Leaderboard

I must admit that I used to be much less concerned or even aware of my uniform in the years past. Having read TLS's posts over the years regarding uniforming and insignia has changes my viewpoint. I was not one to knowingly ignore the guide to insignia, I was instead simply non-chalant about it. TLS posts have been enlightening for me. The reminder of the uniform as a method, like advancement etc... really hit home. When we discuss the Patrol Method, we espouse the desire to reach the ideal. We do not chastise when we fall short, but instead recognize where we trying to improve to get cl

Interesting how, once again, the implication is that those who care about the uniform apparently 'don't have any adventure in their lives,' are 'uptight,' and don't enjoy 'the fun of Scouting.' These are, of course, rather outlandish suggestions, and they really have nothing to do with the topic of uniforming, but instead are probably meant only to distract from the underlying desires of those who wish to "put on what (they) want how they want," and brazenly ignore the policies and regulations that are actually meant to teach, unite, and fellowship the Scouts we serve and supposedly teach, ide

The answer to your question is kick this up to your Chartering Organization. Concerning the rest of the discussion, FGM is illegal in Michigan (and 34 other states). The law making it illegal passed prior to the Federal case being thrown out. It was never clear to me why the feds rather than the state brought the prosecution, but it's possible most or even all the conduct occurred before MI's law went into effect. So, you have someone credibly accused of having committed a crime. This is not sufficient to convict someone in a court of law, but it's generally sufficient for other

I find this attitude to be rather disappointing, and it's exactly the kind of nonchalant apathy that I hope I can encourage the Scouts under my care to overcome. When we look at the uniform as just clothing, with the idea that we can do whatever we want and guidelines be hanged, then we are breeding in our youth the idea that how we dress doesn't matter. This is patently false. How we dress and present ourselves, whether we like it or not, sends a message. It sends a message about who we are. It sends a message about what we believe, and what we do. It gives those with whom we interact as

During the United States’ involvement in the Great War (World War I) from 1917-1918, Boy Scouts fulfilled a variety of vital service functions deemed important by the Federal government (and even some local and state governments). These included: serving as lookouts along US coastlines; locating unlawful radio stations; providing assistance during the flu epidemic of 1918; conducting a nationwide census of and planting Black Walnut trees; collecting peach pits for use in the manufacture of gas masks; planting of War Gardens and War Farms; selling subscriptions to the five loan campaigns during

I've enduring abuse in the name of religion as a youth, and find some of the comments above flip, and almost offensive. Legal or illegal abuse, those who embrace such behavior have a perverted sense of entitlement. I might would be ok with this person attending events, but hell no on leadership. The CO, District Exec, and the Council exec, should be made aware of your concerns. The CO should have their own rules regarding child safety. CO rules should be reviewed with the key three, and CO board of directors or Pastor. The CO can do what the heck they want with this guy, and the BSA

I'm reminded about a conversation I had yesterday with my mother (a retired elementary school teacher). We were talking about how the words we write convey a lot about who we are. I was thanking my mother for instilling that realization in me as a young person. I see the same thing with the uniform. As was eloquently said above - a well worn uniform says a lot about who you are as a person and your own personal standards. Teaching Scouts to represent themselves well is a critical life skill - one that will pay off over and over again later in life. Also, I find that others will recogn

Whatever you put in it, make sure several people in the group know how to use it. One unit I was with was given an EMT kit and had supplies in it that only a few folks knew how to use. I also prefer the make your own kits. As others stated you can add more of what you will commonly use. I would not take less though. When I created my FAKs, I used the BSA's WFA kit recommendations and added to it. One thing i would add is some type of electrolyte powder. While I kept bottle of Gatorade in the fridge at Cub day camp, not practical hiking or backpacking. But those packets of powder are extr

