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Charles McGee turned 22 on the day the U.S. entered World War II. At the time, he was an engineering major at the University of Illinois. Eleven months later, McGee left Champaign-Urbana for Alabama to train with a group of Army Air Corps cadets who would become some of the first black fighter pilots in the country, now known as the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. He went on to fly 136 combat missions in WWII with the all-black 332nd Fighter Group, also known as the “Red Tails.” Later, he commanded fighter-bomber, support and training squadrons and was the first black commander of a state

Sorry, @ParkMan, I cited where a previous poster quoted her. But that post has been subsequently revised. Many at national leadership are on record as being very much opposed to a co-ed program. Mike Surbaugh was one of them. I understand how @njdrt-rdr would like to see it as new-troops, cut-and-dry. BSA does ... but I've felt that that's for marketing purposes so they can blather on about starting all these new units. But many are in effect an additional patrol to an existing troop. And pitching that it's a parallel to asking dens or districts to have the same number is a trip into n

Most clothing items, whether buying from your local Walmart or Macys, has at least a 50% markup over wholesale. The whole model with National Supply is slated toward max return (it is completely a business for BSA, not a service). Our council shut down running a "trading post" at the council office- we have two NS run stores that are outside the borders of our council, but are just conveniently located in adjacent towns from either end of the council. If a council wants to carry items, NS sells to them at a price point they create, such that they are making $, and also controls the retail p

My first uniform came from JC Penny, back in 1964. I recently bought another of the 60's web belts on ebay, as it was listed as 'never worn'. When it arrived it was still in the plastic wrap, with a bright, shiny brass buckle and a JC Penny price tag of 45 cents!

Yeah, @njdrt-rdr, it doesn't flow very well. But this was permitted in response to boots on the ground. Numbers usually track with the CO. So, each of the CO's units -- be it a Pack, Troop, Crew, Post, or Ship -- asks for the same number. And those numbers are held with a lot of pride. To give someone under the same roof a different number is tantamount to telling them they aren't one of us. To ask someone to change numbers in the face of a merger is asking them to abandoning their heritage. (I've been in the middle of such shenanigans for as long as I've been a scouter.) With the addition of

Now you are into National Supply which is another whole deal. My council has generated a CSP for the summer camp. I was at the office and went to the Scout store, but had to buy the CSP at the program desk. Seems that (in our council) the large Scout Shop is not the council's deal, but is National Supply run. The folks who work there are not part of the local council, but are National employees. My assumption is that National Supply pays rent to the local council for the footprint. Now, when I realized this, I wondered what the overhead for this must be for National. The footp

Update: Our 100 year old Eagle scout has had some Scout Week so far. Super Bowl 54: Delivered coin for toss at start of game. Tues. Feb 4: Promoted to Brigadier General and honored at the State of Union. Scout Salute,

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