nd one for a Christmas present. Bo

I was talking to two nearly-18 Life scouts that are busting their rears to get everything done on time. As I was talking to them it hit me that a lot of requirements really don't make you a better scout. It seems to me that when I was a scout we honestly needed to know all the first class requirements in order to be good scouts. We needed axe and fire skills if we wanted to make a fire to cook our food. We used knots because we'd cut down trees and make stuff. Map and compass, absolutely. First aid, while not used every campout, was used. The tracking probably wasn't needed and while the plant

As it happens, my home council, Heart of America, appears to be one of the first out of the starting blocks with Arrow women. Tamegonit #147 held a special winter induction

BSA "Troop Leader Guidbook" has replaced the "Scoutmaster Handbook". The previous scoutmaster handbook talked of regular, new-scout and venture patrols. The new guidebook has changed tone with "mixed age" or "same age". I've always viewed "same age" as a slight and I prefer it to be called "same interest" or "same experience". The new guidebook says "historically patrols were made up of scouts of all ages and ranks". But I think that was not necessarily inferring "mixed age" in what mixed age patrols infers today. From what I read more and more ... my interpretation is current BSA

We've had many scheduling problems conspire against us and haven't done nearly the prep that we should. I'm even getting the boys to do hikes around the neighborhood with packs on their own time to get in shape. I will make sure we have proper gear. This troop hasn't been a backpacking troop, it's been mostly car camping. We are cramming for the final in these last couple of months. We'll get in as much as we can. I do have a recent Eagle from our troop going as an adult and he's worked at Philmont. We'll be one of those crews that struggles at times. We have trek 12 wit

Seems worthy of a new thread, "Natural Leaders."

I am curious, whether in your experience you feel that this leadership skill seems to "run in families". While I can't put a percentage on it, it occurs to me that I know a few kids whose fathers appear to be natural leaders, and even if the kids try rather hard not to be leaders, they still end up with a patrol/patrol-like group following them around. (kids here, because these aren't all scouts). On the other hand, I know a few kids whose parents are dreadful leaders, and it sure seems like no amount of coaching is ever going to raise them to anything better than mediocre at leadership.

Don't knock neighborhood hikes! Especially if they include preparing a meal in a local park. It really is # of hikes over length of hikes. When the blisters came in my crew, it was at mile 1. I'm not saying limit town hikes to just a mile. But most of the challenge is getting everyone past that first mile. When a contingent can do that, then the stream crossing skills and other things can proceed with all present. I suspect that your crew will be the least of your ranger's worries.

Haha- I do have the belt. I took the pic when the wind was blowing about 30mph, using my hand to keep tunic from flapping. I had been in a parade rest stance.

Awesome

The thing I seem to forget and am therefore destined to relearn on every trek is that the Scouts have different priorities than the adults. We want them to be physically prepared because we fear that we are not. We want them to learn the map/compass skills so we are not embarrassed when ranger asks them to orient the map. We want them to practice hanging bear bags so it doesnt take 2 hours for the first few nights. They dont care about any of those things - they are young and athletic and will not feel the pain, they dont mind learning the map skills again, they seem to enjoy the fell

The "pocket rocket" type can be found cheaply. They are quite light, and easy to screw on to the canister. There are many name-brands like Primus, MSR which cost $20 - $100. The off-brand chinese knock-offs are less than $20. You get what you pay for.

I agree. Actually I'm a little surprised National even mentioned Mixed age and Same age. There were no such definitions until they started their New Scout, Regular Scout and Venture Scout experiment. I believe they are reverting back because the new scout (same age patrol) experiment failed. And here we are asking what is the guiding reason for having patrols? Sadly, we appear to be starting over. Only it's worse, now the majority of adults having to lead troops of patrols don't even have a scouting experience to base the program goals for their scouts. Maybe it's time to start answering

Back in the '70's, the 400,000 acre Alpine Lakes Wilderness was indeed in trouble. After a dedicated advocacy push — which included presenting copies of The Alpine Lakes to every member of the Senate committee — a bill to establish the wilderness area managed to pass Congress. However, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Office of Management and Budget all advised the President to veto the bill. The Forest Service even drafted veto language for him. Washington Governor Evans, a former Boy Scout, and champion of Washington’s wild places, managed to secure a m

The democracy in our Scouting is not parliamentary. The Scouts in the troop elect the SPL, not the "MPs." So there are no votes of confidence in Scouting. The PLC may change the election cycle. If, as is supposed to be the case, a Scout spends the great bulk of his/her Scouting time in Patrol activities, missteps by the SPL are less critical.

A friend's daughter created her LP as a "do something club" that was entirely service oriented. It lasted until her peers started worrying about college, and she got a job as a barista to save up for books, etc ... On one slow day at the shop after she had served my iced-coffee, we caught up on her plans for the future, and her reflections on high school. She said, "I really wish we had done more exciting stuff, like backpacking." Before my drink started to boil in my hand, she said that she knew that I was always "there" for her. I guess what LPs can gain from a troop is inspir

The pros of this is anything that you want to do you'll get the backing of the parents. This is huge in today's world. I'd take a "troop" of these kids in a heartbeat. This is not very well defined. Due to your Free Range Kids activity, I'll assume this has nothing to do with the BSA (although I wish this mindset would infect the BSA) and is really about offering some scouty things to the FRK community. The pros are the kids want to, and have to, take ownership. Since they've been encouraged to do this from a young age they will be more accepting of it. This is really big. A con i

Hi @Kudu, thanks for coming back to stir the pot! I've meet a few such lone patrols (LP). Thanks to a relative's cabin or farm and a generally free-and-open city and state park system, Western PA is rife with youth going hiking and camping independently with their mates. The recently instituted requirements for, and legalistic definitions of, adult supervision, make BSA a very hard sell for an LP. But, absent those here's my observation: The Pro's of of a (LP) joining a troop: Metrics: the LP may now have an objective rating of their performance through competition and shari

Pros are faster bonding and more growth from individual decisions. Con is the challenge for continued growth and maturing as scouts get older and more experienced. Barry

You pose such interesting questions. I'll be interested to see what others think, and to see whether my thinking changes as I puzzle about this more. I have the feeling that there's something here I can use to shine light on some problems I observed between my two troops this weekend. I'll make a first proposition that the cons are almost completely circumscribed by the observation that joining a troop creates more opportunities for damaging loss of autonomy and conflict. Even in a troop composed of similarly free-range patrols, the more cooks there are, the more chance for spoiling

Not quite the question you are asking -- but one benefit to a kid of seeking out a troop is to find that patrol of kids with common interests -- if he hasn't already found one on his own.

I would argue that the main con is the pros.