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Wow! Great thread. Great conversations... about a lousy topic. About 8 years ago I concluded that BSA wanted to make money selling camps. In those 8 years, our Council merged, and 5 properties were liquidated. I've made up a list of sneaky ways Councils sell properties, one of them is closing a camp for a year, or not listing it for a season, and then complaining that it lost money that year. I've met a regional stooge before. They make politicians look humane. This one didn't give a rat's arse about the kids or us volunteers. To be in that high of a tier of the BSA you need t

Yes, that word is clear. I don't think anyone is arguing about whether or not they want 2 registered leaders at any Scouting activity. Unfortunately, that one point of clarity doesn't answer the whole question. We still need to know what a "Scouting activity" is. Is "Summer Camp" the activity? Is gathering wood in the forest an activity? What about fetching water? What about hiking from the base camp to the mess hall? If hiking from the base camp to the mess hall is an activity, what about hiking to the bathhouse? If hiking to the bathhouse isn't an activity, how about taking a sh

@TAHAWK, it's not me, it's the kids' earworms. This lot is stuck in the 7th and 8th decade of the last century. Stairway wasn't on my radar until I "appeared" in the midst of their hammock nest (all week, they kept wondering how I could do that) to enforce lights out, and that's the disk they were spinning.

Stomp stomp clap .

DAMN that's harsh! Hearing that said by another person that is. But I know it to be true.

The executives have know for some time now that BSA is doomed. Their goal is to secure (for themselves) as much as they can before the final breakup.

Don't you know any group popular in the last thirty years? stomp stomp clap .

A Laser Flair weighs a few ounces and operates for hours.

We did it, and the Scouts loved it! Older Scouts got to load and fire a flare gun, and the youngers got to light marine flares (30 Scouts in total). Most of these we acquired from out of date items that boaters in our unit had. Many had not checked their boat's gear for some time, and were happy to hand over the expired items for training. (Coast Guard could issue a citation for expired gear, and/or make you return to port to replace...) We put out a Notice to Airmen through the FAA, and called our county emergency dispatch, our neighboring county emergency dispatch, and the state forest fi

I've been complaining (for some time now) about the frequent use of profanity by our boy scouts. I won't tolerate it in my classroom or my troop. I agree with what you are saying. Some of these older kids have no filter. We haven't used any scout camps for years. We mostly use church owned campgrounds. Sorry about the misunderstanding. My first impression (from your post) was that the parents' concern was a YP thing.

Cub Scouts: Webelos/AOL Scouting Adventure Requirement 1a-e 1. Prepare yourself to join a troop by completing at least a-c below: Repeat from memory the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout motto, and Scout slogan. In your own words, explain their meanings to your den leader, parent, or guardian. Explain what Scout spirit is. Describe for your den leader, parent, or guardian some ways you have shown Scout spirit by conducting yourself according to the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Scout motto, and Scout slogan. Give the Scout sign, salute, and handshake. Explain when to use each. D

It's the old adage...Do we raise money to enable a community to have Scouts OR Do we have Scouts to enable a group to be able to raise money. Agree that way too many volunteers feel the "Council" is the end all be all, the oracle or knowledge, the giver of permissions, the experts on Scouting. Actually the Council is supposed to support the unit and LOCAL Scouting. Sadly it does not work that way and many of us wonder what in fact the cast of many at the Council office actually do all day. How in fact do they (The Council and the minions there) bring value to the BSA program in our com

I think that is one reason why the council is failing. We have folks going to out of council shops because we get better service or have more customer friendly hours. Plus they are tired of orders "not arriving at the office" or being lost. Best example of that is the Eagle application that was mailed and "never received." I know some folks have stopped giving FOS not only because of the increases in National fees, but also they are not seeing any benefits. They never see their DE, we are unable to get in the schools, which the DE should be working on and hasn't, When volunteers try to

Mattr should remove info deemed necessary for privacy. I posted the entirety of the email to show it's authentic from the BSA and to make the point that the lack of a nonretaliation policy in YPP is deliberate and not a simple omission. My point in adding nonretaliation language to YPP is not to change how the National or local Councils run themselves, but to buttress the seriousness of YPP in scouting. First, nonretaliation is community standard. Everywhere I looked among youth service organizations, explicit requirement for reporting always go with confidentiality and non retaliati

Looks like the Brady Bunch...Wood Badge Edition 😀

Good Lord this is the most confused element. They are vastly different and wholly unrelated, other than both should be observed. One leader of another unit at camp was concerned about how they could have Scouts at various troop activities as it would spread leaders to thin. We talked with them, tried to guide them on 2 deep at the camp, but no one on one. He could not grasp that if one leader went wandering to the camp store with 3 Scouts, that was not in fact one on one. We took his thinking down the rabbit hole and tried to show that using that thinking for a troop of 20 Scou

They're 13 and 14yo's and capable and competent to do this hike. If we quit Scouting and went to that state park with those same buddies, I would not hesitate to send them on that hike while me and the other dads stayed in camp. When I was that age we got on our bikes and were gone for the afternoon. uhg sorry this makes me frustrated.

There have been many stories of "retaliation" without recourse on these forums over the years. Scouters and Scouts have had their memberships revoked for cause, and some for causes known only to the Scout Executives who seem to have the final say in such matters.