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RS, excellent point. Here's my hunch. Mr. Mosby graciously declined the CSE title to help assuage the hurt feelings that are no doubt percolating through the "commissioned BSA professional" corps as we speak. Some gold loopers knew it was potentially "their turn" to be in the running for the CSE job. Not only were they passed over, their whole world is about to change.

For me, it is really aesthetic. Not all unofficial flair will make an ugly/cluttered/ridiculous uniform; but UP approved uniform, in full compliance with the guide to awards and insignia, will almost never look too bad. I don't have much artistic or design ability, so I stick to a simpler uniform. I don't even like temporary patches much because they are either a pain to sew on and off or they are dangling things that can get caught on stuff. Same reason I don't like the powderhorn or emergency preparedness insignia- more stuff to catch, clang, remove before washing, and put back on a

Huh? He is listed as CEO and President in that article and according to the latest Charter and ByLaws , Article IV, Section 2 Corporate Officers Clause 1. The officers of the Corporation shall be the following employees: President, who shall be the Chief Scout Executive and Chief Executive Officer; Treasurer, who shall be the Chief Financial Officer; and Secretary, who shall be the General Counsel. CHIEF SCOUT EXECUTIVE Clause 2. The Chief Scout Executive shall be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive Board and shall serve as the chief executive

I agree with Liz. If Sally and Susy are 25 months apart in age, they can NEVER tent together. If Sally and Sarah are 23 months apart in age, YPT age rules ALWAYS permit them to tent together. It doesn't change month by month. The kids can easily figure out who in their patrols they can tent with. And it is the same for the next camping trip, also. But it does mean that a barely 11-year-old cannot tent with an older 13-year-old.

First Class as an end in itself is a worthy ideal...unfortunately, I think it's at odds with a modern scouting culture that has also stated that troops should help new scouts "get First Class within a year". Makes me pause. Do we really want youth to exemplify the stated values of scouting and to reflect them throughout their development....or is the "faster is better" mentality where it's really at?

I don't normally believe in making up knots but I have several girls in my Crew that have or will be receiving the Gold Scout Gold Award. I asked if they would like a square knot to wear on their Venturing uniform and the answer was yes. Taking the colors from the Gold Award badge, the knot would be light blue and gold with a gold border on a Venturing green background. I'm interested in your thoughts; please let me hear from you. http://www.sageventure.com/venturing/knots.htm#GSGold YIV, Craig Murray Venturing Advisor Webmaster, Venturing Notebook

We have a new CSE. Not only that but he's been a volunteer for a long time and has worked outside of the BSA. This is different in a very hopeful way. Maybe we have an opportunity to be a part of the discussion, to have our ideas heard. I'm not sure what the odds are but I'll take it. We'd have a much better chance of making things better if we were part of the discussion. Unfortunately, our collective view of national is, mildly saying, not so good and consequently we probably aren't looked upon very favorably and thus, are not part of the discussion. So, what would it take to change tha

Ironically, I see history repeating itself here. The second CSE, Elbert Fretwell, also came from outside of the Profession. That was done purposely as the board didn't want a prior Professional, or "West Man" to become the CSE.

Really? The ordinary style of GSUSA platform tent that I have seen in multiple states in multiple decades sleeps typically 4 (or 5) on cots. Of course some camps don't use those in all their units. I believe that one of the camps in our council has some yurts.

@RememberSchiff the title of Chief Scout is honorific. It has no specific working responsibility. (Although Bear has worked quite well in it.)

Could be. If so, a good start on changing that culture would have been an outsider becoming CSE. IMHO, of the Key Three, only the National Commissioner need come from commissioned ranks. My understanding, members please correct, of the United Kingdom Scout Association Key Three (if they use that term): Chief Scout: Bear Grylls, an outsider with military, outdoor, media, and business experience Chief Executive: Matt Hyde , an outsider with organizational management experience Chief Commissioner: Tim Kidd, commissioner experience, works in IT My $0.01

Well said. Mr. Mosby should not lose much sleep over missing those classes. After all, "commissioned BSA professionals"--who had the required training--have been at the helm until now, and they have steered our organization into dismal waters. Societal changes and other external factors cannot be solely blamed.

This statement in the article caught my eye: "Unlike his predecessors at the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Mosby’s title is not Chief Scout Executive. That title is reserved for commissioned BSA professionals — that is, full-time employees of the BSA who have undergone the required amount of training." (Emphasis added.) So, are they suggesting he is untrained or under-trained? Or that he's not worthy to bear the "reserved" title of Chief Scout Executive?

Could be $$$ as @David CO says. The ones I know were active with things and/or volunteered. One who is active at the area level with commissioner stuff got that way by being a very active local commissioner and volunteering a lot with the neighboring commissioner college. Through that he met the other area/region people so became "who you know". On the other hand - there is an opening right now for C3 NYLT coordinator. It was announced in the central region training newsletter. I gave about 1.25 seconds thought to submitting my own name.

Yes, but responsibility for youth safety ultimately rests with the adults. I presume that you're saying that since adults are there to help guide the youth leaders, the way we should respect the YPT guidelines is by educating the SPL and delegate implementation decisions to him.

Oh come on. Personally I think calling these things popularity contest is silly. IF only the popular scouts get selected, then how can a troop even function. If it does happen, and I agree it sometimes does, then they are doing it wrong. But don't blame the process, blame how scouts perceive honor. Your troop, or district, or council is doing it wrong. And I think qwazse hints at the problem of how true scouts of honor don't get recognized, because the culture doesn't respect the First Class Rank as an honor. If your scouts only pick popular scouts for any status of honor, start looking at you

Kind of what I say every time I am asked by an over enthusiastic Wood Badge staff member "Don't you want to go to Wood Badge?", without bothering to look closely enough to see the 3 beads I am wearing.

Honestly I have never heard of the naming of top Scouts for units and councils. Must be a local thing

Maybe it's just me - but continuing to criticize the national salaries like this feels good, but isn't really bringing constructive ideas to the table. I don't even see how this impacts just about anything I do either. Say we reduce all the above salaries and then pass all the savings on the Scouts. That does what - reduce the national budget by 5 million a year? While that's a lot - it's not going to fundamentally change anything for us. I think if we really want to engage with the CSE in a constructive way, we've got to focus on issues that are either a) painful to us as Scouters, o

I don't think I've ever seen a Scout with a red brag vest in real life.

Buy one on Ebay if you have to...and wear it with pride.

The kids know that G2SS isn't there to protect them. It exists to protect BSA bank accounts. It exists to protect executive payrolls. You can't expect the kids to care about any of that.