I dont agree with you. Also, another in service training for those who think that it is their responsiblity to criticize how others wear their uniform. The red jackets are a personal item and can be decorated however the owner desires. So, like I said, my uniform, my money, my choice, so I'll put on it what I want. If you are that stuck on "proper uniforming" I would suggest that you study the rules, look at the pictures in the OFFICIAL publications including BSA catalogs and magazines, look at photos of area, regional, and national volunteers and ask yourself if it really is your business

This article hits some of the key notes of YPT in that it talks about grooming. Not only of the kids, but conditioning the adults views. It also emphasised one of the big reasons folks don't follow through with reporting. In this case the abuser was well known and admired/liked (the conditioning I spoke of). Lastly it brings up a situation that makes things like this very difficult to report, the power/authority the abuser can have on the community. And a community can be large as a city/region/state or as small as the scouting council/district/troop. We can never relax in our review of

Well, I think there that there's more to it when they talk about "making it hard to go camping". Some leaders just don't want to go camping, period, and it's an easy thing for them to just say, "we don't camp because national makes it too hard for us to camp." I've spoken to many GSUSA troop leaders who do find the rules and regs regarding camping to be onerous, but I don't see them as much different than what we in the BSA have set forth. The minimum number of volunteers rule tends to be a sticky wicket with a lot of troop leaders, and they tell me it's why they keep their troop membersh

"Tell me about this patch" is far more interesting than "this patch doesn't meet regulation".

Just to be clear ... I never felt bad about uniform police. Given as obsessively as I inspected my scouts when I was an SPL, I could have been called one. No problem, it was usually my dimes or my time that got whatever award I would give to the PL with the sharpest looking boys. But, I would call them on the carpet when they misstated a rule. Like when someone dressed down my scout for not having a standard issue neckerchief slide. I said, "You might not like it, but it is in uniform, plus the knot he made with real rope is 10x more valuable then that stamped piece of metal that

You and me both. When I see scouters bragging about their slovenly uniform habits and then making stupid statements about "uniform police" and the like, I have to wonder why they ever joined scouting in the first place. The uniform is one of the methods of scouting. Just like patrol method, just like advancements, etc. It contributes to developing strong values in youth. When somebody sees a scout uniform, they know it represents values like "Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Cheerful, Thrifty, Clean and Reverent." The scout uniform has stood for those thi

Put simply, the most vulnerable of our citizens -- our nation's children -- do better on any metric when raised by both biological parents committed to serving each other and only each other sexually and materially in the same home. Everything else is a compromise because the world is a hard place where adults think of themselves first and bringing up children second. Given that so many have compromised the ideal child-rearing, we scouters have had to put up with some really abysmal adults for parents. That said ... we all have also seen some of these same adults manage to redeem themselves in

This is a great post and is sure to keep going. A few points to bring up. During my treks at Philmont, none of our crew ever wore the uniform on the trails, but hiking clothes for the event. We only wore the full uniform in the base camp and traveling to and from home. National Jamboree we wore a mix of T-shirt and field shirt, but full uniform traveling and visiting Washington DC. World Jamboree just about everyone had a T-shirt and the neckerchief was the common uniform item for participants. I'm on the side of scout sense letting the event dictate the uniform. As I had a recent d

This is awesome! I guess I'm one of the old farts now. Over the past 40+ years I've received 13 square knots, two Eagle Dad pins, and a partridge in a pear tree. Yes I wear all 13 knots because they outline my scouting adventure that I shared with two daughters and three sons. I proudly display that two of my sons are Eagle Scouts and I will be adding an Eagle Scout grandparent pin as soon as he completes his project. I ain't gotten paid and I bought my own clothes and I really don't give one twitch about what somebody else thinks about how I decorate my clothes. Very very very few wear a co

Yet no one raises an eyebrow to male genital mutilation, something I was a victim of as an infant 65 years ago. It is still being performed, some for religious reasons, most for some misguided concept of "hygiene" and aesthetics, in spite of overwhelming medical evidence to the contrary. At least today, I hear that they use some form of anesthesia.